Mental Health and Productivity

Managing Time Isn’t the Best Way to Produce More and Better Results

More satisfactory methods exist as the problem is not time but how it is allocated and used with the support of the mind.

Purpose of the Story

This article aims to introduce the priority management concept versus time management based on my years of experience. My goal is to enhance creativity and productivity with less effort and time by tricking the brain.

Inspiration for the Article

One of the most frequently asked questions by my subscribers is how I manage my time and produce above-average results despite multiple goals and challenges in my life.

In addition, some readers ask about the secret to time management. I briefly tell them there is no secret to time management. I don’t believe the time is manageable hence don’t focus on the time management concept.

This remark confuses some readers. Thus, I want to clarify what I mean and provide some handy tips with examples to produce more with less effort.

My Brief Background on How I Struggled with Time Management

In my undergraduate years, I learned a lot about time management. It was a hot topic in the seventies and eighties. Those short courses helped me complete my degree on time, with hard work causing significant stress.

However, as a knowledge-hungry person working full-time, undertaking part-time postgraduate studies, and having family commitments, I struggled with traditional time management.

My knowledge gained from those courses did not help me cope with the pressure and achieve the desired results. Therefore, I needed a paradigm shift.

Gratefully, a wise mentor paved the way by teaching me priority management which became a game-changer in my educational, personal, and professional life.

As this new knowledge and experience profoundly impacted my life, I’d like to pass along my tacit knowledge and share the approach based on my experience in simple terms.

There are better approaches than managing time to produce more and better with less effort.

Everyone has 24 hours a day. No one is privileged or disadvantaged.

Some of us achieve remarkable results, and some suffer from mediocrity. The distinguishable factor is how we allocate and use our time.

Ironically some people get bored and try to kill time. This exception is beyond the scope of my article as it is a psychological situation. I documented my perspectives about boredom in an article titled How I Transform Boredom into Joy and Excitement in 7 Simple Steps.

Over the years, I created a four-pronged approach to utilize my time.

The first prong is priority management. The second aspect is putting the mind in a favorable position. The third part is working in a flow state. The fourth is to celebrate every small gain and repeat the process consistently.

The fifth point, which is a principle underpinning previous points, is refraining from perfection, focusing on excellence, and growing incrementally.

1 — Priority Management

In my younger years, I used to create a to-do list every day. The list got gigantic, causing paralysis analysis. I quickly digressed and wasted my time.

Most of the time, it was not possible to complete the list. As a result, these daily issues registered as failures in my memories, putting me in a psychologically disadvantaged position.

Later I learned to create a not-to-do list, which was helpful practice. But the activity also turned to consume my time. I felt guilty for eliminating many tasks close to my mind and heart.

Finally, I decided to choose three critical points that can make the most significant effect daily. Interestingly some of these three points were so easy and simple.

In the past, these critical items got lost in my gigantic to-do list. Until I reached them in the backlog, I felt exhausted or ran out of time.

My approach to these three vital points is sharp focus and attention, refraining from all distractions.

When I was setting my priorities, I pictured my day, week, month, and even year. As I love self-conversation, I always started asking, “What do you want to achieve today? What are the three most critical items to contribute to your goals?”

When prompted, the brain comes up with an answer quickly. Sometimes it generates multiple items. I quickly jot them down and choose the top three based on priority order. Sometimes I do only two things or even one oversized item based on scope. But a single item sometimes equals 100 tasks in my previous to-do lists.

Our daily list might include many items. Some are urgent, some important, and some trivial. Some tasks might be both urgent and important. It is up to us to decide on choosing the tasks that bring the best value for our goals.

2 — Putting the Mind in a Favorable Position

Starting a task is the most challenging aspect in my experience and from observations. I documented this issue in an article titled START: One Core Leadership Capability to Empower Writers.

Most of our issues come from the primitive brain, which constantly creates worries making us anxious. These anxious thoughts adversely affect our thinking brain. They can even shut it down.

By taming the amygdala, we can prevent its hijacks and adverse effects on the neocortex. The critical point is silencing the amygdala and strengthening the thinking brain, where focus and attention happen.

Understanding dopamine (a vital neurotransmitter) effectively puts the mind in a favorable position. Initiating a little dopamine can be an excellent tool to start any tedious or daunting task. Without dopamine, it is almost impossible to start a task and keep concentration.

