Own Your Day
Page 10
Then schedule a recurring time in your routine to return to them throughout the year to assess your progress with kicking your adrenaline habit and tapping more into momentum and becoming a process-minded thinker.
[PART THREE]
SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY
CHAPTER 21
How to Manage Expected Interruptions
How to Protect Your Time
Interruptions are part of our days. Whether they take the form of an impromptu meeting, a client-service problem, a last-minute proposal, personal demands, e-mails, or conversations with your staff, these unplanned engagements or activities have a tendency to rob us of time throughout our days, regardless of how intentional we are around scheduling our time.
While the majority of these distractions that inadvertently consume our day can be eliminated, the fact remains, many cannot. However, do not despair, there is hope—if you can’t eliminate them, you can learn how to manage them better.
Robert, the owner of a media company, called me the other day, sharing his frustration about not being able to get through his daily list of responsibilities due to the constant barrage of interruptions from both customers and his staff.
Not wanting to be the “bad guy” or send the wrong message to his staff that he doesn’t care, Robert allowed his employees to interrupt him with their questions, problems, and requests for help. Whether it was via e-mail, phone, a text, or them walking into his office and taking a seat in front of his desk, Robert had a tendency to drop what he was doing in fear of any additional fallout or backlash if he did not address their needs immediately.
To quell this ongoing problem, I shared a process with Robert to do a better job of managing the interruptions and the expectations people have of him. This way, he can be the one to take ownership of his time and his day rather than allowing the daily chaos, interruptions and distractions to dominate him.
Although a component of his solution was tactical (“Planning for the Unplanned,” chapter 13), it’s important to recognize that the solution to Robert’s problem had less to do with a tactical solution to better manage his day, and more to do with a communication strategy that would protect his time without the collateral damage that often ensues.
Here’s an example of a two-step communication process you can leverage the next time one of your employees comes to you with a pressing issue. And the best part is, you get to protect your time, coach the other person on time management and prioritization, and manage that interruption without being the bad guy.
Step One: Acknowledge and Confirm Urgency
You’re sitting at your desk. The phone rings or someone walks into your office asking you, “Do you have a few minutes?” Rather than respond with the yes that’s going to quickly become a trigger point of contention for you, first manage your visceral reaction to say yes. Instead, respond by saying, “Cathy, I’m in the middle of completing something right now that has a measurable deadline around it. However, I want to be as supportive and responsive as I can to your request. I want to ensure that whatever you need, I give it the time and the attention it deserves so that we can successfully work through it together. While I know it’s important to you that we handle this now, is this something that demands immediate attention and must be handled right away, or can it wait until a little later, when I can better focus my time and attention on this?”
Let’s face it. Everyone who asks for help thinks that what they’re working on is the single most important thing of the day. They think it needs to be handled immediately when, in most cases, people create self-imposed pressure by reacting rather than thinking it through to respond in a healthier way. This also becomes a powerful coaching moment for the person you’re speaking with.
While we all want the help people at the time they ask for it, the majority of issues may not be all that time-sensitive, even though everything today is positioned as an immediate priority. Everything is important to the person who is requesting your assistance; the response I suggested acknowledges rather than dismisses their request. And in some cases, it may not be something that can wait! But that’s okay. After all, if we can cut down on these types of distractions by 50 percent, that’s more than 50 percent ownership that you just took back over your day to own it.
Regardless, while you are being sensitive to how people are feeling, some things can actually wait. The difference is, you’re making them feel really good about waiting! However, if you never ask, you never create the opportunity to distinguish between what’s urgent and what is not.
Step Two: Demonstrate Respect, Coach, and Schedule
Once they tell you how pressing their matter is, you now have the choice to assess the situation and either handle it in the immediate moment or find the time to address it at a later time. You’ll find that many of these urgent requests can be postponed because they are not truly emergencies. Once you uncover that the situation is not as pressing as initially presented, continue with the following response:
“Okay, then, how about you and I discuss this (suggest a time that works for you) tomorrow morning at ten o’clock, when I know I can give this the time it needs, work through this together without feeling pressured or rushed, and give you my undivided attention without being distracted. Does that work for you?”
