Episode Transcript
Time is a struggle. You never seem to have enough of it.
For your job and your engineering career you could use more hours in your day.
Not to mention for all the other parts of your life.
You’ve tried every angle on time management there is.
You’ve got all the tips and tricks to squeezing every second out of every day.
But you’re always coming up short.
Why Time Management is Pointless for Getting the Most Out of Your Engineering Career
Time management can be an important skill.
But it’s tedious and, I’ve learned, sometimes pointless.
Because you know what? It’s not enough just to manage your time.
You need to get some satisfaction out of it.
The secret is not to create more time, but to make the most out of the time you have.
To find ways to make time more meaningful.
It sounds trite. I know. And, you’re thinking, how’s that gonna help me get more done?
That’s the thing: It’s not.
But…hear me out.
Shifting from time management to time satisfaction is a perspective change.
It’s a shift from optimizing time to optimizing energy and fulfillment.
It’ll take the struggle out, lower your stress, and raise your level of contentment.
You see, contentment and fulfillment are what matters.
The fact that you won’t get more done is just the way it is.
It’s something you can’t change.
But that doesn’t matter – as long as you’re contented and fulfilled.
Are you getting the idea?
Trading Time Management for Time Satisfaction is a Career Boost
To help explain what I mean by time satisfaction, let me start with what I call The Fundamental Axiom of Time Management.
The Fundamental Axiom of Time Management is:
There’s always more to do.
And the Corollary to The Fundamental Axiom of Time Management is:
You will never get everything done. Ever.
If you can accept this, then time satisfaction becomes an easier concept to grasp.
You can more easily shift from optimizing time to optimizing energy and fulfillment.
Time satisfaction refers to how satisfied you are with how you’re spending your time.
With how you’re investing your efforts against time.
And how you’re benefitting from that investment.
Because once again if your level of satisfaction is high, then whether or not you get everything done doesn’t matter.
Your satisfaction with how you spend your time is more meaningful than the number of tasks you accomplish within that time.
And since you’ll never get everything done anyway (as the corollary says), then you may as well prioritize those things that give you maximum satisfaction.
How Time Satisfaction Gives You and Your Engineering Career a Whole New Outlook
If you’re like me – if you’re like I was in my engineering career – this will be a revelation to you.
The idea of it was so freeing to me that I could just feel the stress of schedules and deadlines fall away.
It opened up space around me. I could breathe easier.
I had a whole new outlook on my work.
I’d love for you to experience this too.
The more you introduce time satisfaction into your work and life, the less you will feel behind.
And late.
And overwhelmed with tasks.
You and I can explore this more. Go to HerEngineeringCareer.com and Book a Strategy Session. Or contact me via my website or LinkedIn for more information.
We’ll explore time satisfaction and all the ways to get the most out of your engineering career.
4 Ways to Increase Time Satisfaction in Your Engineering Career
Here are 4 practices you can use to increase your time satisfaction:
- Work at Your Energetic Center.
One way to maximize time satisfaction is to work – to the extent that you can – at your energetic center.
In other words, be in that place where your values, skills, strengths, and passion meet.
This is where you’ll be highly motivated and most likely reach your career potential.
Thus time spent at your energetic center results in a significant amount of satisfaction.
- Focus on the Most Important Thing to You Right Now.
When you’re overwhelmed with things to do, and it’s difficult to decide how to prioritize, ask yourself the simple question:
“What is the one most important thing to me right now?”
Focus your attention there. And ignore the rest.
This practice works because efforts that are more important have higher impact.
It’s quality over quantity. Accomplishing the most important thing has more impact than barreling through a list of less-important tasks.
Make sure you’re focused on what’s most important to you. Not to anybody else.
And make sure you’re focused on right now. Because importance changes over time.
And if you’re wondering about all the other tasks you’re ignoring…
They don’t matter.
Because, remember, you’ll never get everything done.
So focus on the tasks that are most important for higher impact and more time satisfaction.
- Ask Yourself “What if I Don’t?”
This is a good practice when there’s too many tasks on your to-do list.
Consider the consequences of not doing a task.
Just because it hasn’t been checked off yet, doesn’t mean it has to be done.
What happens if you don’t do it?
The truth is you can often take a task out of your job jar with no effect.
If there are no consequences, it’s a low-impact task.
And if it’s a low impact task, it is not contributing to your time satisfaction.
In fact it’s robbing you of time satisfaction.
So ignore tasks that are not serving you.
Like tasks you only do out of loyalty. Or because no one else will do them. Or because you think you need to show competence.
- Celebrate Your Ta-Da List.
Make a ta-da list by writing down at the end of the day the tasks you actually completed.
Then feel the positive effects of that work and congratulate yourself.
I love this practice, and I use it a lot!
As opposed to a to-do list, a ta-da list celebrates what you’ve accomplished, rather than lamenting what you haven’t.
By reinforcing what you have not completed, the to-do list makes you feel inadequate.
But the ta-da list reinforces that the work you do is worthwhile and productive. And makes you feel accomplished and satisfied.
Ultimately, what is on your ta-da list is more powerful than what’s on your to-do list.
Because it increases your time satisfaction.
Take the Time Satisfaction Challenge in Your Engineering Career
I challenge you to try these time satisfaction practices.
And see how they give you and your engineering career a whole new outlook.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast we’ll explore more things to do more of in your engineering career.
Be sure to tune in for Episode 160.