Time Management and Getting "Unstuck"

Seth Godin is a bestselling author, world renowned blogger and just a cool ideas guy. His blog postings are one of the first things I read every day, and I always get at least one good idea to improve my work or personal well being.

One of my favorite posts was one about getting "stuck" and not being able to move forward. The concept stuck (pardon the pun) with me as well because I think it relates so well to why people don't make better use of their time. Here are the 4 reasons Godin says we get stuck:

I don't know what to do.

I don't know how to do it.

I don't have the resources to do it.

I don't have the permission to do it.

Let's look at solutions to the statements from a time management perspective:

I don't know what to do. Be specific about what you want to improve on. Is it procrastination or creating more effective task lists? Once you identify what you want to improve on, it's easier to develop a plan.

I don't know how to do it. Google "time management tips" or "procrastination" or "creating task lists" and in about a nanosecond you will have a bazillion potential ways to improve how you manage your time. For even quicker tips, type #___________ (insert topic here) in Twitter.

I don't have the resources to do it. If it's 15 minutes to plan, open your calendar, identify the time and block it out. If you need someone to help you, ask. Money the holdup? Think about the return on investment. What is less stress worth to you?

I don't have permission to do it. I can't imagine a boss or supervisor who wouldn't be willing to give you some additional flexibility in your schedule or workload if they knew it would improve your productivity.

As always, the key is to recognize the specific problem, identify an action plan and then execute it.