If you're like many of the people we speak with every day, probably not! But you managed to have enough time to read this far, so stick with it - we have something to say about how you manage your time.

There's nothing new about the fact that people seem to have less and less time. The more work you do, the more work comes your way. With email, the internet, mobile phones and BlackBerries we're never out of touch with increasing demands for our time. Most approaches for time management focus on techniques to manage activities. What we offer here is a review of your time management from three very different perspectives.

First: What's the Purpose?

In the maelstrom of requests for activity, it's easy to allow work to fill your time regardless of its alignment with your purpose! Take some time to revisit your activity against the vision and purpose of your organisation, and against your own purpose and values. If you see activity that doesn't naturally and effectively forward your purpose - challenge it! It is likely that this activity should be eliminated. If you don't have a compelling vision and purpose for your organisation, or for yourself, creating one should be your top priority. If activity doesn't forward the purpose, what's the point? There is an answer to that question which leads us to the second perspective.

Second: What's the Hidden Driver?

There is always a reason for your activity. This is even true for activity that isn't aligned with your purpose. In this case the motivating force - the 'driver' - is usually hidden. Mostly we don't examine the motivations behind what we do - it's usually uncomfortable. Because it's uncomfortable, it goes unchallenged (after all, you don't have time anyway!). Some examples of common hidden purposes:

Activity - Long communications

Hidden Purpose - Promote my importance

Activity - Extra analysis

Hidden Purpose - Cover myself

Activity - Answer emails in detail after hours

Hidden Purpose - Avoid dealing with something uncomfortable

Activity - Do it myself rather than delegating

Hidden Purpose - Get it done 'right' (my way!)

It's really important explicitly to challenge your hidden drivers. Until they are exposed, they will guide your actions without you knowing it. We strongly recommend that you do this with another person. We have a fantastic ability to fool ourselves; having someone else help you is important to make sure you separate the truth from your reasons and excuses!

These two perspectives can often dislodge over a third of your total activity and give you freedom and focus for the activity that truly forwards your purpose. As good as this might sound, there is yet one further crucial shift in mindset that will make the biggest difference to how you manage your time.

Third: Most Time Management Approaches are Inadequate

All time management approaches we have seen that were developed before the age of mobile phones and the internet are fundamentally flawed. The flaw is the fact that they don't address a relatively new truth: since about 1993, when the Internet became widely available, you will never get it all done. We'll say it again: you will never get it all done!

These days, the more you accomplish and communicate with people, the more work is created. It's exponential: with ease of communication and access to information, there is unlimited availability of work. Before about 25 to 30 years ago, when many of us grew up, it was pretty reasonable to expect an accomplished person to complete everything on their to-do list. Though it is no longer feasible, many of us still believe this myth.

Approaches to time management must address this fact to work in an age where you will never get everything on your to-do list done. Successful training approaches not only introduce new support structures tailored for the internet age, but also challenge participants to expose and let go of their outdated beliefs about what it is possible to achieve. If you're interested in an approach we think is credible, check out Mission Control Productivity.

If you:

- discover your purpose and align all activity with its fulfilment

- rigorously expose and abandon your hidden drivers and

- honestly face up to the reality that you will never get it all done,

your problems with time management will finally be under your control. Doesn't that sound good? Now do you have time to do something about it?

Big Rocks!

A trainer working with a group to highlight a critical truth about how they managed their time placed a large wide-mouthed jar on a table. He then produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully put them one at a time into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the group said, "Yes."

"Really?" he asked. "Let's see." He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Putting some gravel in he shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves into the spaces between the big rocks. He smiled and asked again, "Is the jar full?" The group was catching on quickly. "No!" they cried.

"Very good!" he replied. He then brought out a bucket of sand. As he poured the sand in it went into the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. He finished and once again asked, "Is this jar full?" "Probably not," someone answered thoughtfully.

"Excellent." he replied. And he took a jug of water and poured it in until the jar was filled to the brim!

What is the point of the illustration? Well, think about it. What would have happened if he had put the sand and gravel in first? That's right - unless you put the big rocks in first, you won't get them in at all. In other words: plan time-slots for your big issues before anything else, or the inevitable 'sand and water' issues will fill up your days and you won't fit the big issues in.

What are the 'big rocks' in your life and work? Your 'important, not urgent' projects? Your fitness? Your personal development? Your friends? Your family? Try putting these in first. You'll be surprised at how much space and time there is to fit in all the other stuff!