Who’s not going to want their boss’s undivided attention? Notice what you’re not doing here. You’re not telling them, “I’ll be done in five minutes. Let’s talk then.” The fact is, most of the time, whatever it is you are currently engaged in, you won’t be done in five minutes. This allows you to become more realistic with what you have on your plate.
So look at your schedule. Then plan this conversation for a time when you know will not be fiercely competing with other tasks you need to handle that command your attention.
Taking this approach removes the risk of coming across as self-righteous, uncaring, and insensitive when you say, “I can’t help you now” or “You know what to do here, so just do it” or “How long have you been in this position”?” or “I’m too busy now; I’ll try to find some time later to help you.”
Now you can address the person’s request in a respectful, supportive way while honoring the boundaries you are setting to protect yourself and your time from other people’s continued barrage of demands. Rather than compete with distractions or feel as if you’re helpless to do anything about them, simply learn to manage them and the expectations people have of you simply by communicating more effectively.
[PART THREE]
SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY
CHAPTER 22
Empower Your Calendar to Hold You Accountable
Beware of the Accountability Trap
The accountability trap is yet another diversionary tactic. I had a client who owned a profitable business and was looking to take his company to the next level of success. At the end of our meetings, we would discuss the measurable tasks he would like to complete by our next meeting.
I noticed, however, that at the end of our meetings, he never took the time to write down the tasks he committed to finishing. So when we met the following week for our coaching session, I would ask him about the work he said he would complete. He responded by saying, “Oh, I completely forgot!”
I gave him the benefit of the doubt the first time, even the second time this occurred. During our third meeting, the writing was on the wall. His diversionary tactic had been exposed! Because he didn’t write things down, he didn’t remember what he said he would commit to doing. And because he didn’t remember it, he didn’t have to be accountable for it!
Consider for a moment that the absence of a routine frees you from being accountable for doing certain things you may not want to do but have to do to reach your goals (coaching/supporting your staff, prospecting, planning, finding a better career opportunity, getting in better physical shape, building your personal brand, vying for that promotion, cold calling, reporting, etc.).
Here’s another diversionary tactic: “I�
�m so busy that I don’t have the time to create my routine!”
Empower your routine to hold you accountable for doing the things you need to do to create the results and the lifestyle you want. One can argue, especially as a business owner, that there’s no one around you who can truly hold you accountable. You’re the boss!
So your routine has to be where your day starts and where it ends. After all, life works a whole lot easier when you do what you say you are going to do.
Go Do: Identify Your Top Three Diversionary Tactics
We all have things on our plates that we just don’t want to do. And we all employ the use of diversionary tactics to procrastinate doing them. Following the questions below, you will be better prepared to recognize and handle them the next time they creep into your work.
Write down your top three diversionary tactics, and put them in writing.
What do you tend to do instead of completing important tasks you’re not interested or motivated to work on?
How do you avoid doing the work that matters? Is there a story that justifies this behavior as well?
Ask yourself, “Am I making this worse than it really is? How long will it actually take me to complete this task that’s been on my desk for a month?”
Ask yourself, “Will I choose to empower my routine to hold me accountable and instill or recognize the consequence of not doing so?
[PART THREE]
SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY
CHAPTER 23
Acknowledge Your Successes—Now!
Take a Moment to Pat Yourself on the Back
It’s critical to recognize how productive you are or how much you are actually accomplishing each day. Honoring an effective routine is the greatest activity for continued success because it is aligned with the activities that, compounded over time, will create the achievements and lifestyle you desire. Develop other measurements of success such as daily, weekly, and monthly milestones so that you can recognize your achievements along the way rather than relentlessly striving to achieve more with no end in sight. Turn your binoculars around so that you are magnifying what you are doing and minimizing what you aren’t.
Here are a few things to know as you go through this process.
Your Routine Will Evolve
A client of mine told me that if he is unable to follow through on one thing he had planned for in his routine, he’d become frustrated and toss the rest of his routine out the window for the remainder of the day. Although he believed he was a good self-starter, he wasn’t good at restarting. In his mind, his routine was either perfect and in sync or he would think it wasn’t working, and he’d give up on the remainder of his schedule.
The fact is, even though one item on your routine may not go according to plan, the remainder of your routine may be effective and work great. I can assure you, as you enhance and strengthen your relationship with time and continue to refine your activities so they best support your goals, your routine will evolve as well.
