In a world of accelerating change, social media revolution, and communications overload, you can run the risk of getting burned out very quickly no matter what profession you pursue. If you don't have a strategy for your working week, you can soon find yourself in the realms of procrastination [and not quite getting round to ‘getting your stuff done'!], rather than the giddy heights of successful productivity. Management Sushi Guest Blogger and coaching expert Barry Zweibel offers below a quick look at one of his recipes for better time management [check the end of the blog for an unexpected ‘secret ingredient'!]
Before you get into the nitty gritty of what Barry has to say, here's a brief snapshot of some other helpful time management advice. First of all Stephen Covey is the King of Time Management. Check out his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People for some sharply focused tips on revving up your personal brand and effectiveness. John Kotter's latest book A Sense of Urgency is also worth checking out... he urges development of a keen sense of urgency in business approach since, as he says, "urgency is becoming increasingly important because change is shifting from episodic to continuous". To help lessen communications overload, the Time Management Institute offers a set of seven good tips worth checking out! And finally, Randy Pausch's seminal lecture on Time Management is also highly recommended.
As an aside on the social media front, check out PR and Social Media Expert Brian Solis' latest PR 2.0 Blog Post [The Greatest Hits of 2009 Part 1 : 04/12/2009] for a very helpful round-up of his most pithy and useful communications blog posts in 2009!
Here's what Barry has to say .....
TV MARATHONS: A BETTER TIME MANAGEMENT RECIPE
An entertainment trend that developed over the last several years is cable TV stations running marathons of their favorite television programs. Back in December 2003, I blogged about the implications of applying the "Marathon Days" concept to the workplace. Here's what I thought our weekdays might look like under those circumstances ...
Monday could be "Email Day" where all we did was respond to what was in our in-boxes. Now many of you get *zillions* of emails, no doubt, but I gotta believe that if you had an entire day to focus just on that, why you might even be able to come in a little bit late on Mondays. And wouldn't that be a nice way to start the week?!
Having eased into the week like that, Tuesday would then be "Commitment Day." This would be when you'd be responsible for doing all the things you said you'd do in your emails, a week ago Monday. Just imagine: "Sorry, boss, I can't help you out right now, I'm too busy honoring the commitments I've already made to other people."
Of course that would mean that Wednesday would have to be "Commitment Overflow Day" (COD for short). Why? Well for two reasons.
1. Many of us aren't so good as saying "no" to people, so chances are that we'll have more commitments to honor that can be reasonably worked in one single day.
2. I suspect that just as we changed the rules in Monopoly to add a kitty to Free Parking, Tuesday might very well morph into something called "Procrastination Day." Just imagine, a whole day where NOT getting anything done is the order of the day. Knowing America's workforce for what it is, I suspect that in a passive-aggressive way, Tuesdays just might turn out to be the most productive time in our country's entire history! But in the event it's not, that's where "Commitment Overflow Day" comes into play.
Thursday, then, would be "Customer Complaint Day." Of course, your best move on Thursday's would be to tell your customers to "Send me an email, which I'll *gladly* look at on Monday. So you may want to remember that!
And all that means that Friday could be "Personal/Professional Development Day." That'd be when you focus on that performance improvement plan of yours, practicing your leadership, communications, and delegation skills, talking with your coach, and generally showing the world what a wonderful, caring, helpful, competent, person and professional you are. Wouldn't that be a nice way to head into the weekend? (My guess is that with Fridays designated for this, unscheduled 3-day weekends would plummet!)
With the year winding down, you just might want to think about testing this Marathon approach to your workweek - or some variation thereof. So here's the template of what we just covered:
• Mondays : Work to improve the clarity and succinctness of your written (verbal, and non-verbal) communications.
• Tuesdays : Learn how to say "no" or how to make counter-offers so that you don't wind up over-committing yourself (as you typically do).
• Wednesdays : Practice honoring the commitments you DO make, more consistently, more thoroughly.
• Thursdays : Interact more regularly, and intentionally, with your customers, stakeholders, vendor personnel, and internal staff - the people who rely on you and who you rely on.
• Fridays : Do what you need to do to be that much better at what you do (and who you are.)
So how's that for a recipe for success?! And speaking of recipes, I just found out that there's an "Iron Chef America" marathon getting ready to start. Who knows, maybe the "secret" ingredient they'll be using will be ... wait for it ... Management Sushi?!
Barry Zweibel, MBA, MCC, is president of GottaGettaCoach!, Inc. As a noted executive coach, leadership consultant, and master certified life coach, he engages smart, capable, people in meaningful conversations about their personal growth and professional development.
Barry's customized, coaching, mentoring, and consulting are particularly well-suited for executives and mid-level managers interested in increasing their organizational impact and influence. Those looking to improve their confidence, creativity, charisma and work/life balance, benefit from his life coach and life coaching-related services, as well.
For information on how Barry Zweibel can help you - or those in your organization - visit: http://www.ggci.com/ (web); http://www.ggci.com/blog2/ (blog); http://www.ggci.com/NotJustTalk/ (newsletter); http://twitter.com/ggci (Twitter); or contact Barry directly, at bz@ggci.com or 847-291-9735.
