What’s the number one thing that both the CEOs I work with as well as the students I teach tell me they want: more time to think things through and get things done. While we can’t manufacture more time, all days have 24 hours, we can master how we use our time better.
For years this has been an issue for me, personally, which is why I seek solutions and developed a workshop on Time Mastery to help people. In her article, Four Ways to Free Up More Time for Critical-Growth Thinking, Kat Vitasek shares some excellent points that will help you.
- Clear Your Calendar. Analyze how you’re spending time and ask whether some of it is wasted, and if so reduce the waste. For instance, consider fewer and/or shorter low-value meetings and shorter.
- Delegate. Leaders have a tendency to try to do everything by themselves until they learn it’s overwhelming and then turn things over to others. However, there’s a greater benefit to delegation: “when employees are delegated, they find greater meaning in their work, feel trusted by their employers and have a greater sense of self-direction – and even self-esteem.”
- Use Automation. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) uses software routines, called BOTs, to eliminate routine, repetitive manual jobs that software can replace. In addition to increasing efficiency, they reduce the costly human errors that occur all too often. Moreover, they free workers to elevate their contributions in a company (and often salary and position) by enabling them to spend time using more valuable skills
- Get organized. Allegedly, Abraham Lincoln said “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” He’s analyzing what part of the process is most important, and organizing his use of time to “do first things first.”
How many of these will help you find more time to focus on things of critical importance? Share with us which are most effective for you and why. Also, if you’re not familiar with RPA, and want to learn more, let me know and I’ll provide an introduction to one of my Vistage members that excels at it.