There are many ways to create a quick dopamine release. Some people can do it via joyful exercises, some complete a small chore, some listen to uplifting music, some solve a quick puzzle, and some take a cold shower.

The key point is every time we achieve a small goal; the brain releases dopamine to reward us. This knowledge is vital to starting and completing a task.

3 — Working in a Flow State Intentionally

Releasing a bit of dopamine can help us enter a flow state much more easily. The body and mind are well connected in the flow state. Thus, we get more creative and productive.

Tasks got more manageable in this beautiful state. We lose time concept reducing our stress. When there is less stress, the brain can concentrate better and longer, producing excellent results.

As it is crucial creativity, productivity, and mental health tool, I documented my experience in an article titled Enter a Flow State with Three Simple Steps.

4 — Celebrating Small Gains and Repeating the Process Consistently

Celebrating and repeating bring two significant benefits.

Firstly, celebrating our small achievements brings benefits like resetting our neurotransmitters for better balance and putting our minds in an advantageous and empowering position.

Secondly, we strengthen the neural pathways wiring the brain for success by celebrating and repeating the process consistently and persistently.

When the brain is re-wired, our approach to priority management gets easier. Our habits run the show effortlessly. We produce more with less effort as the habits save energy. Worries and concerns causing distractions might disappear.

An anxious mind cannot be creative and productive. I provided my thoughts on A Shift from Anxious to Confident and Calm Mind in Two Steps.

5- Refraining from Perfection but Focusing on Excellence

This principle reshaped my life. Therefore, I pass on this critical knowledge adamantly. As it is a broad topic, I documented my experience and perspectives in an article.

Interested readers might check the story titled Why I Find Perfection in Imperfection.

Conclusions and Takeaways

Moving from time management to priority management mode became a game-changer for my creativity and productivity. It helped me influence and tap into my whole brain.

The critical success factor was to re-wiring my brain to handle my priorities daily with complete focus and concentration in a flow state.

By using this approach, I saved significant time that I used for my professional development, writing business, and hobbies.

For example, I saved 1465 hours of time from distractions I invested in writing, making me a prolific writer when working full time.

Therefore, I believe that full-time people can be prolific writers or do similar hobbies or side hustles, improving their quality of life.

Some people, like Brian Tracey, say, “eat the frog first thing in the morning.” This concept might be an exciting and helpful approach for some. But not many people like eating a frog in the morning unless they have well-developed self-discipline.

As a keto-carnivore, I even struggle with this idea as the old brain can make the frog so disgusting that the unnecessary anxiety can rise and intensify and stop eating frogs in the mornings.

From my experience, a better way to trick the old brain is by repacking the metaphorical frog as the most delicious meal with self-compassion and serving it with a quick dose of dopamine that can hide the unbearable taste of the frog every morning.

Awareness of Punishment Pathways in the Brain is essential for our success. I prefer to Start the Day with a Spark and Live a Joyful Life in Five Easy Steps.

Mental and physical energy is essential to start the day. Here’s How I Formed an Endless Energy Source in Four Steps.

Takeaways

1 — Choose the most critical three items every morning.

2 — Take a short and pleasant activity to release dopamine to get started.

3 — Pay full attention to a single task until you complete it.

4 — Take a break by celebrating each achievement.

5 — Repeat the process for the second and third tasks.

You can make this a model or a template to turn it into a habit, allowing you to re-wire your brain for success. After a while, this becomes second nature.

As we focus on the most critical items first daily with love and compassion, their contributions can make a compound impact on our success. These achievements can make us happier and enhance our mental health.

After completing three significant and priority items, we might do other tasks again in priority order but more leisurely, keeping our stress level lower.

The bottom line is unless we manage our priorities timely, our creativity and productivity can suffer, leading to anxiety, unhappiness, and life dissatisfaction.

Creativity, motivation, inspiration, attention, and satisfaction start in mind. Therefore, we need to find effective ways to empower the mind to support us in achieving our daily goals and make our work effortless.

Regarding time, the best life lesson for me was not to sell my time to earn my living, as time is my most precious asset. I documented my thoughts and feelings in an article titled Here’s Why I Don’t Make Money by Selling My Time Anymore.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

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