We All Have It, How We Use It Is What Matters
Leaders all have different talents, different skill sets, different abilities and different circumstances. One thing that leaders have in common though, is that they all have 24 hours in a day. While talent and ability go a long way in separating great leaders from good ones, I’ve found that the most successful leaders are diligent about how they use those 24 hours each day. Managing your time can be a struggle. I know personally some days I do great and end the day feeling like I accomplished big things. Other days I get bogged down by distractions, email, and interruptions that leave me feeling exhausted, yet empty and unfulfilled.
I’m inspired by my friend Banks Benitez, CEO of Uncharted, who has been experimenting with a 4 day work week this year for his company. The project was highlighted in Fast Company Magazine and also in Men’s Health. The cool thing is that they are finding they are working less, yet achieving the same (if not higher) level of productivity. Banks noted that previously working long hours, led to a weaker ability to prioritize and be decisive because it could be covered up with time. Forcing constraints meant he had to strengthen those abilities.
While I’m not quite ready to take on a 32 hour work week, over the past month, I’ve been experimenting with a handful of ways to try to get more out of my days. Setting aside time on Sunday evenings to plan my week has been very helpful. I like to think about what I need to get done in order for me to feel fulfilled by the end of the week and then plug in the roadmap of how to get there. Building in a “no meeting” day each week has been incredible for my ability to tackle big projects that I have a tendency to put off. The large blocks of time allow me to get into deep work that can’t be done in 30-45 minute chunks. I’ve played around with setting a timer for how long I will allow myself to check email. I hate to admit it, but email seems to be an endless task that will eat up as much time as I give it. The same goes for other tasks. I tend to tinker and tweak for too long, so putting a hard stop on a project forces me be disciplined about the time I spend on it and to move on to something else once time is up. I’ve found I’m more effective in the mornings, so that is a great time for me to schedule the most challenging parts of my day. And I’ve seen the benefit of scheduling personal things on my calendar like exercise, date nights and reading.
The “secrets” of productivity aren’t rocket science, or even secrets at all. There are a ton of books and articles written on how to be more effective with your time. But similar to what it takes to lose weight, it’s not about the tactics, it’s about the discipline of consistently executing the tactics. I encouraged my team to evaluate how they spend their time and I encourage you to do the same. Maybe it’s time to try something new or improve one thing about how you organize your week so that you can focus on the things that really matter: The things that have the biggest impact both personally and professionally, the things that will make you a great leader.
And if you want more inspiration, check out this infographic on productivity lessons from the top tech company founders.