DATED – 4th May 2017

For the first time, I am borrowing and posting a blog. Not that I have run out of ideas; but Hrishi sent across this blog, which was something similar I was wanting to write on. I thought – instead of two people putting efforts on similar topic, might as well share his article –

It’s 6 pm in the evening and it is about the time to wrap for the day. And suddenly, a thought appears in my mind about a long pending project. I unfold my laptop and get back to work finishing it no matter what. The clock keeps moving and by the time I know, it’s 8 pm. The evening time with the family is ruined.

How many times has this happened to you?

You end up working all day long and still find yourself with unfinished work. In the middle of our daily chaos, important projects slip through the cracks. No surprise that we are overworked and grossly dissatisfied.

Why do we tend to fall short of time so often?

Three factors play the most hazardous role when it comes to time management:

Factor #1: Our desire to do too much

Factor #2: Ignoring the background work

Factor #3: Ineffective delegation

Today, we are going to explore each of these factors in some more detail and find out how to manage time better.

Factor #1: Our desire to take on too much

Every day we are bombarded with an avalanche of information from all directions. Combine this with our high ambitions and you have a sure recipe for overwork. New activities emerge from nowhere and suddenly take up a big part of our work.

Here is one of my favorite quotes on productivity

Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.
~ Peter Drucker

We take too many things on our plate and forget that elimination is an important part of our job.

Yesterday, one of my friends sent me an email about his online business and problems he is facing. While I take the time to plan my day in advance, I slipped into replying to this one email and ended up losing one hour. This had a direct bearing on my newsletter writing, which cascaded into other high-priority projects.

We can avoid such productivity leaks with a little bit of thoughtfulness and presence of mind.

So, how do you deal with the situation?

The solution is “pause”. When you encounter a new activity, pause for a few moments and ask yourself – “Is there a more important task right now. Can this task wait?”

The reason why you need to ask yourself this question is because we often act out of sheer impulse. Most of the time, the problem isn’t about not knowing your priority of the moment. It is our lack of conscious awareness of such priority. When you ask yourself the question – Can this task wait for another important task, you are essentially giving your brain a short break to think rationally.

Isn’t that simple?

Checking and replying to emails is associated with dopamine secretion and it brings the same pleasure to our brain as consuming caffeine.

Factor #2: Ignoring the background work

Recently, I had to set up a landing page for a marketing campaign. Now it is relatively easy to set up a landing page using software such a LeadPages.

A few years ago, I would go straight to the landing page software and start creating it. Though I could feel the initial momentum, the end result was no good. Eventually, I winded up spending lot more time on it.

After some introspection, I discovered the reason why it took unreasonably long time – I had ignored the background work.

Creating landing page is the last stage in the project. Before that, a number of background activities need to be done such as – Writing the headline, Writing the copy, Preparing the lead magnet, Create content for the lead magnet, Design the lead magnet, Creating the wireframe, Writing the thank you email, Hook up email marketing software with the landing page, Implement the actual landing page etc.

Ironically, the first six steps were almost 90% part of the job, yet they were ignored.

Likewise, when you are working on a project, you can break it down into smaller activities and work backward. Ask yourself – what background information do I need to execute this project. Focus 90% of your effort on the background work. The actual outcome will be much better and faster.

Factor #3: Ineffective delegation

The most common mistake is delegating to the wrong person. We trust people quickly, and often without any evaluation, we depend on them like our best friend. When you delegate to the wrong person, no matter how well you plan or prepare, you won’t get the results.

The easiest test to determine if you have hired a performer is the initial experience. If in the first three tasks, the person delivers on time and quality, you have a dependable person. If not, you can move along.

Keep people who get things done and leave those who don’t.

The second mistake in delegation is – giving incomplete or unclear instructions.

This circles back to factor #2 above. Before you delegate any task to your subordinates or an outsourcing team, think about all the potential questions they might ask and prepare those answers in advance. You’ll notice that when you delegate with clear and complete instructions, there will fewer emails and the person will be much more productive.

Even though you have a great marketing strategy but if you can’t manage your time well, it will take far more stress and resources on your part to reach your goals. It’s like driving a car without the wheels.

Ultimately, we don’t need to slog for hours and keep doing busy work. Instead, we can stay calm and become more efficient managing our time by – not taking on too much, doing background work and proper delegation. If we can do these, it is a matter of time before we become successful at anything we do.

Wish you a happy weekend,

Hrishikesh Jobanputra

P.S.- Thanks Hrishi for allowing me to share this blog.