Everyday you’re granted twenty-four hours of time with which to live. That’s actually a lot of time! But in your time-starved state, it rarely seems like enough. Instead, it feels like you’re trapped in a hamster wheel—running, running, running, and going absolutely nowhere.
An alternative to the daily “hamster race” is the RGP (roles, goals, plans) approach for structuring your time. Unlike traditional time management, which encourages you to schedule your time daily, RGP offers a fresh approach—schedule your priorities weekly. In other words, shift your focus from the clock to people. The clock is an inanimate tool that cannot offer you much by way of tangible, meaningful results. On the other hand, when you’ve taken time to nurture key relationships, you not only have more meaningful experiences, but those experiences often produce the results you seek.
Another distinction in the RGP approach is its focus on weekly planning, rather than daily planning. With daily planning, there is a tendency to focus on “busy work” or tasks that have no real purpose or intent. When you shift to weekly planning there are two core benefits, 1) you’re able to fit in your priorities when your calendar is typically the most open, and 2) you have better context from which to make decisions about how to use your time. This enables you to organize your time according to the bigger picture goals you have in mind, rather than pressing busy work that currently consumes your day.
Roles: What are your primary roles this week?
Consider your life and identify the key roles this week. Keep in mind that your key roles may change from week to week as different priorities move in and out of your life. Of course, the first role on your list every week should be “self,” or your role as an individual. Here is an example of roles for one working mom:
- Self/Individual
- Wife/Mother
- Runner
- Volunteer
- Professional (HR Manager)
