Time Tips: Stay on Track

Don't allow yourself to get sidetracked. How many times have you ended a very busy day, only to realize you didn't really accomplish much or you didn't make the progress you had intended to make?

This happens in meetings, for example, when people get off the agenda. Because non-agenda items are basically surprises and nobody has had time to look at the facts, these typically degenerate into inane and pointless discussions that go nowhere.

We can see this same effect in many other types of activities.

Example 1.

You talk with someone, and the other person makes a remark that you know isn't true. So, you reply back with facts and sources. Let's say the other person's agenda isn't to learn, but to always be right. So, this person replies with a bunch of nonsense designed to baffle you with bull--. At this point, you can:

Continue to try to educate this person. But, is that your agenda? If so, why? Do you think this person needs to be educated by you on this particular topic? Why?
Fall into the game of arguing. But, is that your agenda? To what end?
Recognize that your agenda of having a meaningful, pleasant exchange with this person differs from that person's agenda of "always being right." You have already made you point, so why beat a dead horse? Doing so is a waste of time. Change the topic and move on.

Example 2.

You call the customer service department of a business. The person you are dealing with tells you something along the lines of, "I'm sorry, but our policy says...." Yet, the policy should not apply to this situation. There were extenuating circumstances. At this point, you can:

Argue with this person. This person has already used the company policy as justification for the decision. This person cannot change company policy. If your agenda is to vent your spleen, continue arguing. But what is the value in such an agenda?
Acknowledge that person can't do more for you. Ask to speak to someone on the next level.

Example 3.

You are dealing with a government agency. The person you are dealing with has taken a completely unreasonable stance. At this point, you can:

Contact your Congressman and ask for help. But your Congressman cares only about getting re-elected (that's how our system works). How can helping you further that agenda? If it can, you stand a chance. Otherwise, fuggedaboutit.
Acknowledge that person is simply a parasite. Ask to speak to someone on the next level. Note that the supervisor is going to take the side of the parasite, unless you present a compelling case to do otherwise. Unless your agenda is to waste everyone's time by reinforcing the parasite's position, ask the supervisor to help you resolve a disagreement. State which facts you and the parasite agree on, and note where the parasite was even remotely helpful. Pucker up, because these folks have a "kiss my a--" attitude and you have to play to that. Otherwise, you are wasting your time. "You can't fight City Hall," but you can make them sympathetic and helpful.

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.