Master the moment six hours

Master The Moment™ Powerful lessons in time management

Copyright 2014 Pat Brans

Agenda

Top 10 problems in time management

!

Why some people get more done than others - and with less stress

!

Improving your own time management


Problem 10

I feel overwhelmed.


Problem 9

I’m always in reactive mode.


Problem 8

I don’t finish what I start.


Problem 7

I’m not able to stop things that are no longer working.


Problem 6

I procrastinate.


Problem 5

I don’t have enough energy to do the things I want.


Problem 4

I’m easily distracted by things that aren’t important.


Problem 3

I don’t feel satisfied when I do finish what I start.


Problem 2

I don’t know how to say no.


Problem 1

I don’t know what I want.


Rate YourselfI feel overwhelmed.I’m always in reactive mode.I don’t finish what I start.I’m not able to stop things that are no longer working.I procrastinate.I don’t have enough energy to do the things I want.I’m easily distracted by things that aren’t important.I don’t feel satisfied when I do finish what I start.I don’t know how to say no.I don’t know what I want.


Why are these people different?

Dan Packer, Entergy

Lucas Skoczkowski, Redknee

Dan Packer, Entergy

John Dane III, Trinity Yachts

Gertrude Boyle, Columbia Sportswear


What do psychologists say ?


Eleven Powerful Notions

1. Do the right things, then do things right.



2. Align yourself with natural laws.



3. Manage your attitude.



4. Put in place processes that run without your attention.



5. Put in place virtuous cycles.


Powerful Notions

6. Strive for sustainability.


Powerful Notions

7. Solve a class of problems instead of just the problem at hand.


Powerful Notions

8. Solve problems at their source.


Powerful Notions

9. Seek advice.


Powerful Notions

10.Keep all stakeholders in the loop.


Powerful Notions

11.Slow down to go faster.


Rate YourselfDo the right things then do things right.Align yourself with natural laws.Manage your attitude.Put in place processes that run without your attention.Put in place virtuous cycles.Strive for sustainability.Solve a class of problems instead of just the problem at hand.Solve problems at their source.Seek advice.Keep all stakeholders in the loop.Slow down to go faster.


Changing Habits

Integrate the ideas

Start out as decided as possible

Work on one or two habits at a time

Put in place visual reminders


Habits are like muscles

n You get tired when you work on them.

!

n The more you work on them the more capacity you have to work on them.


Six Steps


HIT For each step : !!

Habits to develop !

Ideas to integrate !

Techniques to learn


Identify Yourself


What We Want

The three fundamental needs :

➡ Competence, comes from taking on optimal challenges - i.e. doing things that are possible, but not too easy.

➡ Belonging, comes from emotional bonds and from the feeling of having value within a group.

➡ Autonomy, comes from having a sense of choice.


Intrinsic Pleasure

n The activity itself is pleasurable.

!

n For example, a child plays simply for pleasure.


Extrinsic Pleasure

n You perform the activity for a reward.

!

n For example, you probably don’t write chapter summaries for pleasure. You do it as a means to an end.


Numerous independent studies have shown that when we do

something for intrinsic pleasure we perform much better.


Coercion

n When you feel coerced, you don’t perform as well.

!

n You lose your sense of autonomy.


Forms of Coercion

Coercion comes in different flavors :

➡ External:

for example, a boss orders you to do something, or offers you money to do something

➡ Internal:

for example, you do something out of guilt or pride


Problem

That’s interesting stuff, but very often we have obligations to do

things.


Integration

The reasons behind the task are in line with our own system of values.

!

≠ Rejection, Introjection


Goals

performance oriented

versus

learning oriented


Performance OrientedAny intermediate failure can be taken to

mean I don’t have talent.

!

I will tend to avoid the risk.

!

My self image is worth more than my life.


Learning Oriented

I can learn what it takes

Any intermediate failure simply means I have more to learn

Learning is intrinsically pleasurable


Your Biasesn Fears

n Loss aversion

n The anchoring heuristic

n The availability heuristic

n Recalling painful events

n Predicting future unpleasant events


Authenticity

n Being honest and sincere is simply more efficient.

