The Organized Entrepreneur - Finding The Time

The Organized Entrepreneur - Finding the Time: by Diana Dring
How to Plan, Prioritize and Use Your Time More Consciously for Greater Productivity and Personal Fulfillment

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say “I’d like to (fill in the blank), but I can’t find the time.” The truth is, no one ever really “finds” time for anything. We must make time. And we will always have time for things we are committed to.

Of all our resources time is truly the most precious. Unlike other resources, such as money or trees, the amount of time we have is finite and non-renewable. Each person’s total allotment is 168 hours per week, and once that’s gone, it’s gone forever. As busy as most of us are, we can’t afford to squander it. Yet that’s exactly what we do when we operate in a disorganized environment, without clear priorities and goals, or a plan for fulfilling them. The simple fact is: every minute spent planning how to spend our time can save between two and four minutes in carrying out our plans. (One time-management expert claims the ratio actually can be as much as 40 to one.) In practice, even the most conservative estimate means that spending 15 minutes per day getting clear about your plan could save you up to an hour; 30 minutes could save you up to two hours. An hour a week could save you half a day!

How planning saves time. Most “wasted” time results from becoming sidetracked: saying yes to activities that seem urgent but don’t really contribute to our personal mission. The phone rings and we answer it automatically. We say yes to the request of the caller, again automatically. We change our direction in response to whatever may be happening in our thoughts, emotions or environment at the moment. And at the end of the day, we wonder where the time went.

Plans keep us conscious of how we choose to use our time. They help us stay focused on what is most important and let go of what is not, recognize distractions, and decline to be diverted. Conversely, if we determine that an interruption does require our attention, a well-conceived plan (one that includes breathing space and transition time between activities and appointments) lets us rearrange our priorities without sacrificing anything of real importance.

Many people -- especially creative people -- resist planning because they believe it will inhibit their spontaneity. Actually the opposite is true. Most peak performers report a greater sense of freedom precisely because their plans let them concentrate more fully on their crafts at the appropriate opportunities, while filtering out the mundane, irrelevant and trivial. Peak performers also consciously aim for balance in their schedules. Each of us has personal, family, career, community and social priorities and needs. When we neglect one or more of these areas, our lives inevitably suffer.

Procrastination is a type of compulsive wasting of time that often results directly from such imbalance. For example, when we neglect to schedule enough recreation time, we may procrastinate as a way of “stealing” some time to relax. Unfortunately the result of procrastination is rarely relaxation, but usually increased worry, guilt and self-criticism, which only exacerbates the problem.

How to create an effective time plan.

1. Focus on your priorities and goals.
Effective planning requires that we be in touch with our priorities and our goals. To set balanced goals, first identify your most important priorities in each of the life areas mentioned above. Next, identify one or more specific goals you want to accomplish in each priority area. Then identify the first action or two you need to take to begin moving toward each goal. Make taking these steps the core of your schedule for the coming week. Make appointments with yourself to complete the tasks you identified for each of your goals.

2. Balance short-range and long-range activities.
Spending too much time focusing on the immediate (looming deadlines, crises, and other “urgent” matters) can overwhelm us with feelings of constant pressure. The more we regularly attend to longer-range projects and non-urgent tasks, the less often emergencies will occur, and the more discretionary time we have available.

3. Know how long things take to do.
Most people underestimate by a factor of 2 to 4 how much time a given activity will require. Not allowing enough time to complete a task comfortably, or leave room for unforeseen contingencies, causes us to take on more than we can realistically handle and pack our schedules too tightly. This increases stress and can lead to errors, accidents and burnout. (Remember that old question: If you don’t make time to do it right the first time, how will you find time to do it over?) Effective planners routinely double, triple, or even quadruple their time estimates for certain activities. Alleviating stress this way allows you to concentrate more fully on the task at hand. This improved concentration can actually speed up completion of the task, leaving you “extra time” to spend on something else. (How about taking a well-deserved break!)

