Managing Our Time
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Annie Dillard, author
Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
Benjamin Franklin
There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.
Brian Tracy, author and speaker
In The First 90 Days, a book for new managers, Michael Watkins points to research that suggests there are several common traps managers fall prey to that undermine their success. Two of those traps, taking on too much and misalignment, also happen to be two of the key impediments to effective time management. Let’s look at these a little more closely.
Taking on too much
Being the effective time manager you are, you probably have a to do list capturing all of the actions you want to take, from completing that morning workout to cleaning the kitchen to dropping the kids off at school to preparing for that client meeting to interviewing a potential employee to meeting with your team to scheduling that out of town trip to checking in on the status of a number of projects to having dinner with the family, making time for the kids, spending some protected time with your spouse to reading email, listening to voicemails and reviewing reports…. Sound familiar? If you’re like most of us, the list above doesn’t begin to cover all of the many tasks, actions, projects, meetings and relationships that you must navigate every single day. How many of us look at our schedules and lives and wonder, “How am I possibly going to get everything done?”
I want to suggest a more productive question, “What do I want to accomplish today?” The answer to that question is not a laundry list of to do’s, but a carefully thought out plan, grounded in your personal and business objectives, to move you toward your goal.
When a mountaineer climbs a mountain does she do everything at once or does she methodically move through a plan for reaching the summit? Exactly, she has a plan. Likewise, we need to have a plan for reaching our goals. If I am starting a project, beginning a business, running a marathon — you fill in the goal — I first think through what I want to accomplish, what steps will be required to reach that goal and identify those first steps. And then I focus on those first steps. Unlike those new managers Michael Watkins talks about who try to do everything and therefore do nothing, we can choose to focus our attention and intention on very specific actions that will move us one step closer to our goal.
Misalignment
Have you ever had that feeling of working hard, step by step, and then looking up to discover you have made your way to the wrong goal? I’m sure there are Toyota leaders right now who think back over the last few months, knowing they did their best, and yet found themselves in a hole they had dug for themselves. Those leaders, who came out of a culture of quality, had misaligned with a narrow focus on profits which enabled a slip in quality and safety. Looking up, these leaders discovered they had lost their way and as a result, lost a significant amount of capital, future revenue and most importantly, the trust of their loyal customers.
You may not be an automotive manufacturer, but think back to the times you have found yourself, sometimes inadvertently, aligned with the wrong goal. Interestingly enough, misalignment often leads back to the first trap, taking on too much. If I lose track of the point of my business, my job, my parenting, my personal life, my well-being, etc. then I will struggle to find focus and swiftly move toward trying to do and be everything. One of the hallmarks of any successful business, whether its Apple Computer or Walmart or Federal Express, is a crystal clear focus on that business’ value proposition. In other words, everyone in that business knows exactly why that business exists. As I do, you too need a crystal clear focus on your reason for existing. What is your purpose? Armed with the answer to that question, now you can go back and ask yourself, “Given that purpose, what do I want to accomplish today?”
None of us get this right every moment of every hour of every day. But we can have the intention of being clear about our purpose and identifying the key steps for moving toward our goals.
How do you know you’re on track?
- When you start to feel like you’re getting somewhere instead of spinning your wheels.
- When you can tell anyone who asks, why you’re in that business, job, or relationship.
- When you reach a significant milestone that confirms you’re moving toward the right goal.
- When you notice you’re off track and make the necessary adjustment.
- When you feel ease more than struggle.
This month, spend some time with yourself to be clear about your purpose and your goals. Each day taking the necessary steps to achieve your goals, notice where you are in relation to your goals and then make adjustments to stay on track.
Wishing you a great day,
Sharon McGee