Don’t Wish Your Time Away

This is often what my Mother said to me when I wished I was a little older, out of school, or had challenges behind me.  From experience, I later learned she was right.  Whether we have a fixation on future time or past time, the result is the same.  We miss the good things about our present time.

The skill of focusing on and living in the present is one way to cherish time.  Unfortunately, it is not practiced by many until they are older and see their time running out.  Look for the good in your garden of today’s time.  It’s there to be relished.

Are you a timely concluder?

When business is concluded and social etiquette has been expressed, it’s time to move on.

Make it a point to exit meetings promptly. Avoid lingering on the telephone. Discipline yourself to not hover over email. Keep short discussions from evolving into office gossip.

Being slow to conclude is a hidden time-waster that washes more time down the drain than most people realize. Maintain a formal professional stance and use closure statements to disengage in a timely way, using your own style. Prepare closing statements in advance. Get good at using them, and you’ll end up with a lot more time to do what counts.

Being on time for appointments is gracious

We all face situations from time to time that can cause us to be late for meetings and appointments. Chronic tardiness, however, can diminish our professional reputation. It also irritates others. How is your track record?

One reason people are often late is that they fail to manage transition time. Transition time is the time required to move from one activity to the next and/or from one location to the next, whether it’s just down the hall or across town.

Here’s an idea to improve punctuality: Write in your planner not just when the meeting starts, but also when you are going to leave to go to the meeting. Allow a little extra buffer time too because we are often stopped by a co-worker in a hallway, and there is always the possibility of a traffic jam.

Punctuality communicates to others: “I’m a professional and you are important to me.” Tardiness sends another message.

Make it appoint to always be early to appointments and make it fun. Schedule appointments at off times like 9:58 am, or 12:22 pm and my favorite is 5:55 pm.

A Time Management Code of Conduct

A time management code of conduct is a great way increase productivity in any organization. Our definition is this. Focus on time management principles, value time, focus on time standards, or rules of behavior when interrupting others. The time management code of conduct is a guide for better decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that contributes to the overall productivity of the organization.

1. I never hold others hostage by keeping them waiting. I call, and inform people if I am going to be late.
2. I arrive at meetings a few minutes early and prepared.
3. I don’t text or read email while talking face to face to somebody.
4. I never send non-essential email.
5. I never keep others waiting for information needed to complete their own projects on time.
6. I acknowledge calls in a timely way and never ignore people.
7. I’m careful not to exceed the number of minutes others allocate to me.
8. I never barge into another’s work space without asking to come in.
9. I encourage others to get their fair share of talk time in meetings.
10. I never waste the time I’m being paid to use.
11. I keep my promise to call people back.
12. I don’t waste time on office gossip.
13. I avoid making overlong phone calls and unnecessary drop in visits.
14. I don’t ask people if they’ve got a minute and then take fifteen minutes.
15. I always thank others for their time.

We invite you to share this with other you are in contact with on a regular basis. You can even go as far as to create a poster for the break room, board room, or your office door.

Save Time, Use The Six Thinking Hats

I just finished reading the book “Six Thinking Hats” authored by Edward De Bono.  I suggest that if you have communication challenges in meetings, with coworkers, and even in your personal relationships the six thinking hats will save you time.  Effective communication not only leeds to higher productivity but can eliminate unnecessary stress.

Now, it’s no secret that meetings can be a big  time waster.  In all my years of consulting, I don’t think I ever had anyone tell me that their company meetings that are productive, effective, and thought provoking.  It’s primarily because human beings face major challenges.  The first obstacle is their ego. A desire to be right, to get their way, to show how smart they are instead of seeking the most logical solution.  The other major challenge is emotion.  When we are emotionally attached to an idea or concept it can cloud our judgement.

The purpose of the six thinking hats method is to  simplify your thinking approach.  First, focus on one thing at a time instead of juggling emotions, facts, and figures together. This is the organizational component.  The second is to channel your energy on one activity  at a time.  This creates harmony, increases productivity, and will produce results every time.  This method saves individuals and corporations time.

Make better decisions by using six thinking hats.  Each hat symbolizes a different way of processing information. These imaginary hats allow you to shift easily from one mode of to another.

• The White Hat: Symbolizes neutrality and discusses just the facts and figures only.
• The Red Hat: Allows you to express feelings and emotion without having to justify them.
• The Black Hat: Caution. Focus on looking for possible dangers or any obstacles.
• The Yellow Hat: Optimism. Look for the positive and possibilities in the project or situation.
• The Green Hat: Tap into your creativity and use this hat to brainstorm all creative ideas with out negative influence.
• The Blue Hat: Keep the structure together, be calm, cool and collective.

Use the six Thinking Hats method in all group endeavors to save time and to get results. Start with the blue hat to set the ground rules and to identify the desired outcome of the meeting.  Then, use each hat in no particular order but be sure to have a time limit set for each hat. This will help you guide your team toward better decisions and will drastically cut meeting time.  Focus on the common goal, after all you are on the same team.