I can’t imagine what this post has to do with time management… but yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in the US, and this video made me not only thankful for my mother, but also the life I have here in Jamaica.
How Time Management Skills Cause Strategic Plans to Fail
An article I recently wrote for the Jamaica Sunday Gleaner focuses on the ways in which low time management skills kill even the best strategic plans:
Crucial Moments in Time Management
Recently, I have been exploring a different way of looking at time management skills from the approach I have taken here at 2Time Labs so far.
The idea is simple: perhaps one’s skill level in time management has something to do with what happens on a habitual basis at particular moments throughout the day. I imagine that for most adults these are unconscious practices that they learned long ago, and they are done in an unthinking way.
Moment #1 – New stuff you initiate
You decide to act, and create a new time demand by making a mental commitment to act in the future.
Moment #2 – Setting up an auto capture point
You create a new email address or voicemailbox and tell others about it. New time demands start flowing into that capture point.
Moment #3 – Working through the time demands at a capture point
For an auto or manual capture point, you decide to address the time demands that have been sitting there for some time
Moment #4 – In the middle of working on a task you are interrupted by a reminder that it’s time to act on something new.
Moment #5 – You are at the natural end of a task, and are about to start a new one. You must decide what to work on next.
Moment #6 – The moment when it’s time to upgrade your time management system. You notice that you are getting stressed at having too much to do too often, or that time demands are falling through the cracks. These are 2 of the indicators that tell you that your system isn’t working as it should
Moment #7 – You look over your time management system with a view to making some kind of improvement. You decide to change something and implement a new habit, or tool.
Moment #8 – When you engage in a task that matters, you take the necessary steps to immerse yourself in your most productive mode for its duration.
World-class time management comes down to mastering these 8 moments in a consistent and habitual way. It’s easy to separate effective from ineffective time managers by observing what happens at these moments.
Taking the Very Long View in Strategic Planning
For a few years my firm has championed the idea that strategic planning efforts must take place over a long horizon. By “long” I mean 20 to 30 years out.
It’s not an issue of individual time management, at first blush, as you can see from the article I wrote in the Jamaica Daily Gleaner: Taking the Very Long View in Strategic Planning. (For more details about the approach and its application, see my colleague Amie Devero’s book – Powered by Principle.)
What I didn’t mention in the article, however, is that many strategic plans fail because of what I call “the last mile.” In order for a plan to work, a number of things must happen in the daily working world of the employees that must implement it.
The first is that they must be able to “find the time.” A strategy will get nowhere if those who must change their behavior in order to make it work are at the limit of their performance, and need an upgrade in their time management skills. If they don’t know how to perform this kind of upgrade, the strategy is dead.
The second is that they must learn how to change their habits, practices and rituals in order to take the repetitive actions needed to give the strategy some momentum. Most employees are weak in this area, and simply don’t know how to construct habit changing systems. They simply nod their heads in faux agreement, and don’t even bother to try.
The results are the same — the strategy isn’t implemented, even if it’s brilliant. The simple solution is to teach employees how to accomplish more, and to build this kind of activity into the roll-out of the plan.
Teleclass Recording and a Brand New Way to Learn
Last week’s teleclass focused on the most recent research in time management, and how it can be used to improve the way we schedule our time, and change our habits. I used the research by Dezhi Wu and the authors of Change Anything as my primary sources of information, taking their best ideas that we’re working with here at 2Time Labs.
Here is the link to the teleclass, which you may also download.
Also, I want to give you access to a new way of teaching and learning time management via e-learning – using an interactive simulation that we developed. It’s a game of sorts, involving different choices you can make to help Brenda, a young professional, use the best time management techniques to navigate her first day back at work after a long vacation.
Here is the link to the simulation: “Brenda Returns from Vacation.”
Richard Branson’s Time Management Techniques
Here’s an interesting interview with Richard Branson on how he manages his time, and his 300-400 email messages.
I’m a great fan of his practical methods, which are right in line with best practices. What’s interesting is that he has obviously thought about the topic for some time.
I’d love to make it to Necker Island — read the article and find out why. Click here to read Richard Branson on Time Management.
Our Open House Continues… a Teleclass!
Our Open House is in full swing and people are registering in the Free and Plus programs as speak. It’s an exciting moment in the history of 2Time Labs!
On Thursday night (Oct 6th), the adventure continues with a teleclass entitled “Breakthroughs You Can Use.” I’ll be sharing how you can use the findings on the most recent time management research in Scheduling (Dezhi Wu) and Habit Change (Patterson et al.) to derive personal shortcuts to personal productivity and peace of mind.
Here are the details of the call:
| Conference Details | ||||||||||
| Scheduled Conference Date: | Thursday, October 06, 2011 | |||||||||
| Scheduled Start Time: | 8:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time | |||||||||
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| See you on the call! | ||||||||||
Look Out World! Our Open House Is Almost… Open…
I’m proud to say that our doors at 2Time Labs will be opening to the public on Thursday morning, and anyone can come in and take our MyTimeDesign programs.
It’s been a bear getting everything ready and in place for this virtual Open House, but now that it is, our programs will be offered again for the next two or so weeks. It’s the second and final time we’ll offer them in 2011.
On offer to the public will be our free introduction: MyTimeDesign 1.0.Free, and one of our paid programs, MyTimeDesign 1.1.Plus+. The Plus program has been heavily upgraded to version 1.1, and we think you’ll like the accessible price that it starts at.
I hope you find a program among these two that suits your aspirations, time and budget if you are at all interested in using 2Time Labs’s research in a practical way for tangible results.
Francis
Leave the Office on a Natural High
Leaving the office each day feeling as if you got a lot done has something to do with how you schedule the day. Lying in bed each morning to make a mental calendar is one thing. Putting it on a piece of paper is another. Using an electronic calendar is a relatively new option that very few are doing regularly, but it turns out to be the best option.
By far.
Find out how you can leave the office each day on a natural high by using an electronic schedule.
Making Unrealistic Plans Every Day? Use Better Scheduling Techniques
Most of us make either mental, written or keyed in plans each day, and unfortunately we make the mistake of telling ourselves to do too much with too few hours.
Address the problem today by changing your scheduling skills, and use the latest research from the best time management researchers, who don’t just make stuff, but use actual data to draw conclusions.
Check the video to learn how to make more realistic plans here.