The Scenario: You’ve started an endeavor with high hopes for a specific amount of time that you want to devote to it in one sitting. Once you find a rhythm, you loose track of time and don’t want to stop until you’re done.

In some ways, finding your rhythm and completing an activity can be quite satisfying and productive. You set your goal, focus on it with gusto, and get it done. Great! So why was this presented by one Harmony At Last blog reader as a challenge?

The challenge has to do with the concept of tradeoffs. When you loose track of time, you become so engrossed in a task that everything else falls aside in temporary neglect. In that moment, you’ve made a choice to do one endeavor instead of another. If this wasn’t a good choice for you, you feel regret at not having been able to untangle yourself.

Some simple steps can resolve this challenge…

1. Before beginning a task, identify what specific actions you’d like to complete and how much time you wish to spend on it.

2. If you find that it’s easy to loose track of time, set a kitchen timer to ring after a certain work interval. When it rings, you can check in with yourself to see if you are doing what you had intended to do, if you’re still being effective, and if it’s the best choice to continue for another interval.

3. While your engaged in the task, if you decide that you want to continue beyond your original time allotment, make this a conscious choice. Become aware of what you are saying “no” to, in order that you say “yes” to continuing your efforts on the task.

4. Determine when you’d like to revive the neglected tasks (whether later that same day or in a special time designated in the future) and then make it happen.

In this way, you use your time in a way that most productive for you. Each task gets attended to in its rightful time and you can feel good about making the best choices for yourself.