Instead of thinking, “My routine is not working” or asking yourself “Why can’t I follow this?” use a situation as an opportunity to learn how to better manage your time and make your routine even more effective. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this? Am I overcommitting? What needs to change? Am I being realistic with my externalities and how long each task takes to complete?”
Be creative when developing solutions for managing yourself. If one strategy doesn’t work for you, don’t force it. Instead, see what you can do to modify it so that it’s better aligned with your values, talents, and strengths.
Here’s another thought: If you have a tendency to deviate from your routine once you encounter one component that’s not working, consider
the possibility that this may be one of your diversionary tactics. In other words, this actually gives you the right not to follow your routine!
Perfection Is Paralysis
There will be times when you will be able to honor your routine completely and times when you will not. Give yourself permission to go through some learning curves and make adjustments. If you can’t honor your schedule perfectly, that’s okay. Give yourself a break! All that may be needed is a simple revision of the timelines you have allocated for certain activities. However, if you are having trouble honoring your routine throughout the week, you may need to take a closer look and evaluate where the breakdown is. Being flexible and open to change will enable you to think clearly and uncover new solutions and opportunities that would otherwise go undetected.
Now is the time to own your day!
Go Do: Take a Moment to Pat Yourself on the Back
Congratulations! You made it. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back for making the time to invest in yourself so that you can finally unlock the secrets to owning your day. In the few hours it took for you to read this book, think about the hours you will save, along with the increase in productivity, sales, harmony, and value you will deliver by implementing what you’ve learned.
You have found what you need to take back your day. Now it’s time to coach your direct reports, peers, cross-functional teams, boss, customers, and family to do the same. Enjoy the power and fulfillment that comes from owning your day!
Part Three—Summary
1. Prioritizing Doesn’t Work
It’s impossible to prioritize when everything is a priority. It’s more about who is screaming the loudest or where your greatest ROI is as the result of completing a certain task.
2. Multitasking Is Evil
Stop trying to multitask. Choose to do just one thing at a time—and do it with precision, focus, and unconditional commitment.
3. Eliminate Your To-Do List
Retire your to-do list. Work everything that matters into your routine.
4. Stop Focusing on Results
The result is the process. Miracles happen when you pay attention to how you’re going to achieve the result rather than continually focusing solely on the result.
5. Get Off the Adrenaline Train
Adrenaline seems to be the drug of choice for sales leaders. It’s time to choose a healthier drug: momentum.
6. How to Manage Expected Interruptions
Respond in a way that sets the expectations in a conversation and its importance to the other person to create more structured time for you. This also will allow the other person to generate solutions without you.
7. Empower Your Calendar to Hold You Accountable
Choose to pay attention to your calendar, or there will be implications. Expose your diversionary tactics.
8. Acknowledge Your Successes—Now!
Take a moment to appreciate what you’ve accomplished so far! Allow the activity to be the reward, not just the result.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 – What’s Your Drive to Thrive?
CHAPTER 2 – Develop Your Personal and Professional Vision
CHAPTER 3 – Identify Your Core Values and Priorities
CHAPTER 4 – Define Your Specific and Measurable Goals
CHAPTER 5 – Create Your Strategy to Attain Goals
CHAPTER 6 – Outline Your Routine
CHAPTER 7 – Assign a Value to Your Time
CHAPTER 8 – Create Your List of Nonnegotiables
CHAPTER 9 – Identify Your Value—Delegate the Rest
CHAPTER 10 – Treat Everything like an Appointment
CHAPTER 11 – Be Realistic with Your Time
CHAPTER 12 – Determine the Best Time for Each Activity
CHAPTER 13 – Plan for the Unplanned
CHAPTER 14 – Know Your Stop Time Each Day
CHAPTER 15 – Manage Your Calendar like a Puzzle
CHAPTER 16 – Create Alternate Daily or Weekly Routines
CHAPTER 17 – Multitasking Is Evil
CHAPTER 18 – Eliminate Your To-Do List
CHAPTER 19 – Stop Focusing on Results
CHAPTER 20 – Get Off the Adrenaline Train
CHAPTER 21 – How to Manage Expected I
nterruptions
CHAPTER 22 – Empower Your Calendar to Hold You Accountable
CHAPTER 23 – Acknowledge Your Successes—Now!