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How "Time Will Come Again"
Back in the 60's there was a song by the Chamber's Brothers called "
Time Has Come Again." The song was a reminder that time will come again if we become stewards of time rather than slaves to time.
Multiple coaching clients have mused over their lack of time. The refrain includes not having enough time to think, build relationships, or allow one's intellectual landscape to fallow. The refrain is an excellent reminder that "time needs to come again" or -- you need to find time.
One time challenge is the omnipresent smart phone. We never seem to get away from it's ring, the pings of e-mails or the gongs of instant messaging. E-mail is the most overused, misused, and demanding communication tool ever invented. Instead of using e-mail to communicate information, it is used to resolve conflicts, make implicit requests for immediate responses and to build relationships.
The solution, though contrarian, is instead of using technology to save time, "use" people. Here are 5 suggestions for the human solution to getting time back.
- Find your ambassador(s). - In national politics, an ambassador is someone who represents the president and the country. Find someone who will represent you in the most polished light.
- Hire college students. - The university where I am an adjunct professor has a program for their MBA students to become consultants for businesses. These students are ambitious, smart and very cost effective.
- Find your "Radar" - Remember the TV show "Mash" where the colonel's chief of staff, "Radar", would predict the needs of the colonel? Radar took pride in taking care of small tasks even before asked. Difficult to find, but worth the effort.
- Use Guru.com or Fiverr.com. - These websites allow you to find people for almost any project at very low costs. Even small projects and details can be completed by a real person.
- Delegate everything but the meaningful. - Make a list of what tasks, actions, and projects truly add value that only you can accomplish. The rest, delegate. Delegate everything except tasks and projects that are important to growing the business and perpetuating your executive brand.
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"
The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People"
by Stephen Covey
This book is a classic and re-reading it can be invaluable in getting time back.
According to the author, successful people use habits to be both effective and efficient.
Here are two of the seven habits of highly successful people for getting back time.
Begin with the end in mind - Before taking on any task or project ask yourself, "What does the end look like?" Always identify your destination before you embark on the journey. The reason is simple. Getting off track wastes time and energy. Starting with the destination increases one's ability to avoid distractions and detours that will evaporate time and energy.
Put first things first - Covey uses two dimensions: Urgent and Important. Using a two by two grid, there are four possibilities for any task. Each cell expresses how someone manages time.
The most important, yet difficult, is Quadrant 2 - those tasks that Important, but are Not Urgent.
According to Covey, when overwhelmed or stressed, executing Quadrant 2 behaviors will restore energy. However, instead of a habit, Quadrant 2 is rather a discipline. It takes discipline to stop long enough to focus on the Not Urgent yet Important tasks. Similar to physics, a body in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon an outside force. Since you are moving so fast, Quadrant 2 needs an "outside force" to mitigate your momentum.
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When work piles up, most people will work longer and begin focusing on getting the easy tasks off the to do list. Yet, to create a sense of accomplishment, tackle the difficult tasks firsts.
Researchers discovered this phenomenon by studying 90,000 emergency room patients over a two-year period. They controlled for demographics, insurance status, and seasonality. The researchers analyzed billing records and discovered that doctors favoring easier patients were less productive over time.
Subsequently, in a lab study with transcriptions, typing, and word manipulation exercises, those subjects who focused on the easy task were also less productive.
The researchers called this phenomenon the "Task Completion Bias" (HBR, November-December 2017).
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- In your career, choose your battles carefully. Trying to win every battle every day may lead to losing the war.
- The power of using assessments for hiring are the coaching suggestions gleaned from the results. The coaching suggestions help the hiring manager successfully on-board the new hires. The result is that the new hire will have a higher probability to succeed over time.
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COACH'S NOTE
We all suffer from time famine. Technology was originally thought to save time, but in fact it has exacerbated the problem of time famine. Instead of using technology to save time, begin to "use" (in a positive sense) people to gain time. You will experience "time has come again."
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Solving People and Management Issues
The Heller Group, Inc. focuses on coaching for senior level executives. We facilitate change within an organization that results in more effective leadership, increased productivity, innovative thinking, and improved employee morale and retention.
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Dr. Bruce Heller
Dr. Bruce Heller, founder of The Heller Group, Inc., has over 20 years experience consulting with managers and executives on executive education, leadership development, and organizational.
He is an adjunct professor at Loyola Marymount University teaching "Power, Politics, and Negotiations in Organizations" to MBA students. Dr. Heller is also an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School teaching "Developing Political Savvy in the Legal Profession."
Dr. Heller is a consulting psychologist and member of the American Psychological Association Consulting Psychology Division. Dr. Heller holds a Ph.D. and Masters Degree in Education from the University of Southern California.
Dr. Heller is the author of The Prodigal Executive-How to Coach Executives Too Painful to Keep, Too Valuable to Fire.
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