For my first blog post of the New Year, I find myself being very conformist and looking at my own time management habits. The internet is awash with similar articles and blog posts and a plethora of guides and “Top Tips” on how to do more in less time.
I think, if you are in business and are old enough to shave, then you have probably become rather jaded with the books, articles and courses that, in your earlier career you may well have attended. Most senior executives could write a book on the subject and have probably advised others on the subject. I know one or two that would probably gain a very short and somewhat terse response if you brought up the subject. Those same executives will probably be just about to skip this blog post as they roll their eyes and sigh! However, stay with me as I do have some points worth reading (hopefully).
Reflecting on My Time Management Skills
As is customary for most folk at the beginning of a new year, it’s time for some self-reflection - and I have been doing a bit of navel gazing of my own. One of the things I have noticed is a pattern in my own work management habits. I, like many others, have read the books, attended the course and could stand up at a few minutes’ notice, and give a presentation on the subject that could last for several hours. I could probably even do it without 150 PowerPoint slides that would bore you to death within the first ten minutes.
In my recent ruminations, I have identified times when I have been highly productive, achieving a much higher volume of work and performing at a higher level. The characteristics of these times of super productivity have many common denominators, which I will elaborate upon later in this blog. One interesting observation I have made is that, despite what I know is best work practice for me, I slip back into a way of working that is less productive. The real question and interesting aspect to this analysis is, not so much what work practices I follow when highly productive, but why I let those work practices slip and resume working in a way that is less effective. I know what works for me - I say “for me” as I don’t believe we are all the same and we will all inevitably have variations on what works for us personally. The real question is, “Why don’t we follow what we know is the right way to work.”
Personal Code of Conduct:
I am not talking about doing the right thing generally, in a broader, moralistic sense, as that is a different discussion. Though I have always believed that the most valuable asset you have is your reputation and, your honesty in particular, is key to this. I follow a very simple code of conduct and have some key business fundamentals that I follow no matter what:
1) Be 100% honest
2) Show up on time
3) Do what you say you are going to do
4) Finish what you start, even when you may not want to
5) Say please and thank you
That type of thinking becomes part of your character and becomes deeply ingrained. You can’t let such things slip and it's not hard; they are more than a habit, they are who you are and form the foundation stones of your character. It would feel very uncomfortable to not do the things which define who you are as a person.
Taking Consistent Action Breeds Success
The things I am talking about are the actions or ways of working that we know are best for us. Yet that we don’t do consistently. One example I see on a regular basis is the failure of businesses to have a clear exit strategy. Some don't believe this is essential until they have a defined exit date. Others know that it’s the right thing to do, even when their exit or trade sale maybe decades away. Yet, I would guesstimate that less than 5% of companies have a properly formulated, much less written, exit strategy of any kind.
In business, there are always a thousand things we could do. These are very convenient as we can easily distract ourselves, either consciously or subconsciously. Doing the familiar and what you enjoy is much more compelling than work or activities in which you struggle or perhaps where you need help. It’s easy to keep busy, doing other things, giving ourselves the excuse that, “I just don’t have the time”. However, deep down we know what we are doing. We are fooling ourselves. If it's important, then you have as much time as any other person. The real difference is how you use your time.
A Positive Work-Life Balance is Essential
I am not advocating, in any way, that we become slaves to our work, labouring long hours day after day, without any break, because we have that next project to finish or that next report or sale to make. No, I am a great advocate for a good work-life balance. In fact, I see a positive work-life balance as essential. Essential for the individual and essential for the business.
It’s a bit like taking time to plan. There is a quote I read that sums up my thinking on planning:
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
When you look back on your business plans, it's not so important that things happened exactly as you had planned but the fact that you did plan. The process of planning makes you think on a deeper level and will uncover things of value that will assist you in your ambition to be successful. In many respects, creating your Exit Strategy will have far-reaching effects, way beyond simply making sure you are better prepared; it will also have a positive impact on your business planning and the way in which and the speed at which you grow your business.
The above thinking is at the core of why we have created the Equity Value Accelerator™ service. This is a ‘heads up’ in advance of our launch later next month. It has been five years in the making but we are really excited by the finished product. I don’t want to go into any more detail now or I will get into trouble with our marketing team who are planning the launch of the EVA service. However, if you want a quick sneak preview, take a look at www.bossequity.com
My Time Management Technique - DOING Not Just Knowing How
This is what I am now committed to DOING and not just KNOWING how to do. It is a system that I have refined over many years and utilises techniques that I have taken from a variety of sources as well as things I have developed for myself that I find work for me. I do stress that we are all are different and we should all develop our own best practices for our personal management. You will know if you really have cracked your best work practises for yourself. One measure will be the general level of work stress you feel each day. If you are consistently working in the best way possible, then you are doing all you can, so why worry? You can’t do any more.
OK, so, firstly, I use a number of devices, including a workstation PC, a Microsoft Surface Pro Laptop, an iPad and an iPhone. I also use Outlook365. So, as a consequence, I have developed the following solution that is very simple but the most effective that I currently know of (for me personally).
I use the free Apple app “REMINDERS”. It's a great little app but very few people seem to use it. For me it works because it’s simple, fast and flexible and it synchs with Outlook365 so will provide connectivity faultlessly across all my devices.
I start my planning on Sunday evening, when I spend 30 minutes or less, thinking about what I want to achieve for the coming weeks - What are the key objectives that I want to achieve in the coming week? With larger tasks, I break them down into smaller actions. All standard stuff.
Using Apple "Reminders" for Better Organisation
In REMINDERS I have a number of lists. One is “Todays Actions” The other is “Tomorrow’s Actions” and the other is “This Week’s Actions”. I first do a brain dump of all the things I need to achieve in the coming week. I then plan each day the day before, either when I have finished work or later in the evening. The advantage I have found is that, when I start work the next day, I am already organised and I also believe that it gives my subconscious a bit of time to think through the things I have determined will be my actions for the following day.
I simply create a dump of all the actions I need to undertake for the day. Initially, I don’t create any order, I just quickly dump the things into my REMINDERS list. Once done, I click “Edit”. I can be working from my iPhone or iPad. So, even if I am away from my desk, there is no excuse not to create this plan. I need a maximum of 30 minutes - Quite often, it only takes ten. I can then order my list due to priority and level of difficulty. The more important and/or difficult tasks I do first. This also includes the actions that I am most resistant to. The thinking is based on the quotation by Mark Twain:
“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
The meaning for me, was get the most difficult task out of the way first and the rest of the day will just get easier. It’s true, it also helps create momentum; when you “swallow that live frog” it gives you energy as you know that nothing you are likely to do will be worse that day.
For each prioritised action, I estimate the time it will take and then block in up to 50% extra time. Any task that will take longer than 90 minutes, I break down into two actions - sometimes just Part 1 & Part 2.
Aiming to Get Ahead of the Plan
These actions are blocked out in my diary. My aim is to get ahead of my plan, which is again an energising motivator. Working this way, I find I can often finish ahead of schedule. In which case, I will pick some tasks on “Tomorrows Actions”. Here, I give myself the freedom to just pick whatever takes my fancy. I schedule in and block out in my diary, times to check my email and make telephone calls.
In a nutshell, that’s it. I have used many other systems but for me currently, this is the process that makes me the most effective. If you have any suggestions that you think would be better than the above, I would love to discuss them further with you.
