The Biggest Time Management Mistake You Can Make

Most time management problems are really motivation problems in disguise. Procrastination, lack of balance and a failure to delegate are merely symptoms of a bigger issue.  From my experience, the biggest time management mistake that you can make is not being clear on what you value. 

This lack of clarity will cause you to procrastinate, and spend time with the wrong people doing the wrong things.  So, how do you become clear on what you value so that you have more time and experience less stress? 

Your 90th Birthday
Close your eyes and imagine that you have traveled forward in time to a 90th birthday celebration banquet being held in your honor.  Who is in the room and what are they saying about you?  You are asked to speak and you make the following statement:  “I have lived a great life because I achieved my dream to ….” Whatever comes after the word “to” represents what you value. The people that you imagine as being in the room and the words they use to describe your life are also a part of your value system. 

Your Personal Mission Statement
The next step is to create a written personal mission statement. Your personal mission statement is a statement that summarizes the core values and beliefs that you discovered in the 90th birthday visualization exercise. It can be as brief as three words or as long as three paragraphs. 

Taking the time to do this will imprint your purpose and values firmly in your mind and serve as the guide for future decisions. For example, my personal mission statement is as follows: “To serve God, provide for my family, and to inspire current and future generations through my writing and speaking.” My daily actions and priorities are a reflection of this mission statement. 

If you feel that you lack balance in your life, there are two possible root causes:

1. You have not clearly defined your personal mission.

2. You have made choices that don’t line up with your personal mission.

Completing the 90th birthday exercise and writing out your personal mission statement will give you a clear picture of what you value and keep you from making the most common time management mistakes.   If you found this to be helpful, please share this message via your social networks! 

Sincerely,
Eric M Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner

PS. I have written an ebook that will help you to maximize your time so that you are ready for your defining moment. Get your copy now. 

Address the Root; Not the Result

"It’s not the towering sail but the unseen wind that moves the ship."

Asian Proverb

Back in my childhood days, I would help my parents by working in the backyard on the weekends.  They provided me with a set of clippers that I used to trim the bushes closest to the house. One day, I came across a weed growing nearby. In an effort to be helpful, I used the clippers to cut the weed so that it was no longer visible. I was proud of myself for eliminating this eye sore in an otherwise beautiful lawn. After several weeks, I was disappointed when I saw that the weed had grown back. The reason the weed grew back was that I failed to cut it at the root. I only dealt with what I saw on the surface. 

Procrastination is like that weed in the backyard. What you see on the surface is not the total picture. The consistent delay and constant lateness represent the surface. If the root cause is not addressed, this habit will continue to appear. Today you will learn the most common root cause of procrastination from my experience and what you can do to deal with it. 

Perfectionism
The root of perfectionism will delay you from beginning a project until you have ALL of the answers.  Everything has to be perfect before the perfectionist gets started.  Sometimes the key to success is to start moving from where you are, and as you move the answers will come.   The solution to perfectionism is to break your major projects down into small and actionable next steps.  As you approach the project, the question you should ask is “What is the next action?” 

For example, if your project is writing a book, the next action may be to select a title.   If you are cleaning the garage, the next action may be to create a throw away pile.   If you are hiring a new employee, the next action may be to create an employment ad.  Each action will put you one step closer to your goal.   The most important aspect of the next action is that it is an observable behavior that is specific.  The following test will help you to determine if your action is specific enough:

Picture Test

If you can take a picture of yourself performing the action, you will know that the action is specific enough. You can take a picture of yourself creating an ad, throw away pile or book title so they each pass the test. Vague steps like trying harder, doing better, and working on it, do not pass the test.

Eliminating perfectionism through clear and observable action steps will help you to address procrastination at its root and improve your results. 

Sincerely,
Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner 

PS. I am finalizing the world’s most comprehensive e-book on time management for executives and entrepreneurs. Please send me an e-mail with your most pressing time management concern. I will send you a free copy of the e-book as a thank you gift.

Focus Forward

“Failure is in my history, but greatness is in front of me.”

This past weekend I was watching Back To the Future starring Michael J Fox. In this classic movie, Michael’s character Marty Mcfly, and his scientist friend traveled through time in their DeLorean automobile time machine. If they were unhappy with their results, they hopped in the DeLorean and went back in time to make corrections. Their DeLorean gave them the opportunity for a “do over” if they made a bad decision.

Have you ever made a hiring decision, and after 30 days, wished you had a DeLorean to hop into? Or maybe you gave a sales presentation, but were unable to land the account. What about the time you interviewed unsuccessfully for that position and had regrets about how you answered the questions?

I have experienced each of these setbacks and can relate to the regret that you feel when they occur. When you hang on to the regret you waste time that should be invested in moving forward. The question becomes, how do you maintain a forward focus in spite of a painful past?  The answers below will help you to make better use of your time and experience less stress.

Inquiry
The inquiry I am referring to is with you.  Whenever you experience a setback, you should make an inquiry by asking yourself the following question: “What did I learn from this experience?”  Next,  make a list of your lessons learned and anytime you are tempted to beat your self up, refer back to your list.  Noted philosopher Edmond Burke said these very famous words: “Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."  Focusing on the lesson will position you for future success and keep you from repeating the same mistakes.

