Put More Hours in Your Day

Imagine actually having the time to invest in big-picture problem solving, coaching, and strategic development.

A couple of months ago, LinkedIn changed my life.  No, I didn’t break the world record for recommendations for skills I don’t possess from people I don’t know (but I am curious who the record holder is).  It was actually an article written by Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn CEO, that gave me permission to add more time to my day.

Just imagine what you could do with more time in your day. Imagine actually having the time to invest in big-picture problem solving, coaching, and strategic development. 

Many of us have fallen into the culture of busy. We fill our days and carry with us the badge of honor that we are “busy.”  I know I’m guilty.  My calendar gets booked every day with back-to-back meetings that leave little or no time for creative problem solving, or much of anything else for that matter.

But why?

“It’s not as if any of us wants to live like this, any more than any one person wants to be part of a traffic jam or stadium trampling or the hierarchy of cruelty in high school — it’s something we collectively force one another to do.” - Tim Kreider, The New York Times

We do coerce one another into believing that busy is our immutable reality, but the sad (or very exciting, depending on how you decide to look at it) reality is that we do have control over our own schedule. 

How is that exciting?

It’s exciting because we can change it.

Adapting Weiner’s system, I’m now blocking time on my schedule - at least 90 minutes per day in 30 to 60 minute increments.  In that time, I can get meaningful work done.  I’m training team members to handle future challenges on their own rather than doing it myself.  I’m thinking about new solutions to surprise and delight our clients.  I’m actually answering some of the 1,091 emails sitting in my in box at this very moment.  I’m adding to my creative well rather than depleting it all day.

It’s an investment.

It’s easier than it sounds.  If you automatically set the time aside in advance, it’s like investing in your 401(k); it comes out of your schedule before you ever even see it, so you don’t really miss it.  

In this case, I’m seeing an immediate return on my investment.  I’m still “busy,” but at least I’m getting the important things done with this additional time.