How to help your partner with time management
How to help your partner with time management can be a very scary proposition. The question I got from an audience member is "Is it beneficial for my partner to do your Time Diary exercise?" In this short video I give you my answer and strategy that applies to your life partner, work partner, business partner- anyone in your life who you would like to see benefit from my Time Diary exercise. This will only work if you have completed the Diary of Truth exercise yourself and had your own AHA moment. I tell you why that is essential in the video.
Being married 28 years and having 2 children while being a working professional, I bring my experience and insight into answering this question in a way that will get you the true answers you are looking for. It is never easy to ask your partner to do anything where they may feel if you are asking them to be accountable to you- it often feels like you are (or will be) judging their decisions. That's why I walk you through an easy conversation and starting point for having this conversation about asking your partner to do my Time Diary exercise.
My video clarifies my strategy and technique (I also share a practical conversation starter) here is what I would like you to thoughtfully consider before you even mention this idea to your partner.
Be honest with yourself about WHY you are asking your partner to do the exercise. What is the result you are looking for?
Thoughtfully articulate what you got out of doing the Time Diary exercise yourself- what you discovered about how you spent your time.
Be willing to be vulnerable when you share what you discovered about your own time management when you did the exercise.
Whatever the outcome of your conversation or your partner completing the Time Diary exercise, the result must be collaborative, or there is no real incentive for your partner to want to do this exercise honestly or completely.
We all want to have more time in our lives. We all have 24 hours in the day, 7 days a week. If you have done my Time Diary—which I have renamed the Diary of Truth—you undoubtedly discovered where you over or underestimate how you spend your time. That is perfectly normal. THAT is the purpose and goal of doing the exercise. Just like a Food Journal- you get to see your choices in black and white. Sometimes you see a pattern and a new way to approach your time. That is fantastic.
When you want other people in your life to do my Time Diary exercise, be sure your intent is for you to help them learn for themselves how their own time management choices are effecting their energy, their time, your joint family goals, your joint partnership goals.
This is an excellent question and I know from experience you can turn this exercise into a true life altering AHA moment and possible turning point in your relationship. I want to hear how it went. Please write to me and let me know how you approached this question of How to help your partner with time management and what you and your partner did with the information together.
Make it a great week!