Choosing a tool to help you manage your time and having it not work for you is frustrating. This happens more often than I’d like to think, but I see it all of the time. People either get caught up in the latest and greatest gadget and purchase it to help them or they simply don’t know that choosing a tool that fits your time management personality is of the utmost importance. Before you make a choice about a tool to support you, you have to take the steps to discover your own time management personality.
How you relate to time is a personal thing, not a one size fits all type of thing, so choosing a tool that fits your personality is so important. It can make the difference between you being able to manage your time effectively or not. The problem is that there are so many tools to choose from, and people don’t know how to make the right choice; they may not even think about it. I’ve seen people go and purchase a tool without considering what they need according to their time management personality and then end up not liking it and having it not work for them. This only adds to the existing frustration that comes with not being able to manage your time. To avoid making this mistake, make the time to discover your own time management personality and preferences.
Let me give you a prime example of what happens when you don’t make time management a personal thing. A number of years ago, someone that I know purchased a Palm Pilot and started to implement its use instead of using her Franklin Planner. It was the latest and greatest thing on the market so she thought it would be the best thing to support her. It turns out that she absolutely hated the Palm and having it was taking more time out of her already busy days. What I understood was that it wasn’t the tool; it performed perfectly well. The problem was that it wasn’t the tool for her. It didn’t fit her time management personality so it was hard for her to use effectively. Which is why when she went back to using her Franklin, things were just fine. Her personality was a fit for a paper tool, not a digital one.
Once you discover your personality, you have a number of options to choose from, and your choices are based on what you discover. Your personality will be the indicator as to whether you should go with a paper planner, such as the Franklin Covey system, which give your the advantage of not having software to learn, nothing to charge on a regular basis, no batteries to replace and you can file the old calendars or planner pages for future reference; or a digital tool that gives you the advantage of being able to search for and retrieve information quickly, group and rearrange information easily, backing up to your desktop, and easy access for others, which is great if you have someone who needs access to your information. You might have a personality that dictates a tool that gives you a combination of both types of tools.
People quite often make the mistake of choosing a time management tool without knowing their time management personality. Choosing a tool that fits your personality is a key element in effectively managing your time. There are so many products on the market to choose from, but which one is right for you?