3 ways to avoid the time trap
DESCRIPTION
Out of time? No margin? Bailing water out of your career canoe?TRANSCRIPT
CEO Change Leader Strategist Issues & Crisis Manager
As CEO of YellowChair Strategy, he helps leaders transform their organization to “survive today and thrive tomorrow.”
MARK AFFLECK
The Author
T h r e e W a y s t o a v o i d . . .
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
All of us at some point encounter circumstances that pressure and
then hijack our time.
It’s a “TimeTrap” that
rises each day with the sun.
It’s a given.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
How we get snared in the first place?
Blame human nature…
it’s OUR fault!
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
We all start each day with a full “container” of time as we head out
on our Activity Road.
Along the way, the
time container starts to empty.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
We do what:
Comes EASY
Fuels our PASSION
We ENJOY doing
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
Focusing on our favorite activities is natural and a very good thing. It’s
the propulsion for productivity and fuel for purpose in
our work.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
But that doesn’t keep the time container from running down. And we’re ok until
the inevitable scarcity takes over.
When that happens, our MARGIN has
started to thin and we are at risk.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
Then, right on cue, those inevitable
URGENT & IMPERATIVE
tasks appear on our road ahead. Of course we
immediately scramble to meet the new challenges.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
But if the time container has run too
low, we have already marginalized our response to the URGENT & IMPERATIVE.
WE’RE IN THE
TIME TRAP…
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
MARGIN…
MARGIN…
MARGIN…
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
So how do we avoid the
TIMETRAP’S PAIN and mitigate its negative consequences?
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
In three steps, which all pivot off MARGIN. Here they are:
MAINTAIN MARGIN
The Time Trap
FIND MARGIN
LEVERAGE MARGIN
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
Most people resort to conventional
TIME MANAGEMENT to find margin.
I think it’s a very bad idea.
FIND MARGIN STEP
1
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
I’ll be a bold contrarian here and declare that after 25
years as a CEO Leader, I strongly believe that
leaders cannot attain maximum effectiveness by merely
MANAGING their time.
That transactional mindset and approach will never, by definition, be
STRATEGIC.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
How do you find margin?
FINDING MARGIN comes from constantly reviewing my short and long-term
goals and strategic frame. I never get wrapped up in my
favorite activities without having those goal reminders at
my side. They help me see what could be missed if I
don’t intentionally create margin before I’m out of time.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
Using this approach, I’m able to
FIND THE MARGIN I need…because have to! The goals and
strategy must always win the day.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
FINDING MARGIN is the key and essential
start to avoiding the Time Trap. But it’s not enough by itself. That margin must be
LEVERAGED.
LEVERAGE MARGIN STEP
2
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
URGENT & IMPERATIVE…
there needs to be an INTERRUPTION before the time container runs out. That interruption must happen when it doesn’t feel like you “have to.”
The Time Trap
In order to strategically leverage time and retain margin for the
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
Remember, we all are drawn to our
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES
what we like to do… are passionate about… and enjoy doing…
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
LEVERAGING MARGIN is achieved by regulating the time container’s pressure to make sure our favorite activities don’t suck it dry. And that produces the leverage.
Successful regulation of our time allows for what’s imperative from our goals and
strategic frame to be completed.
We’ve now LEVERAGED our time against what must be done.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
MAINTAIN MARGIN STEP
3
It’s at this point that
conventional time management techniques
provide effective maintenance.
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
Here’s the 4-PART DECISION FILTER I use to MAINTAIN MARGIN for each and every circumstance that pops up on my Activity Road:
DELEGATE DELAY DROP
DECIDE
The Time Trap
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com
WHY?
It’s fitting that this post ends with a paragraph on conventional time management.
Because if that’s all we do, there’s no chance we’ll be the strategic and transformative leaders
this new ChangeAge demands.
The Time Trap
CEO Change Leader Strategist Issues & Crisis Manager
As CEO of YellowChair Strategy, he helps leaders transform their organization to “survive today and thrive tomorrow.”
MARK AFFLECK
The Author
Mark Affleck Posted October 2013 http://www.yellowchairstrategy.com