The 2Time eZine Francis Wade
November, 2009 Vol 2 Issue 1
Introduction
Inside As you may have noticed, I have been sending out quite a few bits of communication lately.
to continue blogging about this topic for the past three years, in addition to thinking about it in depth for at least ten more.
Some of unintended!
quite
My head, however, tells me to be realistic.
Unfortunately, my blog was set to auto-broadcast all the new posts to you every few days, without my realizing it. After getting some feedback that the frequency was too high I found out how to change it. Sorry for that, and thanks to those who spoke up.
It tells me that I'll never plug all the leaks, and that the vast majority of people cannot be helped. They have convinced themselves that they don't have the time... to improve their time management skills. All in all, they simply lack what it takes to move themselves to another level.
it
was
Part of the increase is quite intentional, however.
I am getting closer each day to rolling out my new time management program MyTimeDesign 2.0 - and I'm getting a bit excited! In my heart, I want it to fill every gap that I have ever found in every time management system I have encountered over the years. I firmly believe that the internet can be used to plug many of these holes, making it much easier for us to effect upgrades whenever we want. This desire has made it easy for me
My head also asks my heart why I should bother with a MyTimeDesign 2.0. It's not as if I can make a convincing argument that better time management = more money, safety or sex. (There are some scary attempts that I have seen to do so, however...) I also can't quite convince myself that I can make a LOT of money on this! It's a hard way to try to make a buck, and I doubt that I'll be able to make quick, easy money that internet marketers promise from selling online products. At the same time, I do want to create a profitable, sustainable business that can better use the talents of others to reach a wider audience with
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this message that I believe so much in: "You can bring greater peace of mind to your life with a skillful, peaceful upgrade of your time management system." Luckily for me, the results of my recent survey seem to say that I am heading in the right direction. Francis
Coming in Loud and Clear It's clear to me that the veterans of time management -many of whom read this ezine on a regular basis -- are undergoing a slow but steady shift in their thinking. In my recent survey I found some of the changes surprising, to say the least, and how strong some of these feelings are becoming. Overall, it seems that most of you are still very much interested in continuously upgrading your time management systems. I do see that most people are already using at least one commercial time management system of some kind, but I was surprised to learn that many are still looking to improve. First of all, over 92% indicated that they are the kind of person who is "looking to take their life to the next level." It follows then that 54% would also say that their time management system is in need of "continuous improvement" and a further 20% would say that it's in need of "small changes." If you have been having similar thoughts, then you are not alone. I imagine that it comes from a feeling that any new approach to time management that comes along MUST make an allowance for users to retain the parts of our current systems that already work well. In other words, we don't really want anyone to ask us to start all over again as if we aren't using anything at the moment. We are! Furthermore,
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only
13%
indicated that they are not interested in upgrading their time management system at this moment. That leaves some 90% who are at least open to the idea - astounding! Also, it was clear that the
A full 50% indicated that it's because of a "lack of discipline" and another 18% said that they "lost their commitment." Wow. Only 7% said "it (the system) stopped working." There was another question that I included to see if respondents were willing to pass the buck, and blame others for the failures they experienced.
upgrade path is the preferred one to take. We want steady growth rather than radical surgery. 54% expressed a clear preference for the upgrade path, while 32% said that they wanted their system to grow on its own. The same number indicated an interested in creating their own system. Those who responded to the survey also admitted to being a bit geeky -- some 72% of us have "been excited by a time management concept!" (Another 19% said that they have been "somewhat" excited.)
An amazing 68% said that the problem was caused by "Myself" followed by 17% who indicated that it was caused by a "lack of support." This made me think that when people are left on their own after they have learned some new concepts, they have a hard time implementing them but they think that it should be easy and therefore that something must be wrong with them.
At the same time, there have been lots of disappointments when it comes to implementation.
This was a shocker, especially as I believe that the methods of "learning time management" are just poorly designed, with too much emphasis on "following one method" and too little on helping people to implement the new concepts.
Only 10% have never had the experience of failure when it comes to implementing a new technique. That's a LOT of failure, but maybe it's not surprising.
Respondents did echo this sentiment. They reported that they could have benefited from more realistic information, in addition to better support.
What do we think caused this lack of success?
A mere 19% indicated that they agreed that the teachers
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felt that if you had the right assistance, you could be successful. This makes sense, and it's one of the reasons why it's so hard to change habits on our own. Summary Here is the overall picture that I gleaned.
of time management systems "gave an accurate picture of how easy/hard implementation would be." Most felt as if the hard part - implementation was ignored. Perhaps in the rush to get readers or participants, gurus have been making it all seem too easy when we know it's not. Also, only 5% disagreed with the statement that "If you had the right support system, you could make any change that you wanted to your time management system."
Most of us want to experience ongoing improvements, but we lack the support that's needed to be successful as often as we would like. Also, when we stumble, we tend to blame ourselves, and that comes in part from the overhyped claims of those who teach time management systems when they understate how hard it is to implement new ideas. Overall, the survey has strengthened my resolve to offer MyTimeDesign 2.0 so that it offers a unique level of support for implementation, plus a pathway for users to improve their time management skills continuously.
I sensed a frustration with the following message transmitted by several gurus: "follow my prescription and your life will become instantly easy... forever." This doesn't recognize that habit changes are difficult ones to make, and that when we are left to our own devices, we don't make them. It also doesn't acknowledge the growth that people want to experience over and over again, and the fact that learning one system that allows for no further expansion can leave people feeling trapped. I think that what we want is an open system that allows us to bring bits and pieces from different sources, and a way to put it all together that works because there is the right kind of support that prevents us from floundering. I'd love your feedback on all this -- please leave a comment on the blog or send me a private email. 2T
In other words, most of you
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