!

n It’s even more efficient to be honest and sincere with yourself = authentic.

Janice Chaffin, Symantec


Trusting Relationships

n Surround yourself with people you can count on and whose skills complement your own.

➡ Time spent following up is time wasted.

n Be someone others can count on.

➡ If people doubt your integrity they won’t bring you opportunities.


WILL DO GoalsWithin my control

Important

Learnable

Love is involved

!

Difficult

Optional

James Loy, Commandant US Coast Guard


Identify Yourself

For one week, work on these habits :

!

Authenticity

!

Favor trusting relationships


Energize


Exercise

Virtually every CEO I talked to exercises at least one hour three times per week.

They know it’s important, so they make time to do it.

The return is well worth the investment.


Diet

Virtually every CEO I talked to pays careful attention to what they eat with the intent of maintaining high energy.

Generally they eat a light lunch to avoid crashing in the afternoon.

Drink water throughout the day.


Sleep

n All the CEOs I talked to sleep well at night.

n Each person’s needs are different, but the average is around 7.5 hours per night.

n We accumulate a sleep debt - don’t try to override that, you’ll only crash harder.


Sleep

Einstein slept ten to eleven hours per night. !

Was he productive ? !!While he maintained a full-time job at the

patent office in Bern, he wrote two of the most important scientific papers ever.


Balanced Lifestylen Don’t forget to play - and

when you do play, do so with no end in mind.

!

n Focusing on only one dimension of your life will create problems down the line.

Jim Holbrook, EMAK


Biorythms

n We all have emotional, physical, and intellectual rhythms.

n Know yours and plan your days accordingly.

n You might also plan according to long term rhythms like athletes do when they train.


Biorythms

Time Concentration Physical Energy Wakefulness Outlook6:00 4 2 3 47:00 5 3 4 48:00 5 3 5 59:00 5 3 5 510:00 5 3 5 511:00 4 4 5 512:00 4 4 5 513:00 3 4 5 514:00 2 3 2 2


Energize

For one week, work on these two habits:

!

Maintain a lifestyle that maximizes your energy.

This means getting exercise, eating light lunch, and

getting enough sleep.

!

Pay attention to your biorhythms and plan your

days accordingly.


Prioritize


It’s a good idea to do things right.

!

but ...

!

It’s far better to do the right things.


Goals and TasksFor each Goal Make a project to

achieve it.

For each project. List the next actions that need to occur.

Take all actions together. Prioritize as needed.

Work on actions. Don’t think about goals and projects.


Urgency/ImportanceUrgent Non-Urgent

Impo

rtan

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on-I

mpo

rtan

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Start writing next bookBuy a plane ticket

Work on new songs

Put gas in car that’s empty

Write an article for Mobile EnterpriseImprove web site

Go to dinner w/ person I don’t like Learn initials and finals in Chinese

File tax declarationWork on grammatical gender in French

Write article for free for HR Magazine

Land new magazine jobs

Go to French writing workshop


Priorities and People

n When dealing with people don’t set priorities in the same way you would for solitary tasks.

!

n Don’t try to be efficient in relationships.


Planning

n Planning is more important than the plan itself. Things will change, making the plan invalid, but the process of planning forces you to organize your ideas and communicate your intentions.

n Leave time for the unexpected.

n Leave time simply for thinking.


Say “no” as soon as possible.

!

Give reasons if appropriate.

!

Then detach yourself emotionally - it’s no longer your problem.

Ward Klein, Energizer Holdings


Prioritize

For one week work on these two habits:

!

Set very few priorities and stick to them.

!

Turn down things that are inconsistent with

your priorities.


Optimize


Making Time1. Get an objective view of where you spend your time.

2. What activities can you eliminate?

3. How can you align your tasks with your biorhythms?

4. What can you do to fill the remaining dead time?

!

