Mission: To release the handbrake, remove the obstacles to your success, whether you are responsible for your own results, planning a personal venture, or are now self-employed.

Time Management is Bogus!

We really don’t understand the problem. 

1. You don’t have enough time.  Or,
2. You have all the time there is.

In fact, time is unmanageable – it just keeps tickin’ along.  And there’s nothing we can do about it.  Time should be manageable, but it’s not!

Thousands and thousands of pages have been written about “time management.”  The trick, of course, is not reading but doing.  We think that this comparatively short little piece includes all the direction necessary. 

The problem:  We can’t manage time.  We can manage ourselves, providing we agree that “we have met the enemy, and they is us!”   Have a look at this “enemy.”  And focus on answer #2 above.

When we look at how we manage our own time, most of us see a mess.

1. Endless do-lists
2. Broken agreements with others
3. Broken agreements with ourselves.
4. Frustration, anger and a sense of helplessness.

Quotation:  “Time is the currency of our lives.  How we spend it tells much about us!”

One answer -. Consideration vs. action.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet points this out as a dilemma in his famous soliloquy.  I was struck by its pointedness when I revisited it today.

“To be, or not to be, that is the question.  Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them.”

And, from more modern times, this quote from Conrad Hilton:

“Success seems to be connected with action.  Successful people keep moving.  They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

So, what can we do to stop thinking and get into action? 

1. Bag the endless do-list.  We construct them with the best of intentions, but they’re hugely disempowering.  What does a do-list really mean?  To me, it means that I’m giving myself permission to put it off until later!  Can you smell the BS?  Here’s a rule:  INCLUDE ON A DO-LIST ONLY WHAT YOU PROMISED – TO SOMEONE ELSE OR TO YOURSELF - TO ACCOMPLISH TODAY.  DO THAT ONLY.  DO IT RIGHT NOW.

2. Surprise!  When we follow this TODAY rule, we’ve now solved problems a, b, and c. above and maybe d.

3. Identify one thing which is important but not urgent in your world – around your business, your relationships, whatever.  You might call it an opportunity, and you know how many times opportunity knocks!  Make a space for this opportunity, in time, in your day, on your calendar.  One hour a day, 5 days a week, is outstanding.
4. Give up detailed prioritizing if you’ve been having self-management problems.  Just make a commitment to yourself and the world that you will keep your promises and tackle one “Important, not urgent” opportunity item each day.
5. Be like steel about this.  The whole world will try to keep you from managing this!  Watch this happen.  Your own demons, and the forces of disorganization will attack.  Here’s how you strike back. 

·        Don’t answer the phone(s). 

·        Close your door or take your laptop to Starbucks. 

·        Promise yourself you will not end the day without completing this process and the actions associated with it. 

·        Keep that promise. 

·        Give yourself an Attaboy when you do.

·        Tell someone else how you kept your promise.

·        Discover how great you feel about your business and yourself.

 When you discover that you’ve put something off, just slot it in tomorrow’s “Important But Not Urgent” time slot, and tackle it a second time with renewed energy.

We’ve addressed “how to do it.”  But we haven’t addressed “what to do.”

In the next newsletter, we’ll tackle Goal Setting.  Here’s a preview. 

Imagine you’re riding a bicycle.  You’re sitting on the seat, pedaling like mad.  But no-one has control of the handlebars!  And no-one is looking down the road ahead.

Many small business owners will tell you that they’d like to spend more time guiding the business, but they just don’t have the time.  They just try to pedal faster.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you need a strategy – one which runs over years, not day by day.

For a more powerful focus, I offer classes on running a business, about starting it, about keeping it going, about making it work.  Check out my business bootcamp which meets in April and May.  Click on this URL http://www.craigjennings.com/classes.html and have a look at the options – some free and some not.

Suggestion:  Do It Now!

If you'd like to see how your business would work if you got a little help now and again, explore the possibility of coaching by calling 516-944-6454 or email to craig@craigjennings.com

If you have questions or observations about this note, send an email to craig@craigjennings.com.