7 Reasons Your Time Management Must Be Flexible

When some people think of time management, they think of rigid schedules and sterile checklists.

Yet, your time management must remain flexible if it is going to be truly effective.

In fact, your time management must be ready to adapt to life’s daily adventures.

Flexing Your Time Management

Have you ever had a day go exactly as you had planned it?

I don’t think I have ever had one that didn’t have at least one unexpected happening.

Life happens.

Your car has issues. Your technology doesn’t work as designed. Unexpected interruptions occur.

Life has a way of throwing a curve at even the best of plans.

“Your time management must be flexible in order to adapt to whatever life throws your way.”

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Here are 7 Reasons Your Time Management Must Be Flexible:

1. Priorities Change – Prioritizing your work is important, and you want to always be working on your most important tasks. However, priorities shift depending on others and what is happening around you. Adjust your priorities when life changes them.
2. Life Happens – The weatherman is still guessing about today’s weather, and there is no way you are going to be able to predict all the things that life put in your way today. Traffic doubles your commute. Or your child has an emergency. You will have to adapt your plans based on “life.”
3. A Good Plan Can Be Improved – You shouldn’t carry out a plan just because that was the way you “wrote it down.” Even the best of plans can often be improved during execution. Don’t be rigid to a good plan, when a better one presents itself.
4. Things Don’t Work – Despite any guarantees you have, nothing always works as advertised. You could put this under #2, but sometimes stuff just doesn’t work. Your phone stops taking calls, your car breaks down, or that appointment system lost your reservation. Instead, of letting these things stop you in your tracks, keep a positive attitude and find a way around them.
5. You Might Have Extra Time – Sometimes life gives you extra time. You may have an unplanned wait, or an appointment may get cancelled at the last moment. Flex your calendar and todo list when extra time becomes available.
6. You Have Less Time – Schedules never run exactly as timed and todos often take longer than expected. Adjust your schedule when times run over what was planned.
7. Someone Needs Help – There is a time and place to say No to requests from others. But, sometimes you need to drop what you are doing to help a friend, colleague, or family member. It may be more important to help some else than complete your scheduled tasks.

Adaptable Time Management

Don’t think of your time management as rigid.

It needs to be flexible in order to keep your productive when “life happens.”

If you are able to adapt your productivity to your day’s circumstances, you will remain productive no matter what happens.

Question: How do you keep your time management flexible in the face of life’s events? You can leave a comment by clicking here.