2010: The Edge of Time for Leaders
E + R = QT
An Essay on Time in an Era of 24/7
By Les Wallace
If I had a nickel for every time someone tried to waste my time, I’d be a wealthy person. If I had a nickel for every time I wasted my own time, I’d be a wealthier person. If I had a penny for every time a client whined about not enough time…well, you get it. And it seems to be getting worse. Many parents, for example, are so busy they’ve taken to referring to their children as “tasks 4 and 5.”
You know the drill: it started with facsimile machines when people seemed to back off timely work deadlines because they could fax at the last minute. It migrated to cellular phones when customers and our managers felt they could reach us anytime and anywhere time and space came together. It accelerated with the Internet when Mable, two cubicles down, would email you at 8:30 a.m. about a 9 a.m. meeting, assuming of course that you stand at your computer awaiting the ping of every email. And it seems to be getting worse. Can you say IM?
I’ve taken a vow I believe derives from my Native American ancestors, to use time—mine and others—wisely. To be quick when it’s in our mutual interest and to reflect when it’s also in our mutual interest.
E for efficiency, R for reflection, and QT for quality time.
The E part will stress you and the R part will nourish you. If you get the right combinations working in your work and life you will have achieved a QT (quality time) approach to spending your days that will lead to greater sanity and longer life.
I don’t have time to quote the research but you could Google it.
Efficiency.
Simple can frequently do when complex looks more powerful. Discover the difference. In your communication, your work plans, your life.
Efficiency. Being ready to make the most of the professional work and life chores. Have your order ready at the fast food window (how hard does that seem to be?) and your money too. Take something to read (work or pleasure) when you know there is likely to be a wait (doctor’s office, airplane, car pool home from soccer practice). Recognize that roughly right, more likely than not, beats precisely perfect. Teach others how to bring you information, ideas, requests in an efficient manner to cut both time and frustration from your life. Cluster like chores and slam dunk them for both efficiency and mental health. Hustle when you can and it isn’t unsafe so that you have more minutes for reflection.
We work to live; we don’t live to work. Efficiency with our work gives us more reflection in our lives which give us quality time (QT).
“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”
William James
Edge: assertiveness, discipline, ignoring the trivial
Successful people have “edge:” they are strong willed, resilient and make the tough decisions less successful people won’t make. They realize that no one will give them more time in their day or life and resolve to use the available time most wisely on what matters to them, their families, and their profession. Their secrets are no mystery.
Summarized below are ten of the most common.
1. Where are You Going?
In the next ninety days, the next six months / year, the next five years: what are your plans? Dreams? Professional goals and plans to get there? Goals without plans are rarely achieved. Successful people can not only tell you where they are going but how they intend to get there. And, whether it’s written out in a formal plan or scribbled on the back of an envelope—but written out. Steven Covey calls this our “compass.” And without a compass, the clock simply ticks without purpose and urgency frequently smothers importance.
2. Stop Doing List.
Once a quarter look at your plate…your entire plate: professional,family, individual. What must you stop doing so that you can free more time for what matters. Successful people use this discipline. And finding adequate time for reflection/recharging is a worthy reason to stop doing something less important. Look to free up one hour a week personal and one hour a week business as a good starting point.
3. Yes’s Count by Saying NO!
Make your “yes’s” more valuable by saying no to the less important. If you have clear priorities [see #1] this is easy. Bosses, associates, community, friends will all try to get some of your time. Successful people are strong enough to say no to the trivial so that the important get enough oxygen.
4. 90 Seconds.
That’s all you have to get my attention and permission to take more of my time. Get to the point: identify the issue, what you need from me, solution / plan outline. Don’t come to me empty handed. If you need coaching, set up a separate coaching session so that I reserve time for us to get in deep. I expect you to do your homework before you get on my calendar. What’s your elevator message? That’s about how much time you have to convince me to give you more or send you packin’.
If you can hook me I’ll invest more time. Now, teach those who approach you to use this concise motif also. You’re smart enough to know when to say, “Whoa, we need to set an appointment to sit down and talk this through more thoroughly.”
5. Powerful Meetings.
Meetings encroach upon thirty to seventy percent of a busy leader’s professional life and are potentially serious time wasters. Let the sun set on all regularly scheduled meetings and then reinstitute sessions based upon the next three months’ priorities. Excuse yourself from ones where your hand is not needed; hold quick 20 minute stand-up meetings for many topics/ problems (they really become more efficient); demand an agenda for each and every meeting or don’t’ go. Clarify the outcome of each meeting at the outset and stay focused on delivering it. Maybe someone else can benefit by sitting in for you while you benefit by investing in your compass.
6. Ruthlessly Sort and Delete Email.
The email disease grips less successful people. They blame the technology or others for the time they spend on email but really have only themselves to blame. This valuable communication device is handled with amateur capability by most. Most systems now have automatic files into which you can flow sources and topics of email to assure priority sorting and not missing something significant. Most of us can look at the list of emails and tell by source or subject line which to bother with and which we can safely overlook. Many of us can use only the subject line for up to 50% of our correspondence: give a decision, ask for information, say thanks, etc. All of us can create community email guidelines agreed upon by our close contact team to save time and assure value. You are not likely to miss something significant on email: the critical and emergency stuff will find you in other ways. Turn off your computer’s “incoming mail ping.” Check email only 2-3 times each day and please, please, only use “reply to all” once in 1,000 times.
7. Ban PowerPoint™ or Severely Limit its Use.
This pandemic use of a simple visual aid has added hours of unnecessary gibberish and nonsense to presentations and turned simple communication into “death by PowerPoint.” Teach and expect people around you to communicate clearly and succinctly and spare us the technological vaporization of valuable time in production and presentation.
[See our essay “Ten Guidelines if You Really Must Use PowerPoint.” Signatureresources.com]
8. Personal Contracts.
We make commitments and we dodge commitments. When commitments are important for your sanity, let’s say to your family / children, make a contract. Children as little as 3 years can understand a contract posted on the fridge: “Dad will be home early on Tuesday to go to the park.” “Trinity will put her toys away every evening at 7 p.m.” The more stressful it is for you to erode a commitment (like to your children or spouse) the more important it is to make a contract. This binds our commitments and makes it easier for us to manage time to fulfill our contract. Someone at work repeatedly wastes your time: make a contract with full expectations for both of you. It works, try it!
9. People and Relationships vs Schedules and Things
So how do effective leaders skinny down their time commitments but bolster their investment in people? Effective leaders strategically plan their contacts to assure communication gets diffused, appreciation doesn’t slip, and developing others remains a primary commitment. Remember the “where are you going” question from point #1? Well, those who have a clear focus and compass manage to find plenty of time to build relationships. That visit to the going away retirement party may not be wasted time if you go with networking purpose. Dropping in on the monthly birthday reception is not a waste if you use the contact wisely. There is no such thing as casual schmoozing—make it purposeful.
10. Uninterrupted Time Each Day / Year.
Every single time management treatise suggests this. Usually in the morning if you can. Keep that calendar clear. If there’s an emergency someone will find you. If not, you can clear your head and maintain your priority focus. Give yourself permission to think. And those vacations you put off. Successful people find time for themselves and don’t end up the year with “use or lose” vacation time. Few of us are so important we can’t get away for a few days every now and then.
Expedia Inc. polled 2,100 workers and found that 31% fail to use all their allotted vacation days. Workforce Week, January 29-Feb 4, 2006
Read: Getting it Done, Allen; 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Covey; Never check email in the Morning, Mann.
