I have heard it time and time again – there’s not enough hours in the day. I’m flat out. I’m working every hour that God gives me. I can’t seem to get ahead. I’m all over the place. I can’t seem to focus. And on it goes. We have all heard it, we have all experienced it. So, how do we better manage our time? How do we become the master of our own Time Management? It’s one of the critical Business Challenges we regularly face, and is a critical issue when we are uncertain, running lean and snowed under. And, again, to follow protocol, I will be brief, frank, and maybe a bit controversial:
- They’re not creating any more of it, so you are stuck with what you’ve got
- It’s not about working longer; it’s about working smarter. It’s about using the time we have more effectively
- Multitasking is a myth. I will say it again, Multitasking Is A Myth! Even for the more feminine of our number. We cannot focus properly on more than one thing at a time. If we try to our effectiveness and efficiency of using that time, will decrease. This is not an opinion, this is Neuroscience!
- Identify and eliminate Time Wasters. We all have them. Time wasters deplete time, energy and effort without contributing anything. Identify them and get them away from you
- Steer away from Perfectionism. None of us are perfect. We will never be. So don’t fool yourself! You only need to be 1% better than the competition
- Eliminate Procrastination. It starts with awareness and then an intervention plan. But don’t procrastinate over trying to stop procrastination
- Say NO to extra work. When you are asked to do more stuff when you already have lots of stuff, practice saying no! In other words, delegate or plan to do it at some other time (go back to Multitasking is a Myth and Prioritisation)
- Have total clarity of your Priorities – refer to email #6
- Focus on Deep Work. Deep work is our ability to work in a quiet, distraction-free environment with intense focus and concentration. Schedule time in your calendar for this. For most of us our ability for Deep Work is at its highest 2-3 hours after waking. Deep work is required for complex, difficult “stuff.” And what are we often doing 2 hours after we get out of bed? At our computers answering emails! That doesn’t require Deep Work, it just requires reactionary work – we are only using a fraction of our abilities at the best time of the day for focus and concentration
- To continue on the issue of deep work, again from Neuroscience, a complex puzzle may require 1 hour to solve at 9am but it will require 3 hours to solve at 5pm
- Follow the 80/20 Way. The Pareto Principle. 20% of the time spent on a task will yield 80% of the work. The remaining 80% of the time will only yield an additional 20% of the work. Linked to Perfectionism. Remember, you only need to be 1% better than the competition, so don’t spend time getting it exactly right
A word of caution here. I don’t expect you to improve your Time Management just by reading this. It takes Deep Thought and Practice. That is, it requires TIME!
Keep focused, don’t multitask and do that deep work.
Cheers
Phil Pickford
