Time Management And Life Balance For Women

Melitta Rorty, AWG San Francisco Bay Area Chapter

The number one issue of concern to women is how do we balance our personal and professional lives: how can we get done all the things we need to do? How do we juggle our multitude of responsibilities? And finally, how can we throw away the mythical concept of the superwoman but retain some sense of balance and fulfillment? An added challenge is that workaholism has become paramount in these difficult economic times. An article in the August 1994 Scientific American entitled "A Workaholic Economy" paints a gloomy picture:

Although the output per hour of work has more than doubled since 1945, leisure seems reserved largely for the unemployed and underemployed. Working hours have increased noticeably since 1970-perhaps because real wages have stagnated since that year. Bookstores now abound with manuals describing how to manage time and cope with stress. Since 1979, companies have responded to improvements in the business climate by having employees work overtime rather than by hiring extra personnel, because it is more profitable for employers to work their existing employees harder.

Most of the time management literature is written by men, and thus typically is not applicable to women because, in general, women must juggle more roles than men. Typical time management books written by men simply address work, but women have work, wife/partner, and mother roles, among others, all of which must be considered in a time management plan. I have read books by time management and business experts Alec Mackenzie and Stephen Covey, and it is quite clear that they have one or more women doing a lot of work for them, essentially "taking care" of them. Few women have that luxury. Thus much of the time management literature is not applicable to women's lives. Also, much of the time management literature is focused on career success rather than success in life. In this article, I will focus on whole life balance.

The time management literature can be broken into four categories:

checklists,
planning and preparation using appointment books,
planning, prioritizing, and controlling using planners and organizers, both written and electronic such as Lotus Agenda, or
"Big Picture of Life" exemplified by First Things First (Stephen Covey, 1994), in which you write a mission statement for your life, decide what you really want to do in life, and shift your emphasis from trying to do all things (again, the myth of the superwoman) to doing those things that hold great significance to you.

A basic plan would be:

1) Develop a master plan or a mission statement. Ways to find out what is important to you are to ask such questions as "If I had only six months to live, how would I spend my time?", and "At my funeral, what would I want to hear said about me?". According to Stephen Covey, we all want to live, love, learn, and leave a legacy. My personal life goals are to love, learn, have fun, be healthy, and make a difference. Your master plan or mission statement should be built around that type of base. You should routinely refer to your mission statement to make sure your life is in line with your goals.

2) Plan your time, schedule your appointments. Write down all personal and professional appointments and events in your scheduler, and routinely check the weeks and months ahead so you maintain a sense of what lies ahead. At work, use a planner such as Lotus Agenda to reduce paper (no more losing your list of things to do) and to ensure that your work projects stay on track. Recognize that you cannot "do it all".

3) Stay focused. Do one task at a time, from start to finish. Some people can jump from task to task efficiently, but that just derails most of us.

4) Do it now. If you have a job or task to do, do it immediately. Dive in. Get going, and remember you will be surprised at how fast you accomplish tasks.

5) Learn to say no. This is one of the hardest lessons for women especially. Alec Mackenzie, author of The Time Trap, recommends this art of saying no:

Listen - to show interest and understanding of the request.
Say no immediately and clearly - to avoid building up false hopes.
Give reasons - so the refusal will be understood.
Offer alternatives (if possible) - to give evidence of good faith. And I would also add
Stand firm and do not be swayed - if pushed, just keep repeating no. Also, all of us are invited to events that we do not want to attend. Just say no.

6) At work, know what you are expected to do and do it. An important point here, though, is to rid yourself of perfectionist tendencies, because perfectionists can waste just as much time as procrastinators. Overkill is not necessary and is often counterproductive. At some point in a project, it is essential to stop researching and wrap it up.

7) Being cheap often does not pay. In many cases, it is better to buy a more costly but higher quality item. For example, buying well-made, comfortable shoes means you will not have to purchase shoes as often and may save a trip to the podiatrist. Buying a more expensive but more reliable car means you will have fewer repair bills, fewer breakdowns, and can keep the car for more years.

8) Take care of yourself. Eat nutritious foods, exercise regularly (at least three times per week), and practice some form of relaxation such as yoga, deep breathing, or meditation. Keep regular sleeping hours, i.e., get up at the same time on both work days and weekends. Get routine Pap smears, breast examinations, and mammograms.

9) Expand your mind. Never stop learning. Take classes at the local community college, read, listen to books on tape.

10) Have at least one hobby that you pursue with passion. Life is about living to the fullest.

Here are some tips for making life simpler:

Save time by keeping commitments once you have scheduled them-thus you avoid cancelling and rescheduling.
Have some fundamental organization to your home-have a basket by the front door for car keys, keep your passport in one place. Keep all warranties in one file.
Have some fundamental organization to your office or work space-eliminate clutter, and have readily available the supplies you need often.
If possible, work close to home-commuting is usually just time wasted. However, if you walk or bike to work, or take public transit and read, knit, etc., that is time well spent.
If you travel frequently, have a complete toiletries bag assembled so you never need to pull anything together, and you never forget your toothbrush. Also if you travel frequently, have one place where you keep your plane tickets.
Live simply and take on only realistic financial obligations. You do not want to be stuck with a high stress/high salary job just to pay a large mortgage and car payments.
Have a list of servicepeople you may need in an emergency. Have the name of a good plumber, a good electrician, a good handyperson. Have a doctor and a veterinarian that you know and trust, so if an emergency arises you have someone to whom you can turn.
Have a support network. Share babysitting and carpooling.
Buy items in bulk that are routinely necessary. Items such as soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, diapers, and pet food are best bought in quantity.
If possible, hire a house cleaner.

There are many "time savers" that in fact do not make our lives better. That is why I added "life balance" to the title of this article. By simply working more efficiently and doing more in less time, you may make your life more stressful. Focusing on daily prioritization of the urgent without questioning if those items truly need to be done decreases our quality of life. And I maintain that facsimile machines, car telephones, and beepers only speed up the pace of life and make things worse. Beware of those types of time savers, and select only those that seem right for you. For example, a breadmaking machine will provide you with homemade bread more quickly, but there is something inherently satisfying in making bread from scratch, kneading it, allowing it to rise, baking it, and pulling it out of the oven. If you have a large family, a breadmaking machine may be very useful. However, if you have few to feed and you enjoy breadmaking, making it from scratch will contribute to your quality of life.

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