Improvement
The second key to maintaining a forward focus is to commit to daily improvement. Every day you should do something to get better at your craft and move towards your calling. For example, I have a daily reading schedule that results in me reading three books a month. If I had a major setback three months ago, I don’t dwell on it because I realize that I have read nine books since then. I am smarter today than I was three months ago based on what I have read.

According to modern medical research, the cells in our bodies completely regenerate and renew themselves every 11 months. This means that you are a new creature and the mistakes of your past were performed by the OLD you! Referring to your lessons learned list and committing to daily improvement will help you to maintain a forward focus and make the most productive use of your time.

Sincerely,

Eric M. Twiggs
Your Procrastination Prevention Partner 

Don’t Let Perfect Become the Enemy of Progress

Nobody can do it like Eric! This was my motto early into my career as a District Manager in the automotive industry. I was responsible for five hundred employees and had seventeen managers that reported to me. My desire to delegate was low because I felt that if I wanted it done right, I had to do it. My days started early in the morning and ended late at night. I had limited free time and large amounts of stress. 

I then made the following discovery that helped me move from burnout to breakthrough: My desire for perfection was the root cause of my failure to delegate. I had allowed perfect to become the enemy of progress. So how can you avoid making the same mistake that I did?  Below are two steps that will help you to become a more effective delegator and break the perfectionist habit. 

Calculate Your Time Value
The first step that helped me to become more willing to delegate was to calculate how much my time was really worth. Start by taking your desired annual income and dividing by 52 weeks. For example, let’s assume that your annual goal is to make at least $110,000. One hundred and ten thousand divided by fifty two is two thousand one hundred fifteen dollars. Next, you take the weekly dollars and divide by the average hours you work in a week. If you work a 50 hour work week your time is worth $42/hour. Now that you know how much your time is worth, you can use this to determine if the task is worthy of your time. If the task is not a $42/hour task, then it can be delegated. 

I am often asked by business owners that work alone if they should hire a personal assistant. We have done the math and determined that their time is worth more than $60/hour in several cases. Paying someone ten dollars an hour to do the book keeping, make follow up calls, and schedule appointments is a smart investment that has created more time for them. 

Create a Follow-Up System
The lack of a consistent follow-up system is a major reason for the fear and failure to delegate. Many an entrepreneur has been burned by a task that they delegated to an employee that never got done. The key to successful delegation is to establish how you plan to follow-up BEFORE you assign the task. For example, most email providers allow you to schedule reminders on emails that you have sent that have not been responded to. You can set it up so that you get an email in your inbox in 24 hours that reminds you that you need to follow-up. 

When I was a District Manager, I used my “How will I know?” follow up system whenever I delegated an important task. I would ask the manager “How will I know when this is done?” They would tell me that they would call me to let me know. “Great, when can I expect your call?” was my next question. I would then put it on my phone calendar and set an alert that reminded me to follow up. 

Calculating your time value and creating a follow up system will make you a more effective delegator and help you to break the perfectionist habit. Stay tuned for the next Twiggs Time Tip. Or read more in the world’s most complete Time Management EBook for executives and entrepreneurs. 

Don’t Let Technology Kill Your Time

“A failure to properly automate can cause you to procrastinate.”

The lack of technology killed my time. The year was 1992 and I was an undergrad at Hampton University. I wanted to make a phone call and decided to go the pay phone. I realized that I did not have quarter and had to go get change. When I got back, there was someone on the phone so I had to wait. 

Later in the day, I got a letter from a friend who had transferred to a school in Wisconsin. She updated me on how she was doing and wanted to hear back from me. There was no Facebook, email or texting, and I could not afford the long distance bill. My only option was to write her a letter, drop it in the mailbox, and wait. 

That evening, the pay phone was finally free so I decided that I would make a collect call to my parents and ask them to send me some money. The line was busy and since there were no cell phones or Skype service, I had to . . . wait. 

Now that we are in 2012, technology has eliminated all of my time management issues, right? 

Technology is like a gun. When used properly, it can protect your time and add to your life. Just like a gun, technology in the wrong hands can kill your time and keep you away from your family. Think about it, you can spend your entire day responding to emails, answering your cell phone, and communicating on social media. 

Have you ever been out at a restaurant in the evening and seen a guy who is with his family, but spends his entire time on his smartphone? If you can relate to that guy, the tools below are for you. They will help you to effectively use technology and get your time back:

1. RescueTime
   RescueTime is a free app that allows you to measure how much time you spend on email, the Internet and social media. It gives you daily and weekly productivity scores based on the amount of time you spend surfing. You can adjust the settings and program predetermined time limits for any website. Once you exceed your limit the app will deny you access to that site. For example, if you feel you spend too much time on Facebook, you can set a limit of 15 minutes per day. Once you exceed your limit, Rescue time will deny you access.

2. HootSuite
   If you are like me and use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, the HootSuite app can save you a great deal of time. It will allow you to send one message that will update on all of your social media accounts at the same time. HootSuite also gives you the option to schedule your posts in advance.

3. Sanebox
   This nifty service will help you keep your e-mail inbox clean by creating separate folders for unimportant messages. Sanebox will also allow you to create an “unsubscribe folder” where you can move any newsletter or blogs that you no longer read and unsubscribe to multiple lists with one click. You can also program follow up reminders for emails you've sent that haven't received a response.

There you have it. All three of these services are free and can save you a great deal of time.