Article 26: TIME Management
In the previous blog, I explained Work-Family-Self as a framework to take back your time. We explored the concept of POISE, an acronym that you can use to charge your battery better so you can go out into this world as a more authentic leader. In this article my goal is to walk you through another acronym that I have created called TIME. Time is one of our most important resources; as a leader, more importantly, a purposeful, accountable leader, we need to weaponize it. Unquestioningly, allowing the day to bend your actions results in a loss of traction and, eventually, burnout. If you cannot guide your path, you will be five years older one day, wondering where time has gone. To create growth, you MUST be willing to do hard things that require Routines, Accountability, and Discipline (RAD). One of these is developing a battle plan for our day. Let's get to work!
Time is our most precious resource and should be protected with relentless purpose!
- Joshua K. McMillion
Time Bin
The first way to take back your day is to create time bins. You've probably heard about time blocking, but that creates decision fatigue because we track every moment throughout the day. Time bins make a large swath of time that allows for flexibility and life to get a vote. Start with a routine week and use the categories of work families self (WFS). Time binning your day aims to create a macro battle plan. What are your daily time commitments going to look like? Starting at the aerial view allows you to focus on the process, not goals. I started this at the micro level, planning every minute of my day, and quickly learned it was counter-intuitive. Instead of growing and focusing on the journey, I was focused on the clock. Starting at the macro level allows you to begin taking back your calendar while working towards life harmony. Remember who you want to become and if your time is being spent intentionally to achieve it. Purposeful Accountable Leaders (PALs) create time bins for the areas most important to them in their day.
Time Block Resulted
in Burnout!
When we create time bins, we're allowing the day to dictate, leaving us stressed out, moving from event to event. When I see this type of calendar it gives me anxiety. What is the freedom to choose when I take lunch and when I take a break?
Identity
After creating time bins, look at your calendar. Does it reflect your life? Now, it's time to make it personal. Remember, leadership is messy. It is about leading and accepting the whole person. It is refreshing to see team members share their lives through their calendars. If you're married, place your anniversary on your calendar. If you have children, ensure their doctor's appointments or sports games are on your calendar. There is a balance when determining which events are important. I've created an exercise to assess your WFS areas of importance. In this exercise, there are four categories, which are routine, important, critical, and vital. To give you a more resounding example, your mother's death is a vital event. Nothing is more important than attending the funeral and should reflect on your calendar. I'm not saying to broadcast in detail on your calendar with others. That's up to you and your comfort zone. I share my calendar and give everyone a full view because I believe in leading with windows.
What does your Calendar
say about you?
Micro Plan
Once you have created time bins for your day in the areas most important to you, it's time to dig deeper. If you're like me, this step is unnecessary when you're just starting out because it's too much. When trying to find harmony between WFS, jumping in with both feet can be harmful. Maybe you need to test out the water first, and when you're ready, jump in. Micro planning is not about creating an event for every hour of the day. It is about planning out your week with intention.
In the future blog, I will explain how to cast a vision and create a weekly battle plan at the end of that vision. Your day defines your week and feeds the months that determine the year. Do you have a weekly plan of attack, or do you go into your weak blind? What are your top 3 to 7 goals you are trying to achieve between WFS? I recommend no more than seven weekly objectives. Beyond seven, you're going to create decision fatigue. Once you have listed your 3 to 7 tasks, go deeper. What are the three daily tasks you must achieve? I recommend doing this in the morning or the night before. Finally, track it. Get a board and make it public. Making our goals public creates accountability and intensive motivation to find a way and stay the course. Remember, weekly goals are not the point. It's about being accountable and using it to keep you on course. My whiteboard is in my office, and my wife and I create our top seven weekly objectives. Always remember you are not on this journey alone. Ensuring you incorporate the ones you love in your growth is critical. PALs make intentional battle plans and begin to take back their lives.
What is your plan?
On a recent work trip, I was able to bring my wife. It did not take away from the mission, but I found a way to enjoy the time with my wife and crush my job!
P.S. If you are a Harry Potter fan, they filmed Diagon Ally behind me.
Evaluate
The final step in the acronym TIME is to evaluate each week. The goal is to spend less than 5 to 15 minutes reviewing your weekly battle plan, your time bins, and the events throughout your week. What was the plan you were trying to achieve? How did your week really go, and what circumstances surprised you? Once you have identified the challenges in your week, you can slowly refine your bins, personalize events, and plan out the following week. Do not spend more than 15 minutes weekly reviewing your calendar. Each week is an incremental opportunity to improve. Remember, leadership is a journey, and it takes time. The most important thing is you're growing. A great way to build harmony is to hire a coach for accountability. You need someone on your side, especially when the enemy gets a vote.
How are you reflecting
and refining?
This is just a picture of me deliberately planning out my next week's battle plan. If we do not develop a plan, life will get a vote, and it will seldom go the way we want.
Final Thoughts
WFS is equally part of the human condition. Everyone has to make a living somehow. Everyone has a family that loves them, regardless of the season of life they find themselves. Everyone must take care of themselves to survive. However, not everyone achieves harmony in these areas of life. Why? Because it takes intentionality and time to think. Remember, what we think defines our beliefs, beliefs drive our actions, and actions forge our legacy. What areas of your life are most important to you, and how do your actions align with your heart? Taking control of your calendar takes time and powerful questions. But once you create alignment in your life, you can begin to engage your hands and do the work. Remember always to create heart and hand alignment. You need to see where you're going by developing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to keep the fire lit and do the work. PALs control their time ruthlessly because if not, someone else will.
After Action Review
What is your WFS alignment?
How is your calendar personal to you?
What would your perfect day look like?
My Mission: I will end toxic leadership practices by equipping leaders with transformational leadership skills.
Together, we will impact 1 MILLION lives!!!
Every day is a gift, don't waste yours!
Joshua K. McMillion | Founder MLC | Founder MLC
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