The Value of Scheduling

We live in a world with many choices on how to use our time. The problems begin, not because of the choices, rather that most people do not choose. If you have twenty options today, and you leave them all as possibilities, chances are that you will succeed in accomplishing very few of them. Successfully busy people schedule their tasks.

Scheduling is more than making a list, or even prioritizing that list. Scheduling is reserving a set period of time to devote to the task. Go back to the twenty options. Figure out when you will work on them. Get out your planner/calendar and enter the task by a specific time. For example, at 2:00 p.m. after the one-hour project meeting, you schedule in your planner/calendar that you will contact Mr. Smith about a new supplier. Treat this like a real appointment even if you have not set it up in advance as a phone conference. Be sure to end the meeting on time because you have another obligation.

Is your workspace a little messy? Schedule a specific time this week when you will devote an hour for cleanup. When you schedule something you are making the choice to do it, by assigning a specific time when to tackle it. There are only so many time slots within your day, so it is much harder to over-schedule than it is to over-plan.

It works well to schedule at least once a week. Many people will make a quick to-do list and then cross off items from the list once they are scheduled. For those that like to cross off lists, this gives them extra satisfaction.

Besides getting you organized and allowing you to accomplish more, the real value of scheduling is that is takes away the nagging pressure. If you have scheduled to write the first draft on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. until noon, there is no need to be worrying about it on Monday because you have it scheduled for later in the week. There is a certain amount of security in knowing that there is a time and place for that topic and that time and place is Wednesday at ten in the morning, not now.

Sometimes life happens and a more important task competes with the scheduled task. Remember that what you do with your time is a choice. Make some general rules for yourself to include conditions under which you will vary from your schedule. It is better to schedule your change than to change your schedule. This theory applies even when you decide to schedule your change for immediate action causing you to reschedule a previous activity. When you schedule your change, you are demonstrating that you value your schedule. We tend to keep those things that we value.

It is okay to make lists; it is not fine to work from them. After scheduling, throw away the paper lists and delete the electronic ones. Free yourself from lists by scheduling your intentions.

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Dynamite Delegation
Ben Cairns, M.A.

Time management expert Donald Wetmore defines “delegation” as “tapping into someone else’s time stream.” Delegation is getting other people to do something instead of you having to do it. It can be a great time management tool. The following delegation tips can save you time and effort.

• How often do you go on a trip without having a destination before you begin? Working each day without a plan is just the same as going on a trip without knowing where you want to go. Daily planning can help you anticipate the things that you can delegate. At the end of each day look back and identify activities that you could have delegated.



• Henry Ford asked for short gear parts to be shipped in a long oak box of very exact dimensions. Several years passed before the gear manufacturer learned that the boards were the exact dimensions of the Model A floorboard and that was what he was using them for. Ford had delegated the manufacture of two parts for the price of one! What things can do double duty in your life?



• Do you ever find yourself thinking, “I can do this faster and better if I just do it myself”? It may be faster and better to do it yourself in the short-term, but that may not be the best long-term strategy. It is important to give other people the opportunity to learn and contribute, even if it takes more of your time at first. Eventually, it will save you time and help others develop their skills. Have the discipline necessary to delegate to others so that they can learn and grow now.



• One of my teachers told me, “The cheapest thing in the world you can buy is brains.” What he meant was that it’s far cheaper to pay an expert for their opinion than it is to try to learn enough about something important in order to do it yourself. Get a legal opinion on a contract before you sign it. Get a mechanic to evaluate a used car before you buy. Find places where hiring an expert will save you time, money, and aggravation!



• Get out of the habit of saying yes just to please people. Learn to say no. Remember, saying no is delegation by elimination. Respect yourself enough to put a higher value on your time. Protect it. Another benefit of saying no more often is that others will respect you and your time more if you are sparing with it.



• When you delegate something, make sure you are clear about what you want done and when it is to be complete. Do not ever assume that the other person knows exactly what you want. Get the other person to tell you in their own words what they will be doing and when it will be done.

Down to the Wire

One of life’s greatest equalizers is time. Regardless of whom you are or what you want to accomplish, we all have the same 24-hour day. Some of us have mastered the art of effectively using time. The rest of us only get things done as they come down to the wire.

So how does the expression, “down to the wire,” relate to poor time management? This term originated during horse racing in the 1940’s. Gamblers made careers of betting on horses. Inches could determine one horse’s victory over another. Before the invention of high-tech photo equipment, close races were decided by judges who would stand at the end of the finish line (or wire) to use their naked eyes to choose the victor. When it was said a race came down to the wire, it meant that it was extremely close to call.

As time passed, “down to the wire” became an expression referring to time and the extreme closeness of an impending deadline for a task not yet completed.

Instead of being a victim of time, become a master of it!

• Prioritize. Do what is most important first. Save the fun, quick things for later.



• Delegate. Sometimes we take on too much. Share burdens and lighten your load.



• Strategize. Break larger projects into smaller ones.

"No" Means "No," I Think!
Vincent Ivan Phipps, B.S.

For 68% of the population, giving someone rejection is one of the hardest things to do. Personally, I am one of the 68%. During our company’s last strategic meeting, our team jokingly teased me about my inability to tell someone no. When I stepped out of the meeting, they all quickly came up with a practical joke to convince me I was a pushover and was unable to use the two-letter word.

I had the floor and was sharing ideas on how to help one of our clients. Without warning, our CEO asked, “Hey Vincent, I need you to help pull the weeds out of my garden this Saturday. Can you be there?” I paused for about two seconds. I did not want to do it, but I felt she really needed my help. So I responded, “Well, how long will it take?”

