Skip to main content

Do Your Best With Time

Here's another guest entry from my good friend and fraternity brother David Spiegel. If you know anything about the East Coast you'll get a sense for how his day went. If you ever struggle with managing time, some of this may sound familiar. As Dave says, we can't really manage time -- it's what we do with it that matters.

Now, let's hear what Dave has to share:

In a week where I have dedicated myself to regaining control over my time, I have come to realize that I am trying to accomplish something impossible. Time is time. Every day has exactly 1440 minutes to it and no matter what we do,we can not create any more of it.

So instead of creating more time we spend our energy trying to make better use of those precious minutes each day.We attempt to manage time. 

Well guess what. We have no control over time. Time itself can not be managed. We can not speed it up or slow it down. 

Do you know why a watched pot never boils? It's a time thing!

The only thing we can manage is ourselves and what we do with the time allotted each day.

Yesterday was a prime example. I had to be in New York. Without traffic, the trip from my driveway to mid-town where I wanted to be is roughly 18 minutes.I knew I would need about 30 minutes in the City and then blow right back to NJ.I carved out a 2 hour window mid day when I knew morning rush hour would be over and well before evening rush hour.It was a great plan.

Unfortunately that carved out 2 hours became 5.5 hours before I knew it. No big deal. I made adjustments . I had my phone with me and I could accomplish some things sitting in traffic.

Not really. At some point,my phone died. That was shortly after Susan was bit by a dog and had to get treated.Where was I ,her dutiful caring husband? 8 miles away sitting in traffic with no real means of being of any assistance. Truth be told she is fine and it  was handled. The point being I could control neither the time or the situation. What I could control was myself and my response to all of this.

It is 4:10 in the morning on this June 12th How am I Doin' Friday. I am doing great as I prepare to make the best of the 1440 minutes allotted to me for the day.I have a seminar at 8:30 in the morning.I have a funeral at 11 , an hour south of the seminar which ends at 10.How long can a funeral possibly take?

Well ,as long as it needs to.Realistically, that may be the extent of what I can attend to today. I have no idea. I can plan to allocate another two hour window . I think by now we realize that will only end in frustration.That is why I am writing at 4 in the morning.One more accomplishment. One more item off of the agenda.By the way ,since I first sat down to write I have used up 34 minutes, approximately 2.5% of my day's total minutes.

I have a business partner in the UK whose work day started a short while ago. I will now jump on a call with him trying to recapture some of those precious minutes, or at least make better use of them.
All of this brings me to one remarkable conclusion. When I spend any amount of time worrying about not having enough time or how much time I am wasting, I am in fact creating my own stress and participating in an activity that I am so desperately trying to end. It can be a vicious cycle.

So I will do my best to do my best with the 1440 minutes I have for today. By the way,since I last checked I used up another 1%.

Have a Fantastic Day!
Shabbat Shalom!

David
Remember to say thank you....It pays dividends


key words:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Promise or A Plan?

Which would you rather have -- a promise, or a plan? I love promises. When some people make a promise to me I know that it is as good as done. They are reliable, trustworthy, hard-working creative people who keep their promises. I'll take a promise from them any day. Promises can be problematic sometimes, though. Some people are not so skilled or willing to keep their promises. They may make a promise to move forward in the conversation (possibly because the conversation is deep enough to cause some discomfort) and yet have no intention of keeping that promise. That's not helpful. That's not what centered leaders are looking for. That's not how centered problem solvers operate. Promises are great and I'm also interested in the plan. What exactly are they promising to do and when will they do it? What's the plan? Picking a promise over a plan is a risky way to solve a problem.  Problems respond better to the actions completed in a careful and thorough...
Post a Comment
Read more

High Performance Leaders Combine Courage and Compassion

What do people look for in a leader? I believe that there are four key strengths that leaders must develop: clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion. As leaders we should develop these in connection with each other. I was thinking about this as I was leading a workshop on controlling chaos yesterday. When we are leading our way (and others' way) through difficult situations it is no time to be shy. It's not the time to sit back and wait for something to happen. It's not the time to get passive. High performance leaders make their expectations clear. They raise the bar. They look for people to give their best, speak up, and be assertive. It's easy to go over the edge, though. It's easy to fall into an extreme. Leaders do it frequently and are often portrayed in the media as strong and confident even though that occurs at the expense of other people's self-esteem and well being. Centered, high performance leaders do not lead and achieve at the expense ...
2 comments
Read more

More On Learning

Even brilliant minds sometimes fall behind. Keep learning. I say it a lot, and yet can't say it enough: keep learning. That's a note to self as well as anyone else. What have you learned today? -- doug smith  
Post a Comment
Read more

Lead By Example

People do want to be challenged, but only by people who walk the talk. Leaders who demonstrate the character and discipline that they demand from others. What would your team look like if everyone on your team performed exactly like you? -- doug smith
Post a Comment
Read more

One Generation Behind

It's not fair. It's not exactly logical. But how true do you think it is? Every generation creates its own problems -- and must solve the problems of the previous generation. Maybe it's the advance of technology. Maybe it's the quality of thinking. Maybe it's the incubator of time. What do you think? -- Douglas Brent Smith
Post a Comment
Read more

Nothing Left to Give?

Saying that we did the best we ould and actually DOING the best we could are NOT the same and does not fool anyone. You'll know for sure when you did the best you could when there is nothing left to give. -- doug smith  
Post a Comment
Read more

High Performance Leaders and Emotions

Are you an emotional leader? I had a boss once who put his fist thru a wall. He got lucky. If he hits a stud, it's a broken hand, at least. But he hit pure dry wall and his fist went right thru. He was making a point. I don't remember what his point was, but it was obvious that he was angry. He was also out of control. Leaders can't afford to look out of control. Scare your team and they'll lose productivity faster than you can say "update the resume." I've lost my temper, too -- but never put my fist thru a wall (at work. I did once in college in the apartment where I lived, but that's another story. Oh, yes I did fix the hole.) Sure, leaders can have emotions. But if our emotions get out of control they get in our way. Our teams panic. Our customers walk. Our families cringe. I'm not advocating any kind of flat line robotics here. Enjoy your emotions. Cry. Laugh. Cuss if you need to. Enjoy the joy that's there in lif...
Post a Comment
Read more

Perception Frames Your Problem

How do you know for sure if something is a problem? If you see it as a problem, then it is a problem. Your perception will tell you -- not reality, but what you consider important about your reality. If you see it as a problem, shouldn't you do something about it? Centered problem solving sorts through our perceptions and checks in with the perceptions of other people who are effected by the situation. Emotions can trigger misconceptions, so centering ourselves and testing our assumptions is key. Then, if it's still a problem, it's time to do something about it. -- Douglas Brent Smith Bring our  Centered Problem Solving  workshop to your location and dramatically increase the problem solving skills of the people who attend.
Post a Comment
Read more

Are You In The Mood for Problem Solving?

Have you ever noticed people getting grumpy, just when they need to be at their best? Problems can bring out the skepticism in us. They can rankle our intentions and sour our mood. When that happens, don't deny it. Experience it. Let it find you in the moment and then let it go. Are you ready? Let it go. We can solve more problems in a good mood than we can in a sour mood. While we can't force a good mood, there's not much benefit to holding onto a discontented one. It's served its purpose once it has your attention. As a problem solver, it's time to move on. If your role is the leader in the problem solving effort, it's time to create a better space. Bring some things into the environment to build more comfort, trust, and energy: - food - water - soft music - light - warmth - confidence - acceptance - appreciation What else could you bring? What works best for you? What would work best for your group? Sour moods serve their purpose -- but...
Post a Comment
Read more