High Performance Leadership

How do you manage your time? I've taught time management skills for longer than most people I meet have been alive. Some things change (technology, styles, priorities) and some things stay the same (healthy habits, counter-productive habits.) It's all important and some of it is helpful to apply. But what comes first? Once I realized that time is the one common currency -- the one resource we are all truly created equal in -- I realized how important it was to not get everything done but instead to get what is important done. To focus on the vital. To savor the healthy. To grow. Because all the time in the world doesn't matter if it's spent on things you don't like. It's why some minutes feel like hours and yet some weeks feel like days. When we are happy with our actions, when we are in that blissful flow of creative sparking and helping -- time truly flies. Managing time only works if you're happy doing what you're doing. Do that, and ma...

It feels harder than ever these days to prioritize. We get pulled into so many directions it's hard to know what to do first. Every day feels like life on the edge of (or in the middle of) chaos. What to do? Common sense says priories. Decide what is most important and focus first on that. Build the future you want by working on it today. The place to start? The place to start prioritizing is with your goals. Limit how many you have. Rank the ones you have set by priority, and then focus your efforts accordingly. We all have to start somewhere. It might as well be with our goals. -- doug smith

Do other people sometimes waste your time? I facilitate workshops on workflow and time management occasionally and there are usually people in the workshop who blame their circumstances on other people. "It's all their fault" may feel like it takes the responsibility off your shoulders, but does it help? No. Any time we choose to be a victim we get to stay there. Time. No one knows for sure how much we have, except that we all have only 24 hours at a time per day. No stretching. No expanding. Time doesn't care what we do with it. Time keeps moving. So why blame other people? Sure, other people make unreasonable requests. Other people use inefficient processes. Other people make mistakes and talk endlessly when we know we should be working. But think about it. Other people can only do that TO you if you let them. Take charge. Move along. Keep your focus. Other people can only wast your time if you let them. Why let them? -- Doug Smith

Who has time? Time presses on each of us. We need time to get things done. We need time to develop ourselves and our relationships. And we all have the same 24 hours each day. Time isn't waiting to see if we're paying attention. Time moves with or without us. What we do with that time matters. How will you use your time today? -- Doug Smith

Do you show up on time? How do you feel when you're in charge of something and people choose NOT to show up on time? Not everyone - some people respect you enough and your work to show up on time. But what about those who make other choices? What about those who have de-prioritized your event? Yesterday I facilitated a training program on time management. Some people thought it was funny to say "I don't have time for time management." That's OK. I get it. Managing time is hard. It's a challenge in today's world of multi-tasking and parallel meetings. And yet, tossing the blame onto others won't manage your activities for you, will it? Not only were some people late for my time management workshop - some didn't show up until after lunch, when it was more than half over. Then, they wondered why they didn't find what they needed. Learning is an investment. Learning is a discipline. Managing time is all about managing yourself, and having t...