Thank Goodness It's Monday #447

IT’S TIME TO “BUT…” IN

AND CHALLENGE

SOME TIME-MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

Wasn’t one of your 2014 resolutions to get more value from your time?



Albert Einstein told us,
“All of science is nothing more than
the refinement of everyday thinking.”

Today TGIM takes its cue from Uncle Albert
(see especially #3, below)
 
 

Good!

So I can save a big hunk of our time from the get-go and simply make the observation that, if we would start by applying some of the better time management principles that we’ve read and heard about from the beginning of time, we might have a solid foundation to build on.

 

Or maybe not.

Here’s a big catch: We’re all human, and with that “humanness” comes fallibility.

And a great deal of the “classic” time management advice doesn’t seem to take that into account. It doesn’t allow room to be reasonable with our expectations for ourselves or others.

Human beings are not automatons – mindless, emotionless mechanical beings who perfectly carry out every task or order like clockwork. And we don’t perform at our best when we’re treated that way.

 

So let’s invest the rest of our TGIM time together today reviewing and challenging golden-oldie time management thinking and investigating some strategic alternatives.

Time Challenge #1:

Fast action pays off

We’re reminded time and again that it’s important to be decisive … keep meetings short … keep the ball rolling. Doing things quickly supposedly saves time.

But …

Let me tell you a story: An executive in one of our client firms, desperate to do all these things, trained himself to be as brief as possible in meetings and abruptly cut through discussions with curt remarks like, “Get to the point” and “What’s your problem?”

 

By doing so he apparently saved time. But, as it turned out, he and his coworkers often had differing ideas of what had been decided and what would be done after a particular meeting.

Result: Fast action can slow results. Because of miscommunication, resolutions would inevitably become garbled and confused down the line. In the end the exec would spend twice the time that had been “saved” straightening out the mess.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Be clear about being clear. Stay alert for times when rushing the decision-making process might backfire. Be more intent on reaching sound decisions than with quickly dispatching meetings and the like. Take a little extra time, even when you’re sure you’ve reached the end and everyone concurs, to recap -- and hear others recap -- for the benefit of all, “Who will do what, when.”

Time Challenge #2:

Priority vs. Interest

Many time-management experts place great emphasis on doing things in order of priority. And, as a rule we would all agree it makes sense. Between watering the garden or putting out a raging fire, the right “priority” choice for the person with a hose in their hand is clear.

But …

Sometimes it’s better for people to do what they’re psychologically ready to do, even if it’s not the highest priority item. People are more interested in doing better, and therefore actually do better, when they’re able to follow their own “normal” routines rather than always being or feeling forced to do things strictly in some prioritized order of importance.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: All things being equal (or almost equal), don’t force priorities onto the daily routine. Do what’s most interesting when it attracts you. 

Added point: If you have the power to lay out the agenda for others, allow them as much set-your-own-order leeway as possible, unless you can give them a compelling, high-priority reason to do otherwise. 

TGIM Time Challenge #3:

Efficiency isn’t always “efficient”

Stopwatch toting time/motion study champions – the so-called efficiency experts – extol doing things in the most time-economic manner possible.

But …

Sometimes doing things a little less efficiently is far more enjoyable and more beneficial in the long run.

Let’s take another “meeting” example: One exec we know could easily cut the time he spends in meetings, probably by half. But he usually doesn’t want to. He enjoys talking and listening. Although it seems less efficient, he feels he gets a more nuanced sense of what’s going on with his staff and in his company and that he’s a better leader and decision maker for that. 

Added benefit: His employees like the relaxed atmosphere too. And without “this meeting will end in a half-hour, precisely” pressure, they feel free to raise issues that might otherwise go unaddressed.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Enjoy your time. And use more of your time for the things you enjoy. As Albert Einstein pointed out –

It’s relative. He actually said, “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute.”

I may not comprehend the math and the physics of Einstein’s Theories of General and Special Relativity but that the “hot stove/pretty girl” stuff makes sense to me.

TGIM Takeaway: Good time management principles are not immutable Laws of the Universe that apply equally to every situation and every person. As a group we are all so varied that few prescriptions can cover everyone at all times. So, in the quest to maximize the value of your time, realize that principles are neither absolute nor infallible and apply them with common sense and tact.

The only true test is to find what works for you over time. Experiment, then – providing it doesn’t waste the time of the others you interact with -- go with what works for you. 

So now it’s time to test that Einstein wisdom. I’ve no doubt about the stove part, so I’ll skip that.

It’s on to part two.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “I believe that misconceptions about oneself that one does not correct where possible act as a bad magic.” Poet, critic and essayist Laura Riding (1901 – 1991) shared that observation.