Beware: Don’t try to eliminate rest time, think time, or fun time.


Observation #1Lundi Mardi Mercredi 7h30 Café, Douche 7h55 Réveil après mauvais sommeil 7h30 Rester au lit

8h10 Conduire en ville 8h00 Email, Facebook, Café, Toast 8h00 lire GTD

8h40 Dentiste 9h15 Chercher livre, chercher articles sur Net 8h20 email, facebook, notes 9h15 Rentrer 9h45 Lire Dweck et Nicholls 8h30 café, toast

9h30 Café, Toast, prépa SODIE 8h45 écrire top 5

10h00 Ramène CH et aller SODIE 9h00 lire Nicholls

10h30 SODIE 11h45 Billy Blanks 9h15 mettre à jour présentation

11h10 aller CH 12h25 Douche 10h00 rien, reçois appel, regarder problème neufbox

11h45 chez CH 12h30 Aller CH 10h20 mettre à jour présentation

12h25 aller au resto 12h45 Manger 11h40 email, facebook, notes

12h35 resto avec JM 11h50 Billy Blanks

14h00 aller IPW 14h30 Regarder Tiroirs 12h25 douche

14h30 attendre IPW 14h45 Rentrer 12h45 manger

15h00 IPW 15h00 Vin et Lire Dweck et Nicholls 13h00 télé

15h30 aller Logimot à pied 15h15 rien 13h50 noter activités

16h00 Attendre Thomas 15h30 lire mais distrait sur Net 14h00 coup de fils, email

16h30 rentrer 15h00 aller à Neuf, LeClerc, Poste, IPW

17h00 Pas motivé 15h15 à Neuf

17h30 organiser dossiers 15h40 à LeClerc pour cadeau

17h45 Ne sais pas quoi faire 17h00 Sieste 16h10 aller IPW

18h30 Billy Blanks pour 34 minutes 18h00 Bain, etc. 16h30 IPW

19h15 Manger 19h00 aller chez Elisabeth, Nico 17h30 récupèrer disque dur

19h30 Regarder film documentaire sur le Vietnam 19h30 vin, fumer, manger 18h00 chez moi, rien

21h30 Lire GTD 19h00 Appel avec James Loy

22h00 Noter activités 23h00 rentrer 20h00 Notes de l’entretien

22h10 Méditation 23h15 méditation 23h00 méditation

22h30 au lit 23h30 au lit 23h20 au lit Copyright 2014 Pat Brans

Align Tasks/Biorhythms

n Note all the tasks you have

n Group them by context - for example : away from home, email, on the phone, creative activities, people activities

n Align the contexts with your biorhythms - for me, creative activities go between 9 and 11:15 a.m., people tasks go betwen 3 and 6 p.m.


Observation #2Lundi Mardi Mercredi 7h30 Café, Douche 7h30 enfants à l’école 7h30 enfants à l’école

8h10 Conduire en ville 8h10 Email, Facebook, Café, Toast, top 5 8h00 café, toast

8h40 IPW 9h00 Lire GTD 8h20 email, facebook, notes 9h15 Rentrer 10h00 écrire chapitre 4 8h30 écrire top 5

9h30 email, écrire Top 5 8h45 écrire article pour site web

10h00 Ramène CH !10h30 écrire chapitre 4 11h45 Billy Blanks

12h25 Douche

11h45 Billy Blanks 12h30 Aller CH

12h25 Douche 12h45 Manger 11h40 email, facebook, notes

12h35 aller CH 13h30 musique avec CH 11h50 Billy Blanks

12h45 manger avec CH 14h30 rentrer 12h25 douche

14h30 rentrer 14h45 appels, email 12h45 manger

15h00 email, appels 15h00 Lire GTD 13h00 télé

15h30 écrire chapitre 4 16h00 sortir poste, courses, encre imprimante 13h50 noter activités

