Everyday Leader
Everyday Leader...06.22.2005
By Michael Hudson, Ph.D.
Jun 21, 2005, 19:47

Call a Time Out

Everyone who crosses my path these days seems to be in a hurry. Whether they are running from meeting to meeting, making call after call from their desk, or traveling from town to town...frenetic is the only word that accurately describes their pace.

When gently probed about what they are working on, these folks typically rattle off laundry lists of to do items, list countless professional and personal commitments, and generally demonstrate that they long ago lost control of their time. But when asked what they are really accomplishing with all this activity, many are hard pressed to come up with a solid answer. In fact, the question often creates that well known deer-in-the-headlights look.

You know what? Most of these people should call a time out immediately, and use the time they gain to review how they are really investing their time. Because how we use our time is always a choice, and it pays to ask yourself frequently...am I making the right choice right now?

OK, no doubt that last question led some people to stop reading, or perhaps to immediately opt for the delete key. After all, it is difficult to acknowledge that all of those activities that are occupying, and sometimes wasting, our time are things that we chose to do. And for many it is even more difficult to think about who we would be if we did not do all of those things each day.

But that is exactly my point: Are you spending your time pursuing things that really matter, or are you caught up in a routine of being constantly busy with things that are not really leading you toward the outcomes you want from your life?

It is a difficult question, but whether you lead a growing company, a professional office, a non-profit, or a sole proprietorship, the fact is you have a limited amount of time available to you each day. The choices you make regarding how that time is invested today will ultimately determine whether you achieve your desired outcomes tomorrow.

Here's why you should call a time out today (and what you should do during that time out):

1. To catch your breath and assess your progress...we are nearing the end of the second quarter of 2005; it is a great time to consider whether your efforts are on track to achieve year-end goals.

2. To analyze your day-to-day activities...no doubt there are things that have crept into your routine that are occupying time, but not yielding the results you would like; it is time to either do them, delegate them to someone else, defer them until a later date, or dump them from your to do list so you can focus your effort on what really matters.

3. To redirect your efforts...once you review your activities and assess whether they are leading you in the direction of your target outcomes, you can refocus your energy and reallocate your effort to ensure that you are moving in the desired direction.

BOTTOM LINE: Effective leaders allocate their time to high pay-off activities that lead to realization of specific desired outcomes. If your efforts are being derailed by the urgency of problems that demand your attention and keep you from doing the things that would have the highest pay-off, maybe you need to call a time out!

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Everyday Leader is written by Michael Hudson, Ph.D., The Everyday Leadership Authority(tm). Comments are welcome. Archived issues can be viewed at Everyday Leader Archives

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