#39 - Scheduling - Your one-stop shop to success!
27 Nov 24
Have you ever felt that you were hostage to events which are outside your control?
Have you ever felt that there just are not enough hours in the day to get the stuff you need to get done...done?
This drives frustration and ultimately stress increases, as many then default to putting in more hours. Not good!
Ditch your 'To do' list right now and place scheduling at the heart of your new system.
Scheduling allows you to account for your work time, prioritise effectively and ensure that nothing gets missed.
Schedule as far ahead as you can, set the tempo and let others respond to your calls on priorities rather than vice versa.
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#39 - Scheduling - Your one-stop shop to success!
What?
If you've often wondered how politicians, celebrities and high achievers cram so much into their lives, you're not alone!
Sometimes it can actually induce feelings of inadequacy, since high achievers and the rest of us all have one thing in common. We are all given the exact same amount of hours in a day to manage, no more no less.
However, the super-skill that high achievers have mastered is the art of accounting for, and making their time count!
Treat your time as you treat the money you have in your bank account. Spend it wisely, don't fritter it away, invest some for the future etc.
By being intentional with your time, you are setting yourself up for success!
Why?
I think the advice that Bill Clinton gave to Tony Blair when he became the UK's Prime Minister absolutely hits the nail on the head:
'Whoever runs your schedule is the most important person in your world as leader. You need time to think, time to study and time to get the things done you came to leadership to do. Lose control of your schedule and you will fail!'
This is an interesting quote because to a large degree, the schedule for a leader of a country is hostage to events, it's reactive for the majority of the time. That is, reactive to events outside of their control.
However, looking at the second part of the quote we can see an acknowledgement that with everything going on outside the country, wars, crises, economic impacts etc, a leader still has to find the time to get the stuff done that the electorate voted them in to do!
That's no easy task but it's the same for anyone in a leadership role, albeit on a different scale.
So taking charge of one's schedule should be the number one skill that a leader needs to really get refined and embedded into a system. The art of prioritisation goes hand in hand with that.
How?
If you are still using a 'To do' list, please stop right now!
Why?
- The prioritisation of tasks is set by default (and subliminally) by the order in which the tasks are written into the list,
- Tasks are left 'floating' with no set time in which they should be completed,
- Tasks get quickly missed if you get overwhelmed, and become buried within your notebook, never to be seen again!
- Most people succumb to 'task favouritism' - only focussing on those tasks that they enjoy doing. The rest get ignored,
- You have far better tools available which can help you get stuff done!
So what should you be doing?
Going back to Bill Clinton's sage advice above, the key to success is being intentional with your time. If you don't run your schedule, someone else will.
Your schedule will be hijacked and you will merely be responding to everyone else's priorities and addressing their needs rather than your own.
Here's what you should do:
- Ditch your 'To do' list and never use it again!
- Use MS Outlook or some other equivalent scheduling tool as your main portal to be intentional with your time. Place a scheduling tool at the very epicentre of the system by which you do business,
- Use it to account for every minute of your work time. Include time for lunch, reflection, travelling time etc, and stick to what you have planned within your schedule. No deviations unless it is extremely urgent,
- Plan your time in detail for a running 2 week period. Plan time outside the next 2 weeks as things come in and start to build a detailed programme in advance,
- Regarding point 4 above, most people only plan 1 week ahead. By adopting the stance above, you can get ahead of the game and get slots in their diaries way in advance and therefore guarantee their availability. Because they don't plan ahead as far in advance, they will react positive to your request since they can't say they have a clash! (This is a really powerful tip to drive your agenda and set yourself up for success),
- Treat tasks as mini-appointments with yourself to get stuff done. As a task comes in, put it straight into the schedule. Place it in the schedule according to its priority and/or when it needs to be completed. This prevents tasks from being lost in the noise, and if a higher priority comes in, then all you need to do is re-jig your schedule as appropriate.
- Use your schedule to place reminders for things that may need to be done i.e. phone calls, or to check the progress of a delegated piece of work with your team members,
- The Schedule becomes your 'one stop shop' so you can drive your agenda and therefore take charge of your destiny!
In Summary
I hope that you enjoyed reading this newsletter and that it has given you food for thought.
Scheduling and prioritisation work hand in hand to allow you to be more intentional with your precious time.
It allows you to drive your programme and get the stuff done that really matters.
If you don't take charge of your schedule, someone else will!
Have a great week!
Whenever you're ready, here's how I can help you:
- Resources - Reading is an essential component to developing your own authentic leadership style. Check out my resources page for really inspiring books which I have found invaluable within my own leadership journey,
- Coach Station - Singular issue 60 minute coaching sessions,
- Coach Journey - Bespoke coaching packages of 6 or 12 sessions for transformative change,
- Schedule Optimiser - Online course allowing you to take back control of your diary.
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