Kick it into High Gear! Right? Right. Well, it seems 2012 has started off in just that way. Fast. Furious. With no let up on the accelerator. 0 to 90 ... Sound familiar? Can you believe... it's already February? I'm not complaining... actually, just the opposite. One thing that I have found is that when you're busy and focusing on task after task... your adrenaline is flowing and you're pumped. (or at least I am.) Right now... I'm very fortunate to have several projects going on at once and it seems, that daily, I add a few more to the list. Over-achiever or crazy? How about... a little of both?
One topic that seems to come up over and over again in any business conversation is how do you do it? How do you multi-task and seem to make it easy and simple, AND, get it all done? The reality is... I don't really multi-task. I realized a long time ago that multi-tasking isn't really productive or at least my definition of it, isn't. For me, instead of multi-tasking, I prefer to call my time management style --- keeping balanced. And for the record, just when I think I have it mastered... I have much to learn. I have found that if I can accomplish balance in my daily life, keep my time and focus on the tasks as well as be more relaxed about what doesn't get done, then my results are high. I also limit the number of high priority tasks in a day. Sometimes, we set ourselves up for failure, by trying to do too much in any given day. I've also realized that conversations and people are much more important than getting certain tasks done, so balance, has helped me to decide what is more important on any given day.
For me, I set deadlines for everything on my plate, actually several of them. I set a pre-deadline and then a final. You're probably wondering, why two? Well, I can keep myself in check along the way, so that things don't seem to pile up or get overwhelming. Call me an organizational freak? Nah... not me. Trust me... there have been many ... and I do mean, many times... when I lost the battle of being organized. I do think that time management is something that every person in the business world needs refreshed on every 3 months. Why? Because we all get lax and need a boost. Another reason, is ... to put it simple, Social Media. I wrote a blog awhile back about it ruling our lives. (Sometimes, I still feel that way... but, I have now, found a way to balance it into my daily routine.) It's not easy and probably the hardest task I have, but, you just have to keep trying. Social media is here to stay and will become a bigger factor in the future, so instead of letting it rule us... we need to find a way to utilize it and balance it into our lives.
So... multi-tasking... is there really such a thing? Yes, absolutely. For me, personally, I found out quickly that something always suffered when I tried to focus on 3, 4 and 5 projects at one time. Now... let me clarify this before anyone takes this statement the wrong way. I can work on several projects at the same time, but I allocate my time so that each day, each of them gets their own space and attention. Also.. I've been known to set aside things if a conversation was more important. I decided that in order to be successful, I needed to figure out not multi-tasking, but balance. Time balance that is... and since I have been practicing this method, things have worked out much better. Am I guilty of still trying to multi-task? (uh... last time I looked, I'm human!!!!)
Trust me, there have been many times, when I've been on conference calls... and while listening... I was also emailing and signing documents and whatever else was on my desk. I'm as guilty as the next person on doing this, but, lessons learned often lead us to better habits. Now, when I schedule a call, I make sure that I limit the time. I realized a long time ago, nothing can be accomplished in a hour, that cannot be accomplished in 30 minutes. If it's not... then just reschedule another call. It's hard to maintain focus for a complete hour on the phone WHEN you have other distractions. By doing this... I found that the interruptions that were there before, suddenly became less. I also think that by making calls shorter... your focus is immediate. Think about how many calls you've been on... and how much time is actually wasted.
What about meetings? Once upon a time... I thought the meaning of a meeting was to set a time for a meeting. You've heard that one, right? Nowadays, I only set a meeting face to face, if I know it will be productive and useful. There have been many meetings where I've done nothing but listen... and learned more than I ever would have by talking. There have been many meetings where within 15 minutes, I knew what needed to be accomplished. Then ... there have been 2 hour meetings when I find myself working on other tasks and completely not "into" the meeting. So... for me, lessons learned from the past. Keep them short and simple... and to the point.
Time for just stuff. Everybody I know laughs at me when I say that everyday... I have about 2 hours (an hour in the morning and one in the afternoon for "just stuff". ) This is to have a casual conversation with a friend. This is for the paperwork that seems to build. This is for the creative thinking that I try to incorporate into every day. This is for just... whatever it needs to be for in my day. Every day... we all have "just stuff". There's no way around it. Instead of trying to pretend we don't, just build it into your day.
Emails and Texts. Here's one that is going to shock everyone. I believe that emails and texts should be answered promptly. If somebody takes the time to send me an email or a text, then I need to take time to respond promptly. What does that mean? What is prompt? For emails... it depends on the daily schedule but if I am in my "just stuff" time, I'll respond within an hour. If I have conference calls scheduled... at the end of each call, I check email and respond. If I have meetings... as soon as I'm done, I check emails and respond. I check them first thing in the morning and respond and last thing in the evening and respond. It's one of my biggest pet peeves in business... is that when you send an email and have to wait to get a response for several days. (Now.. there are certain exceptions to this, of course... if you're on vacation, sick, or unable to access your email for whatever reason.) i do believe in auto response when you are unavailable for a long period of time because at least your sender will know why you aren't promptly replying.
Texts are probably one of the things that irritates me the most... because I am a big texter. It's just the way of the modern world. My theory is this... if somebody takes time to send me a text, then I need to respond. If I'm busy or can't talk... it takes less than a minute, probably less than 30 seconds... to type that exact message and send it back. At least the person on the other end, knows I got the text and I'm not ignoring them. They know that I will get back to them when I am available. There is nothing worse than sending a text... and it not being answered... for hours. At least for me... its irritating as heck!
I'm the same with phone calls. If somebody takes the time to call me, I try to make it a rule to call them back either the same day or at the latest the very next day. Does this always work? No, but, I have learned that if you continue to do something a certain way... it becomes second nature and you just automatically do it.
Balance... there's no tried or true method to it. Its something that you have to work on every single day. There are days when things are more challenging than others and with those days, you just have to be patient and keep trying. I've always found that by not "sweating the small stuff" and taking deep breaths along the way helps my method. In my own life, I find myself much happier now that I am practicing balance, making time for conversations and when I respond to those who take time to send me a note. Sometimes, when you least expect it... balance provides the harmony we all seek every single day.
“Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices.” – Betsy Jacobson
"I learned that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything.. at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything." Dan Millman
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