Bring Order (and Joy) to Time Management

 

When was the last instance you ever made time? Were you ever able to add an extra hour to the day? Likewise, when did you ever find time? I haven’t. If I did, I know I would be placing it somewhere I wouldn’t lose it!

These are the little fables we tell ourselves when we can’t or don’t do things we really want to or really need to do.  The fact is we don’t have time, we don’t own time and we can’t make it or find it either. One time management principle I am applying is to “KonMari™ out” the things that are squandering my time.

The creator of the KonMari Method™, Marie Kondo has been “enchanted with organizing since her childhood,” and began her tidying consultant business as a 19-year-old university student in Tokyo. Today, she is a well-known tidying expert on clutter reduction, emphasizing replacing the chaos with “serenity and inspiration”.*

Here’s how I take the basic principles of KonMari™ and tweak them to apply to my time management.

(Okay, there are things within daily schedules that are not optional. Items like regular work hours and sleep are “grayed out” and out of our control. The rest of our time is on the Whiteboard of Potential.)

·      “The KonMari Method™ encourages tidying by category.”*

I can make lists of the categories on the “Whiteboard” remainder of my time.

These lists, for most of us will read something like, “family time, chores, cooking, shopping, spiritual well-being/church, exercise, reading, TV, social media...”

·      “Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.”

Speaking to the heart could translate to “speak to the heart and/or foster productivity and creativity”. Just as I can discard household items that do not bring joy, I can audit how time is spent and out things that do not bring joy or that do not produce a desirable outcome. Changes were made.

I recently decided to modify my social media habits, specifically Facebook, and have reduced it to business related or looking up information in some of the groups I am a member of, checking out local restaurants, events and other attractions and wishing some friends a Happy Birthday. I am sure spending time scrolling Facebook did not bring joy on a consistent basis. I am not going to be legalistic about any changes. It’s one example, though, of how KonMari™ principles can be applied to  time management.

 * https://shop.konmari.com/pages/about

More to Learn

Howto Marie Kondo Your Calendar  The SmartWallet July 26, 2020

YouCan Use Marie Kondo’s Principles to Tidy Up Your Business - Forbes, February 23, 2019

Howto KonMari Your Way to a Happier Digital Life PCMag January 13, 2019

SparkingJoy with Marie Kondo to return to NetFlix August 31

 

 

Disclaimer: Sharing information from KonMari.com and about the KonMari Method™ was for purposes of organizing and improving time management only and not to promote any of the spiritual aspects presented in the KonMari website and videos, as some of these, though presented with good intentions, may conflict with religious beliefs, including my own. 

Photo credits:
Blog image:  by Kaboompics .com from Pexels
Photos in hand photo in button: by George Milton from Pexels