It’s not about time…
Often I hear leaders complain or vent to me about not having enough time to get everything done that’s on their list. From coaching clients I have heard the frustration when more is put on their plates by their higher ups; “increase productivity, but with fewer resources.” From participants in my leadership development programs I have heard the challenge of trying to apply their learning while still getting the work done.
“When am I going to have time to do that?” is one of the most common questions I hear from leaders and perfectly highlights the common myth about time management that I am about to bust.
It’s not about time.
Time is the box in which our lives exist. Instead of putting energy into trying to manage something that is so inflexible to change and honestly is out of our control, a leader needs to shift their focus to the things that are in their control. The items that go in the box, tasks, and the effort they use to move those items around inside that box, energy.
It’s not about time management, it’s more about task and energy management, AKA productivity management.
Productivity Management is something that can have a lot of moving parts to it, but I am going to simplify it down to 3; time, task, and energy management.
Let’s start with TIME MANAGEMENT. Time is a finite construct that has limits. It’s rigid, inflexible, and when it’s gone, it’s gone, you can’t get it back. So when busy leaders place too much focus and energy on trying to manage a finite, limited resource they are doomed to fail.
Yet, time and time again, I hear people say “time management? I need some of that”. It’s one of the most popular topics I have taught over the last 5 years as life seems to get busier and busier for people. And what I have found in teaching this topic to leaders is that it’s not time that we need to better manage, it’s our own tasks and energy.
Common time management tactics and tools include calendars, planners, time blocking or chunking, and even using alarms to keep us focused. All of which are great ways to manage time. Because it’s a finite source we have to be intentional and disciplined with how we use it. In recent months the Skylight Calendar has become popular as it blends traditional time management tools with modern technology to improve organization and communication of a person’s life both at and outside of work.
My personal favorite time management system is using an old fashioned paper planner, (my preference is the Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt) and my google calendar. I tell leaders that I live and die by my calendar. When I worked for a company and on a team, I did my best to ensure my calendar was as up to date as possible to make it easier for others to schedule things with me. Now, as a business owner and leadership coach, it is just as important to keep my calendar up to date so clients can easily book time with me.
I’m not saying there is any one best time management tool or system, the best one is the one that works for you, your team, and your life. Again, this is a tool or system that helps you communicate clearly to others how your time is being used.
BUT time management tools like calendars and planners aren’t necessarily productivity tools.
A person can have the fullest calendar and still not produce much of anything. A manager can have a calendar packed to the brim with meetings, but still produce no real or meaningful work. At the end of the day, the point is to produce something, to progress towards something. I recently heard a great quote from Denzel Washington, he said, “Just because you are doing a lot more doesn’t mean you are getting a lot done. Don’t confuse movement with progress.”
Again, we can fill our calendars with all sorts of stuff that looks like productivity, but if you aren’t also actively managing your TASKS, how will you know you’ve made progress?
This brings me to the second part of productivity management, TASK MANAGEMENT. As you are filling your calendar and building your weekly or daily schedule, you have to know what the tasks are that you need to accomplish.
Sticking with the box example, time is the structure of the box, the walls. Tasks are all the items that you put into that box AND the amount of items that can go into the box are never ending. Where time is limited, tasks are limitless. Every time you take an item out of the box, a new one goes in, just like every time you check off and complete a task, a new one gets added to the to-do list. And some items are bigger than others. Some tasks have a higher priority or urgency attached to them. Some feel more daunting or heavier than others. Yet, they still need to get taken care of.
Managing tasks requires intentionality and awareness of what your goals, priorities, and values are. Because tasks are unlimited, they require constant movement and rearranging of the box or calendar. When new things are added to the task list, you have to spend time to figure out where on the list it belongs. How urgent is the task? Will accomplishing or completing the task move you closer to achieving your goals? How much effort and time will you need to complete the task? Will the task require your complete, uninterrupted focus or can you bring in others to help you? Can the task be delegated? These are all basic questions that are necessary in managing tasks and time.
If you felt overwhelmed or exhausted by all of those questions, it’s because they withdrew from your mental energy tank. Which brings me to the third piece of productivity management, ENERGY MANAGEMENT.
Energy management is the effort you expend to organize and complete your tasks within the timeframes you have available to you. So when you have poor systems or few tools to help you manage time and tasks, you will drain your energy stores faster leading you to feel burnt out more frequently and consistently.
I think of energy management as the oil in your car. It drains slowly over time and with use, and when it fully drains, your car can still run for a little bit. But when it is fully drained and you continue to push the car, the damage caused when it finally gives out is expensive and timely to repair.
Energy is like the oil in your car. It’s replenishable and needs routine maintenance in order to continue performing consistently and reliably. Just like oil, we also need to know what type of restorative activities our body, mind, and soul need to perform routine maintenance.
Craig Groeschel, leader, author, and host of ‘The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast’, identifies four different types of energy;
Physical
Mental
Emotional
Spiritual
For leaders to optimize and best manage their energy, they need to have routine maintenance plans for each of these 4 energy types. I won’t go into full detail about these types here as this blog is starting to get long and we all know how long the adult attention span is now, but I will say, one of my big takeaways from this lesson from Craig is, if you are unsure about where your energy is draining and how it’s being restored you should conduct an energy audit on yourself. I’ll share the link to more information below to learn more from Craig.
Another reason why energy management is an important part of overall productivity management is because it can be the difference between high and low performance. Daniel Pink, another author and researcher of human behavior, has studied something referred to as Chrono-biology, which is the theory that human beings have an innate time management system built into their biology. This explains why some people are night owls or why many of us hit a wall in the later part of our day, usually between lunch and dinner. When I worked in manufacturing where we had a day shift and a swing shift, I found this idea of chrono-biology interesting as a potential tool to help us better utilize the workforce and boost overall production by hiring those whose chronobiology leaned toward night-owl for swing shift jobs and vice versa.
Through his research, Mr. Pink (no, not that Mr. Pink) found that when people schedule certain tasks in alignment with their chronobiology they are more productive, make fewer mistakes, and are overall happier. I use this concept in my own productivity management to ensure I am writing at the time of day when my brain is more focused and cleaning my house when I’m hitting that afternoon slump and scheduling breaks as a part of switching tasks.
In order to manage the exertion of your energy efficiently, you have to schedule time to refill the tank. Breaks are a vital tool to anyone looking to better manage their energy, yet they are often the first tool thrown out of the box when life gets busy. And believe me, I am guilty of tossing those out the window without a second thought. I remember getting in trouble because I wasn’t taking my breaks (this is what happens in healthy workplace cultures). I was told to schedule even a 5 minute break that involved me stepping away from my desk, computer and work and getting some fresh air.
The old American tradition of “powering through the day” is counterproductive. In order to be a strong leader of a high-performing team in an organization that innovates, you must learn how to manage your time, tasks, AND energy.
Resources:
Craig Groeschel: Learning to Master Your Four Forms of Energy - Craig Groeschel
Daniel Pink: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing - Books
Michael Hyatt: Full Focus Planner - Linen
