Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin into the future, according to the Steve Miller Band in 1976. It’s a problem leaders face every day. There just isn’t enough time. Maybe there’s more time than you realize.
Einstein taught us that time is relative. It is different depending on your perspective. Okay, I know I’m taking a little bit of liberty with the concept of relativity, but I do so to illustrate that as leaders we need to take a different look how we use time.
It doesn’t matter where you are in the company, everyone gets 24 hours each day. Normally you need to spent 7 or 8 of those hours in bed. That leaves about 16 hours for the rest of the day. Hopefully, you spent some of those hours with those who are most important to you. What you should not do is spend all of those hours at work. You have to get away from the job to let yourself recharge for the next day.
But, you say, there’s so much to do and so little time. Yep, that’s true. If you’ve ever taken a time management class you probably heard you should control your calendar and not let people dictate your time. That’s nice in theory, but it’s not realistic. Although it might seem counter intuitive, the more responsibility you gain as a leader, the less you can control the demands on your time. That’s why you should take a different view of the time you have.
Try this.
• Think about those bits of time, like those 20 minutes between meetings. What do you do with that time? Is there something you could accomplish in those 20 minutes? I had a boss once who would tell me to meet him at a certain conference room at a particular time. My “meeting” with him was walking down the hall and it lasted until he arrived at his next appointment. Good way to learn how to be concise!
• How do you manage your email? Are you constantly looking for new messages? Do you have one of those bells that tell you when a new message arrives? If so, turn it off. It can take several minutes to regain the concentration that alert just broke.
• Do you restrict yourself to a set period of time on social media. Social media can be a colossal time suck and requires significant self-discipline.
• Be clear about what’s important and what is less important. List priorities for the week and each day. Compare interruptions to your list. Which is more important? Just because someone calls you doesn’t mean they have suddenly become the most important issue.
Take a careful look at the time you do have. Then use it wisely and don’t let it go slippin into the future without using it to your full advantage.