A friend recently told me he did not like to read time management books because he then felt he had to change everything about himself at once: time management improvement meant a total makeover, immediately.
I understood. I've often felt that way myself. And who would want to read such a book if they then felt compelled to change everything about themselves! How exhausting. All-or-nothing, perfectionist thinking can creep in almost undetected, especially at moments like these when we know we're doing something truly worthwhile like gathering tools to improve how we use our most precious resource. Shakespeare was onto something, though, when he wrote in King Lear, "Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well" (1.4).
So with all this in mind, I encouraged this friend to think about an idea that was suggested to me a few years ago by another trusted friend and mental health professional: growth edges.
The idea behind this concept is that we can't possibly be—and more importantly don't need to be— improving all areas of our lives all at once. It is natural, healthful, and nurturing to focus on just a few areas of growth as we go along, areas where we feel something is off, missing, or unsettled in our lives.
This idea has stayed with me for years now. It's such a nice way to hold a space for those areas that we wish to focus on improving, and set aside those we don't wish to worry about right now.
When you are working to improve your time management skills, whether as a way to improve the quality of your writing life or for any other reason, I encourage you to think of your own growth edges. When you read a book, talk to a coach, or try out a new system, keep asking, "what's a problem I have with time management right now? what solutions can this book, or coach, or system offer me to solve this problem?"
This, I trust, will help you focus on what's useful for you right now, and leave you free to observe, set aside (at least for the moment), or try the many other great ideas the author puts forth, making mental notes for later so that when other challenges crop up, you'll have great resources to draw on.
What are your current growth edges? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
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