The Truth About Time Management

I saw the title of an article recently that got my attention: The Ultimate Time Management Principle.

I don’t know if it caught my eye because I am always on the look-out for time management wisdom or because I wrote a post not too long ago with a very similar title (ahem), but when I clicked through to read the article, I was surprised by the “ultimate” tip. It didn’t have anything to do with lists or egg timers or systems. No, it was this simple: tell the truth.

So think about this for a minute. There are obvious time saving benefits to telling the truth. You save creative time and energy NOT making up stories or excuses. You don’t get bogged down in covering your tracks for the fibs, little white lies, half-truths, exaggerations and diverting omissions - and as the author of said article points out - imagine the time you would save if everyone else always told the truth! I know, right?

Sometimes it can be hard to spot the lie and identify the truth. In many offices, It is unnatural not to fudge, shift blame or claim credit that doesn’t really belong to you (or at least, not only to you). To see and speak the truth clearly into any given professional situation can feel dangerous, if not downright reckless. After all, your livelihood is on the line here. You are under pressure to perform, not only your job duties, but your role in the hierarchy. You don’t want to be the one that points out, “The emperor has no clothes.”

Relax. I’m not suggesting you become the company whistle blower or the I’m-just-being-honest guy everyone hates to see coming (unless of course, you really need to be). I am recommending that you consider the very real benefits of honesty.

I have on more than one occasion, failed - at things big and small. There are times when if I had been honest about my ability, my needs, my capacity – I could have prevented some of these failures. When we can see and tell the truth, we can be more realistic about our commitments and better manage the expectations of ourselves and others. I hope you can see how this could be a significant time-saver.

Not every failure can be averted, however, and our reaction to falling short can further compound the misery when we fail to tell the truth about how we failed. We cover, make excuses, point fingers – when if we just claimed responsibility for our own actions and decisions, the cool breeze of lessons learned and new opportunities could alleviate the burn. The truth really can set you free.