Always running behind, time starved and wish you could manage time better? A common struggle of all parents today, it boils down to channel capacity — the biological bandwidth available to the human mind.
Think of it this way, your brain is like the photo album in your phone. When the memory in your phone reaches capacity it lets you know and asks you to delete the photos you no longer want. When you overload the channel capacity of your brain, unfortunately you can't control what gets deleted. The magic numbers when it comes to channel capacity are three and one. A person can consistently keep in working memory three items at a time, and any improvement or anything new should be kept to one at a time.
Have you ever forgotten something? Have you ever forgotten something that you thought there was absolutely no way you would forget? If you answered yes to either of the previous questions, you have experienced an overload of channel capacity. Think of channel capacity like juggling, you can probably handle three balls but if a fourth ball gets thrown into the mix, more than likely you drop all the balls.
Unfortunately, when it comes to family, career, relationship and personal responsibilities, overly stretched parents who constantly live in a state of channel capacity overload can become stressed in an unhealthy way, experience anxiety, even depression that leads to physical symptoms. Test your own stress levels and how to manage them by taking our free mental health test and assessment.
Prioritizing Benefits to Mental Health
There is solid scientific evidence that writing a daily “to do” list is much more effective than trying to keep the list in your head. The physical act of writing stimulates an area of the brain called reticular activating system (RAS). It tells your brain that the information is important and needs to be kept at the forefront of your attentional focus. It also primes your subconscious mind to get to work.
Respecting channel capacity is one of the most efficient ways for parents and families to begin increasing health, happiness and success and a proven method of doing so is utilizing the Organizing Tomorrow Today tool especially critical for stressed out parents. Take a few minutes daily to decide your THREE (and only three) MOST important activities in the upcoming day and OF THE three, the ONE that is your most important activity that must get done without excuse.
Learn to mentally prepare and develop a day-to-day game plan starting with Prioritizing by signing up to Level Up Game Plan app for parents and families today or continue reading about the next tool for success.
Working Parent Must Level Up Time Management to Time MAXIMIZATION
Time maximization and time management are TWO distinct concepts. While time management focuses on optimizing the use of available time to accomplish as much as possible, time maximization goes a step further by creating ADDITIONAL time, and this is critical to go from overwhelmed and stressed out parenting to proactively pursuing your goals and dreams on a daily basis.
First Principle of Time Maximization, Think Small
A fundamental principle of time maximization is that as you become more successful, as a busy working parent, you must think in smaller units of time.
Now, let's consider a couple of questions:
1. Are you experiencing increasing success? Most individuals on Level Up would respond affirmatively.
2. Are you thinking in smaller units of time?
Many would answer negatively to the second question, potentially not even understand what it means.
As you become more successful, your time becomes more valuable and to create time, you will learn the four pillars of time maximization. Time maximization it should be noted must be applied ONLY to your professional life as these concepts taken into a personal context can have negative implications – so this is relevant to all working moms, dads and parents who juggle the proverbial work life balance.
The first pillar involves recognizing that time is a zero-sum game. By saying yes to one thing, you inherently say no to something else, such as sleep, relationships or downtime. Before committing to any task, ensure you have a clear understanding of what you are sacrificing by saying yes. Only proceed when you genuinely desire to say no to the alternative.
Attacking the Open Space
"Attack the Open Space" refers to utilizing pockets of unaccounted time that appear throughout the day, such as unexpected breaks or gaps. I share a story of Randy Bowl in this Level Up lesson for working parents, who committed to using three-minute increments of open space to be productive instead of wasting them. Over time, this approach led to significant cumulative productivity gains, ultimately helping Randy become the top performer in his field.
You must determine your own "Attack the Open Space" commitment — a realistic unit of time (for example, 10 or 15 minutes) during which you will commit to being productive if open space arises. The goal is to make the most of unanticipated time gaps by setting a productivity goal and sticking to it. Be sure to watch the entire video because the Open Space you make productive must not attack a certain type of time.
Prioritize the Priorities
By prioritizing actions and thoughts, you can elevate your performance to a higher level, enhancing your ability to accomplish meaningful tasks.
Using the Level Up app for working parents, you will learn to recognize the importance of this underlying puzzle piece. Becoming adept at prioritization involves introspection, evaluating current strengths, identifying areas for improvement, and honing the skill of thinking in terms of priorities.
Additionally, the video lesson on prioritization and time maximization highlights the power of setting process goals and pinpointing the three most critical activities for each day. This strategic approach further augments one's ability to prioritize effectively. Consistently following this process fosters a stronger capacity for prioritization and ultimately contributes to overall success.
Trim the Fat
An essential part of maximizing time is understanding where your time is invested. Consider routine activities that consume substantial amounts of time. An example given is the standard 60-minute session in meetings, which isn't necessarily optimal but a customary unit.
The concept of "channel capacity" must be re-introduced — discussing more than three items in a meeting hampers effectiveness. Always stick to one primary topic or a maximum of three, ensuring better execution. Using arbitrarily set time units can hinder efficiency.
As a busy working parent juggling a career and family responsibilities, consider one routine activity where you can "trim the fat." Identify a task where you can significantly reduce time without compromising value. This optimization involves shorter time frames yielding more value.
Conclusion
As busy parents, especially those that work outside of the family, time becomes scarce and the to-do list can feel overwhelming and insurmountable leading to a constant state of stress and anxiety that takes a toll on our mental health.
The skill of prioritizing is the first key to unlocking productivity and success as a parent. Then, upgrade your mental game through time maximization. Don't attempt to tackle all four time maximization strategies simultaneously. Pick one leg to focus on for the upcoming month. By targeting one aspect of time maximization, you'll create more time for yourself. Stay relentless in your pursuit of excellence.