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Category: Time management
Achieve more by overcoming inertia
My late father-in-law spent his entire career helping to build locomotives. We loved watching trains, and when we were driving together, getting stopped by a train was a special event. Diesel locomotives are so powerful, and yet they start off so S-L-O-W. In time, the train gets up to full speed, and heaven help any vehicle that tries to stop it.
In the past year my wife spent some time going through old project lists and recipes. Her goal was to DECIDE what projects she still wanted to do and discard the ones she has lost interest in.
One project she chose was a Christmas calendar wreath project. It contained a hand-stitched wreath adorned by 24 ornaments. She had started it 40 years ago. She decided (key word) she wanted to complete it, and pass it along to our grandchildren. She committed to a certain time each day to work on the project for a half hour. She stuck with her “single daily action” and made no exceptions or excuses. When the holiday season came around, she presented the gift.
Since completing the project, she has found a renewed source of energy, focus, and commitment. I must admit some of that has rubbed off on me. The experience of taking action on something important that we have been procrastinating can be liberating. The wreath project was a hit, and provided us both with a sense of renewal.
Here is my challenge to you: Select a project or goal that you want to do but have put off doing. Break it down into an action plan. Seize the first opportunity to act. Start strong. Persist. Triumph! You will feel great. Get the freight train rolling!
Top teams manage time well
You already know this, but let me remind you anyway: A winning team considers their time to be gold, and they treat it as such.
Recently I was working with a company that is in BtoB manufacturing. This company was profitable yet they believed they could be more so. The company did an assessment and discovered that much of their time was wasted by bottlenecks and distractions. When it all added up, it was apparent that there was much room for increased efficiency. The next thing they did was hire a skilled QC expert. We’ll call him Ken.
Ken got to work quickly. He set up a giant display board that showed each project and where things stood in the process. This visible factor alone helped tighten everyone’s focus. Then some things started to happen: Ken was “3 places at once” talking to each person in production to make sure they had what they needed to do their part. Whatever they needed, Ken made sure it was quickly provided. Before it was common for operators to go get something and spend 15 minutes along the way to talk to fellow workers. This was a big time saver.
Ken continued to examine every step of the process and was able to expand on the improved efficiency. In a short time, the difference in efficiency showed up, and the benefits went right to the bottom line. The company became more profitable.
If you and your team are committed to excellence, you must manage time well. Treat every project or order as if it were a “hot potato”. Keep it moving. You will build a sense of urgency into your working environment. It’s a great feeling!
Keeping your momentum in the slow season
As we approach the middle of January, many businesses and organizations find this to be their slow season. Restaurants, retail, hotels and charitable organizations typically slow down after the holidays while many tighten their wallets to pay their Christmas charges. If you are a business owner or manager, this is a time you may want to use to get closer with your team and more in tune with what is important to them. This can help prevent a dip in morale and possibly impact turnover. Here is an example:
One of my clients has just come off a very busy season. They ended 2023 with strong momentum. When January 1st came business dropped off like a cliff, and it wasn’t long before I noticed the team was getting restless. When business is slow, that means more idle time. You may remember the saying, “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop” (Proverbs 16:27-28). It is so true. Back to the team…I noticed they began complaining and criticizing their fellow teammates. As we know, such behavior is corrosive to team trust and performance. In this situation, the owner has taken this slow time to focus on training and teamwork. If there are any issues, they are quickly resolved and not allowed to fester. They have kept all their people and when the busy season starts up again in a couple of months, the team will be strong and ready to take on the challenge
Years ago the director of an organization shared an observation with me: He said that when his team was working on a big project with a solid deadline, everyone knew what to do and the team excelled. When the project was over and there was a lull, the team engagement suffered. We need to keep our teams busy in the slow season. Doing so will help ensure the most profitable season.
Positive thinking means positive discipline
A couple days ago I wrote about the importance of starting our day with a “full tank”, and having a clear vision of where we are going. A short while after writing that, another thought occurred to me: What about those people I know who find it very difficult to get a vision or sense of direction? Instead, these folk’s minds get flooded with all their problems, and their thoughts become diffuse and non-productive. Here’s the good news: Even if you struggle with developing a vision or exciting sense of direction, you can learn to be good at it. Here are the steps in the process.
- Frequency: There are thoughts that pop into our minds if we let them. We may picture ourselves as an excellent piano player on stage, or running a marathon. Whatever the thought is, it came to us for a reason. Capture it!
- Feed the thought (Duration): Our next goal is to let this mini vision play in our minds. Give it more “screen time”.
- Put it in vivid color: Now that we are “playing the movie”, make it colorful and alive so that it is more vivid in our thoughts.
- Attach emotion: Now that we have this vivid “movie” playing in our mind, let’s let our emotions kick in so that we soon find our wanting that future state badly. (Watch movie “Pursuit of Happiness”)
All highly successful people do the above. They carry with them a future state they want to be in, and they do something every day to work towards it. When you get a vision, seize it, nurture it, and keep “playing the movie”. You will know where you are going and will be excited about getting there. To conclude, read this classic poem by Langston Hughes:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load
Or does it explode?
Working with focus in a “free-for-all” world
Last week I was working with a team on time management skills. We began by looking at a list of common barriers to good time management. Each participant reviewed the list and chose the barrier that they thought was the biggest threat to using their time productively. By far the most common barrier was DISTRACTIONS!
According to research from McKinsey, the average employee gets interrupted 50-60 times a day with emails, texts, phone calls, drop in visitors, sports scores, stock market updates, and “click bait” just to name a few. Expert’s say if we can get focused and stay focused, we can double our productivity (Assuming we are working from written goals)
A couple of years ago, I did an experiment. I had a large report to put together that included 18 separate assessments. Just for fun, I worked on one of the assessment without interruption, and measured the time. I then took this time and multiplied it by 17. (The number of remaining assessments) I took that projected time and made it a goal. I stayed focused, allowed no interruptions, and completed the project in 1/2 day. Normally it would have taken me a full work day. By not allowing distractions, I was able to get into the “flow state” and stay there without my thoughts straying.
I often hear people say, “I’m working more now that I was 10 years ago”. We may be spending more time at work, but are we getting more work done? If we want to double our productivity by greatly reducing distractions, here is what we can do:
- Plan you work.
- Categorize and prioritize your tasks and activities.
- Work on one thing at a time in order of its importance. Stay focused.
- Put an “I” sign on your back indicating you are in focus time.
Achieve more!