Time Tips: Staging Tip #002

Time Tips: Staging Tip #2

In Part 1, we gave you a glimpse into "staging." This is another look at the topic.

The standard approach to a task is to jump right into it. A much better approach is to break the task down into its component steps and then determine what you need so you can accomplish each step. In fact, this approach is at the core of the formal project management system espoused by the Project Management Institute.

Here's an example. We sell language translation devices. There are two types of customers who buy these:

Impatient time wasters.
Methodical people.

The impatient time wasters are the folks who jump right in, and then spend hours playing with the devices. They send e-mails or make phone calls claiming the devices are defective, this button doesn't work, that feature is disabled, and so on. Their questions and concerns are pre-answered in the manual, which they either read very poorly or don't read at all. After spending several hours a day for several days, they still can't use the device.

The methodical people are the folks who understand how to use a Table of Contents. They quickly see there are discrete steps--select the interface language (e.g., English), select the dictionary (e.g., English ->Thai), enter the text, translate the text, push the talk button. They use the manual to see how to do these steps, noticing that the manual has an example for each step. They have no questions or concerns, because they understand the component steps and used the manual to see how to do each one. After spending only half an hour, they are comfortably using the device.

The difference in cost vs. results ratios is astounding. You would think that everyone would know, by the age of 8, which approach works. But that isn't so. Many people will point to others and say, "Well, they just have a knack for that sort of thing." This is miscasting the situation. The reason for the difference is the successful person broke the job down into steps and determined what it took to accomplish each step. Having a knack or not having a knack had nothing to do with it.

Perhaps the classic example of all time is the computer. Today's desktop computer is extremely easy to use. Yet, many people remain mystified even after years of using one. They fail to see it's pretty much a glorified electronic filing cabinet.

They fail to break things down and identify what's needed. Consequently, they waste enormous amounts of time doing tasks inefficiently and they waste even more time pestering their methodical friends for "computer help."

But "computer help" is not what they need. In my own case, I have found that 99.999% of people asking me "how to" with a computer already have the answer. They are wasting their time and mine by asking for the wrong kind of help.

Stage every job you tackle, and you'll find yourself with far more time for accomplishing things.

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.