4. Understand your own energy cycles.
Daily fluctuations in physical energy significantly affect our productivity. Schedule critical activities during energy peaks, and less critical activities during valleys. Most of us who are self-employed became so because we wanted the freedom and flexibility of being our own bosses. So it makes little sense to enslave yourself to arbitrary notions of what time of day is appropriate for specific activities. Make your own rules, ones that work for you. If you’re a morning person, then start your day with key tasks and end with less critical stuff. If you’re more “on” in the afternoon, then do the reverse. Are you a midday person? Then create a peak energy “sandwich.”

5. Be aware of your counter-productive habits.
Spend a week keeping close track of how you spend your time. Note when you are distracted by interruptions and what kinds of things are hardest to say no to. Monitor how much time different activities really take. Pay attention to when and why you change your mind or your direction. Especially watch for things you do habitually without thinking, and notice how they affect your progress through the week. More than anything else, optimizing your time is a function of how conscious you are of the way you function in time. The more aware you are, the more choice, control, and breathing room you will have.

6. Eliminate distractions with available technology.
As I said in the beginning of this article, being pulled off task automatically by distractions like the ringing telephone and the seductive, unanticipated request it brings, is a major way that we sacrifice precious time. But there are numerous ways to support yourself in minimizing such distractions. “Available technology” can be as simple as a “do not disturb” sign on your closed door (or workstation, if you don’t have a private office).

On the more sophisticated side, the phone company offers two tools I like very much. I recently signed up for call screening and priority ringing, and now I can see immediately who’s calling, without waiting for an answering machine to pick up, or dialing in for a voice mailbox message. I no longer answer the phone for “unknown callers” or “private callers” when I’m concentrating on an important activity. Priority ringing also lets me choose which calls to answer, by programming a distinctive ring for those people by whom I am willing to be interrupted, so I don’t even have to look at the call screening monitor. If you have a phone that has a “ringer off” option, all the better. Turn it off when you don’t want to be tempted by a distraction.

I also specify in my outgoing voice mail message the best times to reach me, which in my case leaves a nice chunk of focusing time between 1 and 4 p.m. every day (my peak energy cycle). After the first week of this strategy, my phone rang much less during these hours (bless the silence!) because people knew it was unlikely they’d reach me in person. And those who did call only intended to leave messages without needing to speak to me personally. I can’t tell you how much more smoothly my days go, and how nice it is to be in control of choosing when and with whom to have conversations during priority time.

7. Practice saying “No, thank you” -- and “This really isn’t a good time to talk.”
One reality of life today is that we are all bombarded with more options and requests than we can possibly accept in our lifetimes. And yet many of us are still operating from training and beliefs that “nice girls put others’ needs before their own.” But the hard truth is that if we don’t take care of our own needs and priorities first, we can’t really be fully present and available for others when they really need us. (That’s why on commercial airlines they always tell you to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others with theirs. Unconscious, you’re no good to anyone!)

If this is your issue, you can begin weaning yourself from the “compulsive yes habit” by putting off giving an immediate answer to any request that isn’t clearly important to your own priorities. (You might call this tactic “creative procrastination.”) A simple “I’ll have to get back to you on that” will at least buy you some time to weigh the appropriateness of the request. And who knows, in the interim the caller may find an alternative solution that doesn’t need to involve you at all.

These days, most conscientious, busy people will ask if they’re calling at a good time, because intuitively they know it will return them the same courtesy. With those who overlook this piece of etiquette, it’s your responsibility to be clear about your needs of the moment -- and good practice staying in control of your own schedule and priorities. It also helps to train the unaware to be more mindful.

8. Ask for help when you need it.
Sometimes even the most well-intentioned planning doesn’t keep you on track or on time. Let’s face it: emergencies do happen. But if you’re practicing good planning and self- management habits, they’ll be kept to a minimum. When they do occur, you’re more likely to handle rearranging your schedule with far more grace and less stress.

When occasionally two or more high priorities collide, it’s useful to seek out a detached perspective on issues that you may have trouble seeing objectively on your own. Ask a colleague, business partner, or coach to help you evaluate the reality of the situation. Brainstorm ways to delegate, consolidate, rearrange, or eliminate certain tasks. Collaborating with someone whose judgment you trust can go a long way toward breaking through confusion, overwhelm, procrastination, and paralysis to get you moving again.

You can contact Diana by calling her at (415) 924-9161 or by sending e-mail to DianaDring@aol.com