After the team picked themselves up off of the floor from laughing hysterically, they reassured me that my innocuous ignorance about hurting people’s feelings was one of the traits they liked about me the most. Since then, I have made changes. If you are in that 68% with me and you feel badly telling someone no:

• Give an explanation. Instead of just saying no, give a reason. For example, I could have told our CEO, “I have plans this Saturday that I must keep.”



• Know your limits. Resist the “one more thing” mentality. If your schedule is full, and one more thing would push you to the wire, then say no. If the task is important to you, arrange to do it at another time when your schedule is more permitting.



• Say it and mean it. Approximately 90% of our communication is nonverbal. Make sure when you say you cannot do something, it is with a firm tone and your body language matches. An aggressive person asking for your last free moment will take an indecisive answer as the chance to ask again. Be nice but be firm.



• Use decisive language. When you tell someone no, avoid words like, “kind of,” “maybe,” “sort of,” “perhaps,” “we’ll see”… Talk as if you are the master of your time and you have total autonomy over how it will be used. A person with integrity will respect someone who gives them a definitive answer.

Rocks, Sand, and Water

A demonstration performed in a classroom several years ago made a strong impression on a group of students. The demonstration started when the instructor put a large empty pickle jar on the desk at the front of the room. He filled it with several large rocks and asked if the jar was full. A few people said yes.

“Not quite yet,” he said. He reached under the desk and produced a bag of small rocks. He poured the small rocks into the top of the jar as he gently shook it. The small rocks worked down and filled in most of the space between the bigger rocks. “Full?” he asked again, smiling. “It looks pretty full to me,” said someone near the front.

The instructor was having some fun with the group at this point. “You’re right, it is pretty full. But is it completely full?” They watched him as he poured sand out of another bag into the jar. It now looked completely full, but he wasn’t done. He poured water into the jar and carefully topped it off.

“Now,” he said, “that’s about as full as I can get it. What does this show you?” Someone answered, “That you can find all kinds of ways to fit more things in.” “Sort of,” the instructor said, “but here is a more important lesson. If I reversed the order that I put these things into the jar, I’d have a big mess all over this desk and not enough room to get the biggest rocks into the jar at all. Our priorities are like that, too.”

Putting the most important things first is true for time management. When you plan and schedule your day, determining which things are the most important and scheduling them first is the best practice. Putting the most important things first is also true for what we include in our lives - important things like family, Christ, career, and community. What’s most important to you? When you know what is most important in your life, make sure that you start by putting it first.

CEO Corner: Taking TiME
Beverly Inman-Ebel, MA CCC-SLP

I, Beverly Inman-Ebel, am an over-achiever. By this I mean that I feel compelled to achieve over my natural ability. If I was smarter, faster, richer, or more talented, I would not have to work so hard to achieve.

I remember the first time someone asked me how I did so much. I was amazed at the question because, from my perspective, I was not doing nearly enough. After years of hearing the same question with denial on my side, I came to the realization that I think I am supposed to excel in everything! My failure to succeed was keeping me in a frenzy. Time out!

When my boys were very young and they did something wrong, I would place them in time-out by sitting them in the “Thinking Box”- a large appliance box with the top open. The goal was for them to think about their error and the correction. They came up with very creative and appropriate consequences to their crimes. My super-excelling self needed a “thinking box.”

While there was not an appliance box big enough for me to sit in (large appliances have a life-span of approximately 15 years I have found), I did put myself in time-out to think. At first I tried to imitate my friends who are satisfied with a controlled or slower pace. That lasted about three days. What I really wanted, I discovered, was more time. Time: the great equalizer. We all have 24 hours in a day no matter what our talent, intelligence, or desires.

I stared at the word “time” and then I saw it, the little word within the word: “me.” From that day forward, I have planned, scheduled, and enjoyed some tiME for me. I have a rule about this tiME that I spend on myself. I am not to accomplish anything except joy. If it doesn’t bring me joy, I may schedule it as another task, yet it is not tiME.

This requires vigilance on my part. I walk most mornings with my best friend, McClellan. Along the way I look for points of joy that will come during the day, things that I anticipate that will bring me a smile. Right in the middle of my joy-hunt, a runner will pass me and suddenly I want to become more physically fit and I am dissatisfied with my daily walks. Whoa! TiME out! I take a deep breath, say a prayer of thanksgiving for being able to walk, and continue counting my points of joy.

From my experience and research, I find that 20-30 minutes of tiME is beneficial. It is one of the best investments I have ever made. If you think you don’t have the tiME for yourself, complete a time log for 2 weeks, writing down your activities every fifteen minutes, and you’ll find the thirty minutes. Don’t just put tiME on your to-do list, schedule it. I begin and end each day with tiME.

Time is important. You are important. Spending tiME on you is essential to helping the rest of your world. Imagine. Plan. Schedule tiME. Live your dreams!

Ask The Experts

Dear TLC,
I recently got a promotion, but there isn’t enough time to accomplish all of my responsibilities. The budget does not allow for assistance, and I don’t want to fail.
Hopeless

Dear Hopeless,
You probably are spending time in some places that are unnecessary or at least unproductive. Keep a time log for the next 4 weeks. Write down the time in fifteen minute intervals down the left side of a page (8:00 a.m.; 8:15 etc.) Make copies before you begin because you will use these pages every day. Keep the form on your desk and briefly write down your activity during that fifteen minutes. At the end of the week, analyze what you are spending your time on. If this does not match your priority, you will know what activities to cut. By the fourth week you will see drastic improvement in your time management.

Featured Service: Time Management Profile & Coaching

TLC has a time management profile that will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. It also gives practical tips to help you become more productive. This profile is only $17.50.

We also provide time management coaching, focusing on the areas that need improvement. If your whole team could use a boost in this area, TLC has a one-day time management seminar followed by an individual coaching session to help each participant set and reach his/her goals. It is time to call TLC: 1-888-BECAUSE (232-2873.)

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