If I took a poll right now and asked leaders to share what their biggest challenge is, I bet lack of time would be near the top of the list. If I asked them what is taking up all of their time, I might hear too many meetings, bigger workload, less resources and very little time to think. Everyone gets the same 24 hours each day so how do some make it work, while others struggle? How do you want to be perceived? The leader who is too busy or the leader that is strategic and has it all together? It comes down to intentions, boundaries, and focus.
Intentions
What is the intention that you have for your career? Do you have a plan to reach your career goals? You need to plan to make that happen. Take a look at your week in advance and plan out time to do what you need to accomplish. If you create more time, what would you do with it? Slow down, be intentional to help you speed up on the right things. Review what you are saying yes to that may cause you to say no to yourself. Look for opportunities to design your week the way that you want it and prioritize your time or others will do it for you.
Boundaries
Do you maintain your boundaries or let others take over your time? Imagine that you are holding time on your calendar to work on your project. Someone sends through a meeting request to meet with you at that exact time. What do you do? You don’t automatically have to say yes, unless there is a major crisis. You always have the choice to say no and share alternative times that you can meet with them instead. You don’t have a responsibility to meet everyone else’s needs and worry about what they are doing. You do have a responsibility to your time and what you need to get done.
Focus
What are you spending your time on each day? Are you focused on the high value activities or do you come in and only do what is on your calendar that day? Leaders can fall into the habit of being busy on low value tasks without the awareness of it happening. Instead focus on what gets you the results, helps you gain visibility and allows others to see your capabilities and the results that you can generate.
As you can see there is some overlap between these three areas. Observe your day and assess which one would help you the most before moving on to the next one. Leaders tell me that they are overwhelmed and don’t have time to focus on their visibility. Take the time to slow down and be strategic with how you spend your time. You will accomplish more, show your value and be the leader that others aspire to be.