Time Management or Self Management?

Time management or Self Management may not be a question you have pondered, up until now. Rather you may have felt that there is never enough time, I don’t have time, I’m always time-starved, I always seem to run out of time and so on. Here’s the thing you’d be right. You do run out of time because you’re poor at managing you! No that’s not a typo, I do mean you and you being bad at managing you.

Time Management is a complete misnomer.

In the simplest terms, you can’t manage time. It is in perpetual motion, just keeps on going. Putting this into context each and every day you have 86,400 seconds, that’s 1,440 minutes or simply 24 hours and you can never get them back. So what does that tell us? You can’t manage time, you can manage yourself interestingly.

The first step towards accepting you can’t manage time is the need to start managing yourself, Self Management. Essentially your level of efficiency directly relates to the level you firstly take responsibility for what you have determined needs to be achieved. Secondly being accountable. Once you step over this threshold you will naturally improve your effectiveness and productivity. You first need to accept you’re accountable.

So what is self-management, what does it actually mean?

Well, I’m no rocket scientist, I’ll take a guess, it’s managing yourself, Steve! Yes, you’re absolutely right, yet it seems to be the hardest discipline to maintain. So let me take it one step further. My assumption is you want, need maybe even a deep desire to vastly increase your efficiency and maybe even your teams. Well, you have no chance unless you make a commitment to self-mastery and what I term a level of pigheaded self-discipline.

Pig Headed Self Discipline.

 

Pig Headed Discipline

 

As a former officer and soldier personal discipline was a non-negotionable pre-requisite and could have dire consequences. Having had the discipline on the drill square, to the highest levels of appearance with sharp creases in my uniform to the ultimate commitment to crossing the ‘Line of Departure’ on operational tours with the knowledge you were about to put yourself and other soldiers in harm’s way. I have a high level of self-mastery. Now I’m not saying that to impress you rather impress upon you. Now, you’re not going to immediately become a prime candidate for military service (although you might) rather you can make a start.

All too often in business, there is the loose talk of high levels of self-discipline, being able to hold yourself accountable, having the levels of personal motivation which are required to hold yourself accountable. In all likelihood, like many you talk a good game, the reality may be starkly different. And so it is PHSD is a level above. Pig Headed Self Discipline means you absolutely don’t allow yourself off the hook. Interestingly this is a conversation you have in your head, which often no one else is privy too. Oh it’s ok I’ll leave that until tomorrow, it’s ok I’ll get away early and catch up, it’s ok to not do it to my best ability. The fact is every time you say it’s ok you let yourself off the hook, not only that you train your brain that’s ok and maybe even that it’s not your fault.

So decide right now to make a commitment towards your personal efficiency. What is the No1 area, activity or task you want to get started with self-mastery, where can you start to have an immediate effect in building your personal levels of efficiency? Because once you’re open to starting to have a PHSD focus watch what happens.

Want Some Ideas

I could share with you all the normal time efficiency top tips, and I will in the link at the end of this, rather I’ll share with you some areas of efficiencies which I have taken directly from my PHSD military experience. Here are my top 7 tips from my military experience for you and your business:

  1.  Work Back – When working towards a deadline always establish the major milestones working back from the deadline time. This will allow you to establish all the critical timings leading up to delivery.
  2. Timetable – Have a timetable of daily, weekly, monthly and annual activities which are routine. Identify who is responsible for the activities and have been given clear direction. Have the timetable published at a central point within the organisation and clearly communicate it.
  3. Clear lines of Communication – Have clear lines of communication through the tiers of the organisation, to ensure timely and detailed passage of information. Meetings can form the conduit and starting point, you must ensure there is a clear agenda and stick to it. Don’t allow the meeting to detract and remain firmly in control of the agenda. So much time is wasted through poor communication and unnecessary lengthy meetings.
  4. Synchronise – Whilst this may sound odd, from time to time it will be useful to check everyone’s time is synchronised. Maybe take the time from the internet, central clock or make one team member responsible for setting time. In the military, we always worked from GMT and when on operations the Artillery would be responsible for setting the organisation, ‘gunners time’.
  5. Clear Direction – When setting out tasks for the team make sure there is clear direction given; simply put set out what is to be achieved, what the limitations and constraints are and when it is to be completed by. Throughout make sure the team leader monitors progress periodically, be mindful not to micromanage though.
  6. Concurrent Activity – Whenever possible always be thinking what complementing tasks can be conducted concurrently. There is a greater efficiency to have tasks run in unison.
  7. One third, two-thirds rule. During planning always ensure you, the business owner, ensure your team has the greater proportion of the available time to complete their roles within the planning or task. Essentially take 1/3rd of the time and give the team 2/3rd’s.

For some more traditional ideas download Free Time Efficiency Top Tips

Now there’s a Challenging Thought!