Time Management Expert, Event Speaker: Mark Lamendola
 

Time Tips: Multi-tasking Tip #1

The true measure of life is not in the number of breaths you take, but in the moments that take your breath away.

I once "failed the test" to be chosen as a speaker on time management for a sales organization. In a phone interview with the CEO, I remarked that many people think of time management as a matter of multi-tasking, and that isn't it. He was incredulous.

"Listen here, my sales people have to multi-task!"

Then he went on to tell me how they had to service X accounts in Y time, etc. Clearly, he knows nothing about sales or time management. But, he had his mind already made up and he wanted a speaker who would parrot his own dysfunctional views. That is exactly why his organization was having the problems it was having. He was focusing on activity, rather than results.

In most multi-tasking situations, you end up doing neither activity well. Let's look at two scenarios.

One. Jim is a real multi-tasker. He was making 8 sales calls per day, but when sales slowed down he figured out how to make 9 sales calls per day. He's on his cell-phone constantly, when he's driving--and frequently loses calls in the middle of a conversation or sales pitch. He rushes from client to client, and they all know how busy he is. You are one of those clients. You find it hard to get Jim to depart from the script, and he seems to always be glancing at his watch and considering his next move. He seems harried rather than efficient. He doesn't know your business and doesn't seem to have time for you.

Two. The extent of David's multi-tasking is that he listens to sales tapes or rehearses his next call while driving. He makes a point of calling on only a few clients each day. He arrives at each one fresh and full of energy--and attention. You are one of those clients. And you like David. He asks many questions about your business, has a habit of saying, "Show me," and his presentations are smooth and confident. When he has another appointment scheduled later in the day, you are seldom aware of that--it's as though his whole universe is focused on you.

Which one of these salesmen would "take your breath away?" You can see that the CEO who decided my material wasn't right for his sales force made the wrong decision. I have no doubt he will lay people off and get a bonus for doing so.

The example here is sales, but the concept applies to everything, including interpersonal relationships.

In most relationships, we give each other the surface treatment. This is a waste of time, and a waste of the relationship.  Don't give people the surface treatment. Plan and prepare for the engagement. Think ahead of what you can do to take their breath away.

Hint: This usually involves something that makes it seem as though your universe focuses on them while you are interacting with them. When they mention something important to them, ask for more information--show a real interest.
 
A great way many businesses are managing time is using software. There are many forms of time and attendance software which allows managers to track and monitor employees time usage.
 

More thoughts on time management

The phrase "time management" is an unfortunate language quirk. You can't really manage time. It just is. You can't gain time, create time, or even lose time. Time is what it is, regardless of what we do.

It would be better to say "time allocation" or "activity management" "time usage" or some other phraseology to indicate that it's not time itself you're managing but how you use the time that exists. But we'll use the common terminology here to avoid confusion.

Some things time management is not:

  • Being more efficient. Suppose you become very efficient at making buggy whips. Does this fact mean you are managing your time well?
  • Getting more done in a given amount of time. Getting more done of what? And to what degree of quality? If you rake the leaves on a lawn from one side to the other all day long, does that mean you are a good time manager?
  • Being able to juggle multiple priorities. Instead of juggling priorities, assign priorities. First tend to the urgent things, then the most important things.
  • Mastering multi-tasking. This concept conflicts with what we know about the human brain. If you buy into this self-defeating, time-wasting, quality-killing ideology, you might also be interested in practicing solo flight by flapping your arms frantically.
  • Working faster. No, this mode is how you make mistakes that you subsequently have to spend more time fixing.

Some things good time management involves:

  • Deciding what to do. This is trickier than it sounds. Which is why there are time management experts.
  • Deciding what not to do. This is even trickier than deciding what to do. Which is why there are time managers and why discipline is a huge, huge factor in accomplishing this.
  • Deciding what to do when, and in what order. In essence, prioritization.
  • Determining the scope, goals, and metrics for each activity you undertake. In this area, we the find most room for improvement. Precision here allows you to avoid waste on the one hand, and falling short on the other.
  • Planning out the work, task, project, or activity such that you determine the necessary steps to quality completion. That is, what must you do to meet the intended goal and quality metrics?
  • Identifying unnecessary steps. Get this right, and you can cut your wasted hours significantly.
  • Figuring out what resources to use. Not all resources applicable to a task are equal. Picking the right tool for the job saves time, improves quality, and makes life less stressful.

We've highlighted only some of the factors involved in good time management. We actually teach extreme time management, which is a methodology that allows you to make effective use of your time almost second nature. You don't need a complicated system. Our system puts many of the variables on autopilot, so you have more time to do what you need to do. Our system goes way beyond most other systems in results, yet is far simpler.

Contact us for a presentation to your organization: comments @ mindconnection.com (remove the spaces after pasting into your e-mail client's "to" box.