17h30 récupèrer Paul au Prisme 14h00 coup de fils, email

17h00 rien 17h30 récupèrer Paul au Prisme 15h00 mettre à jour présentation

18h30 manger

20h00 appel avec Ward Klein

21h00 noter l’entretien 17h00 Coups de fils aux Etats-Unis 16h10 aller à Lyon

18h00 Préparer à manger

19h00 Manger ! 19h30 Regarder DVD 18h00 séminaire

20h00 Rentrer

23h00 Méditation 23h00 méditation 23h00 méditation

23h20 au lit 23h15 au lit 23h20 au lit Copyright 2014 Pat Brans

Tools

n Telephone and answering machines

n Mobile phones

n Email

n Electronic calendarsScott Goldman, WAP Forum


Focused effort

n Some facts on multitasking:

➡ A computer always loses time but never information when it multitasks.

➡ A human being loses both time and information.

n Do ONE thing at a timeJim Whitehurst, RedHat


Delegatingn When you ask people to do something for you, they will

react in one of three ways :

➡ Rejection : They will not accept the task at all.

➡ Introjection : They swallow it but don’t digest it.

➡ Integration : They take it on as their own.

!

∴ Take the time to communicate the reasoning behind what you’re asking.


The Optimal Meeting

Set clear objectives.

Invite only people who need to be there.

Publish the agenda well in advance.

Start on time and end on time.

Publish the decisions made and the action items.

Gilles du Chaffaut, Directeur des Services, Grenoble


Optimize

For one week, work on these two habits:

!

Set aside time for focused effort

!

Look for ways of doing things better and faster


Head off Problems Early


Crisis

Crisis prevention takes less time than crisis management.

Todd Davis, LifeLock


Risk Mitigation

1. Make a list of problems that might arise.

2. What would be the cause?

3. What can you do to prevent it from occuring?

4. How can you recognize it if, despite your precautions, it does arise?

5. What can you do to minimize damage if it does occur?


Spotting Problems

n Take a little time to think about the future.

n Keep all stakeholders in the loop.

n Seek advice.William Kirwan, Chancellor University of Maryland


Heading off Problemsn Think about categories of problems:

✓ You learn to solve the next problem too.

✓ You can better estimate resources needed.

✓ You maintain a better attitude.

n Solve problems at their source:

✓ Minimize bias to find the real cause.Suri, American Reprographics


Solid Processes

n Put in place processes that run without your attention.

!

n Strive for sustainability.

!

n Put in place virtuous cycles.


Head off Problems Early


!

Build solid processes

!

Spot trouble ahead and solve problems

immediately


Finish Things


Why We Procrastinate

n For the thrill of doing something at the last minute.

n Because the task is unpleasant or boring.

n Because we were coerced into doing the task.

n Because the outcome of the task will say something about our self worth.


Fear and Frustrastion

EVERYBODY fails sometimes.

!

Don’t focus on the past.

!

Think about what you have to do today and tomorrow.

Charlice Byrd, Senator Georgia


Short Tasking

n Divide work into a series of small tasks.

n Each small task should have a clear stopping point.

n At any given time, think only about the small task in front of you.


CRUMBsClearly

Realizable

Units

that serve as

Meaningful

Building blocks


Be aware that it is harder to adjust your point of reference down than up.

!

Communicate clearly the reasons for stopping.

!

Detach yourself emotionally.

Cutting Your Losses

Manuel Perez de la Mesa, POOLCORP


Finish Things


!

Finish what’s important and communicate the

value of what you’ve done.

Stop doing things that are no longer

worthwhile.


Top 5 List

n List the five most important things for you today or tomorrow.

!

n You may not accomplish them all but at least you’ll remember what’s important.

Mark Radtke, Integrys Energy Services


My top 5 list

1. Speak at workshop.

2. Contact CFO World about invoice.

3. Finish Mobile Enterprise article.

4. Cycle.

5. Contact InformIT on continuing series.


amazon.frCopyright 2014 Pat Brans

Master The Moment™ master-the-moment.com


Self Improvement

Master the moment six hours