Time Mistakes

Every once in a while comes along one of those days when the calendar is clear and we look to that day as the day that we are going to get so much done. We start thinking about the goals for that day and we set aside our projects or the list of what needs to happen and we wake enthusiastically for this day of productivity. But then, something happens. What starts as a day of tight objectives and a high sense of efficiency, somehow unravels into too much time talking on the phone to someone else, getting lost and meandering down the hallways to catch up with someone that we haven't talked to in a while, spending too much time digging on the Internet for something that is really not that important, cleaning out a file cabinet that needed cleaning but really isn't a priority right now, or just not pushing ourselves very hard. Then at the end of the day we say to ourselves, "Where did that day go?" I am making the assumption that I am not alone in this phenomena. What happens is that we become so conditioned to back to back meetings, lists of phones calls that need to be returned urgently that day, emails that must be answered, and deadlines that are precariously looming, to set a pace and cadence for our days. When those milestones and markers aren't there, we tend to allow ourselves to drift and our productivity falls. How we use our time is how we find the usefulness of time. Time moves on with or without us making the most of the hours we are given. When we use up our time well we feel good about that. When we don't we beat ourselves up for wasting something we know is precious. Focusing on how we manage our time and how we expend it is a skill that we all should continue to learn about, practice and try to master.