Links to other parts of this miniseries:
How to find 5 extra hours per week – Part 1
How to find 5 extra hours per week – Part 2
How to find 5 extra hours per week – Part 4
How to find 5 extra hours per week – Part 5
How to find 5 extra hours per week – Part 6
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 0 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: How to find 5 extra hours per week – Part 3
— From Learning to Lead: Bringing Out the Best in People by Fred Smith (1915-2007)
So far, In Parts 1 and 2 of this miniseries, we’ve looked at some important basics, such as letting people know that they’ll be seeing less of you for a certain time, cleaning your desk, eliminating the news, being selective on our reading materials and waking up a bit earlier. Today we are going to continue looking at the next installment in Fred Smith’s 20-point checklist as it appears in his book Learning to Lead.
6. Work on the majors only. “Some people have the unfortunate habit—and it is a habit—of listing everything that they have to do as if it were equal with all the others. […] Not everything in life is of equal importance… make a hierarchy of priorities to keep [you] from allowing emergencies to top the list. […] Write down the two, three or four major things [you] simply cannot slight, and be sure only to work on them. These are [your] current majors, the items of greatest importance today. Everything else has to be pushed aside to work on the majors.”
As it relates to this point, on this post, Greg McKeown (author of Essentialism) emphasizes two things:
(a) The idea that we can do all or have it all is a damaging myth because “it results in stressed people trying to cram yet more activities into their already overscheduled lives.”
(b) Prioritizing (or focusing on the majors only) doesn’t mean just saying no. It entails “purposefully, deliberately and strategically eliminating the non-essentials, and not just getting rid of the obvious time wasters, but cutting out some really good opportunities as well.”
Be careful as you work on the majors, as some decisions will be very hard to make and require lots of careful thinking, especially when the opportunity in front of you is very attractive. Try to postpone those opportunities for later, when you are done with your emergency period.
7. Make no radical changes. “The object of the battle plan is to pick up time, not to change.” Since radical shifts require much time to implement, Smith advises against them: “I wouldn’t try to review my habits for spending time. These are my reflexes, and it takes too much effort to change them. I wouldn’t attempt to rework the organization or correct others’ mistakes or get people mad at me and have to go back and apologize. I call these kinds of things ‘rework.’ I save the rework for the general war and concentrate on winning the present battle.”
8. Avoid the wood-hay-and-stubble activities. “Things that flatter [your] ego, satisfy [your] human ambition, make [you] liked—social affairs—are wood, hay, and stubble. If [you] have time for them, they’re perfectly all right… [but] they can drain a lot of time.” Smith suggests making a list of the meetings from which you can stay away comfortably. Lunch with [an organization] every time it meets is not mandatory as you can catch another of those lunches in the future. Under emergency mode, Smith points out he might go into a meeting and say, “Folks, I’m pressed for time. I’m going to have to ask your indulgence. Give me 15 minutes to cover my subjects. You talk them out after I’m gone and then write a memo on what our plan should be.” But he reminds us to do this only during an emergency crunch. “They might let me do it for as long as six weeks, but I would be neglecting my responsibilities if I tried every time.” So just determine what is wood, hay, and stubble for now and avoid it during this period.
Come back tomorrow to read the next installment in Smith’s list on finding 5 extra hours. You’ll learn why dealing only with the “driving wheels” is important during this period. Are you enjoying this miniseries? Please let me know in the comments here.
ACTION
TODAY: Make your hierarchy of priorities and focus on working on your majors.
FUTURE: As great opportunities present themselves during this period, you’ll be tempted to say yes. Think whether they are essential and contribute to your goal during this time crunch or take you away from it. If they take you away from it, politely decline (you’ll learn a great way to do this tomorrow!) or, if possible, postpone doing them until the time you are out of monk mode. Write these opportunities down in a piece of paper and put them in the same box with your unnecessary reading. Once you are done with your emergency period and come back up for air, you can examine them and decide what to do about them.
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