Life with Sergeant Major Clock
We have all said or heard people say, “I don’t have the time.” Time becomes this abstract villain that robs us of time with loved ones, the enjoyment of our hobbies, the fulfillment of our dreams and the ability to achieve excellence in our work. Is “time” really the problem?
Let’s start by exploring some time management myths.
- Activity equals results! We think that busy people are the productive ones. Many people are busy but that doesn’t mean they are living life with purpose. FACT! Activity without direction and goals is non-productive dissipation of energy. Busyness can be an opioid that we use to dull the pain of purposelessness. Without goals and purpose, activity can drift toward meaningless motion. Each 5K, 10K and marathon that I ran was connected to a goal. That goal gave significance to my training and purpose to the race.
- Delayed decisions improve their quality! We think that by delaying the decision, new information will come to the fore that will increase our chances of success. Fact! Delayed decisions increase stress and reduce effectiveness. The fear of failure reduces our creativity and distorts our perception of reality. A wrong decision is better than a delayed decision.
- Delegation saves time! We perceive delegation as an opportunity to rid ourselves of time-consuming jobs. Fact! Delegation increases responsibility and takes time. We delegate to develop not divest ourselves of unwanted tasks. To entrust a person with a task requires enablement and equipping. Once you have invested the time to develop the person, you have multiplied your usefulness.
- Efficient people are most effective! An efficient 12-cylinder diesel engine is of little value in a compact sports car. Efficiency can be the enemy of effectiveness. Fact! More important than doing the job right is, “Am I doing the right job?” Imagine, you are part of a well-equipped, well-trained crew commissioned to create a path through the jungle. The leader climbs the tallest tree to gain perspective. He comes down and announces, “Fellows, we are headed in the wrong direction!” Effectiveness deploys all the assets you possess in the right direction.
- Long hours = hard work = increased productivity! How long and hard we work is not the issue. Fact! Work expands to fill the allocated time. If our goal is to develop and release others, we will eventually work ourselves out of a job. The need to be needed can hinder us from releasing others to do what we are doing. At the same time, work can camouflage anger. We pour our time and energy into what we are doing rather than resolve the conflict.
- Only I can do it right! The need to be needed is a power intoxicant. Fact! At some point someone will replace you! We either prepare people to take the baton or someone will tear it out of our hand. The true measure of a man’s success is not in the work he has produced but in the person he has prepared to be his successor.
- An open door = more effective personal relationships! We need to understand that effective personal relationships are built on something more important than availability. Fact! An open door may increase our importance to people and decrease the value of our goals. Yes, people are important but I do not want the airplane mechanic to allow them to distract him making sure that plane can safely carry passengers to their desired destination. All of us need to establish people priorities. Not all people should have equal access to our time. Only my immediate family has 24/7 access to my time. A select few have 24/7 emergency access. I have been awakened several times in the middle of the night by people in the midst of crisis threatening to take their life. I tell them that to follow through with their death wish would be a wrong decision and if they want to talk about it, to phone me in the morning after 9 am and make an appointment. Not all people have equal priority.
- Time needs managing! Time moves relentlessly onward. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years are never disorganized, out of place or left with vacancies. Time is well organized and has been since man began his life on planet earth. Fact! People, not time, need organizing. There is never more time in the future. The immediate moment is the only time you have to possess. Invest it wisely, and it will give you dividends in the future.
- Hopelessness/procrastination! There is nothing that I can do. Fact! Hopelessness and procrastination are the consequence of faulty thinking not a true statement of reality. They allow me to wallow in the mire of victimhood and transfer blame to “circumstances that are beyond my control.” We are all responsible for our own words, actions and attitudes. Change your words from, “I can’t” to “I will.” Plot a simple course with incremental steps that will lead you on a journey from where you are to where you need to be.
The clock keeps ticking and my time has elapsed. We’ll see you next month when we unwrap the precious gift of time.
