Most executives are pretty savvy about spending money. But they throw around time and energy like confetti.
Newsflash: Your time and energy supplies are limited.
If you want to be truly productive, treat your time like money. Don’t waste it, invest it wisely and get as much out of it as you can.
Enter the 4 Areas of Execution – a framework for getting more done in less time without losing your mind.
If you feel burnt out or stuck no matter how hard you work, there’s probably an issue in one of these areas: time and task management, delegation, accountability, and the most magical unicorn of all, work-life balance.
TIME AND TASK MANAGEMENT: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPENDING TIME AND INVESTING IT
Some days you’re busy from the moment your feet hit the floor. Running around, putting out fires, busy, busy, busy. But when you look back utterly exhausted at the end of the day, you can’t point to one inch of progress.
All that time invested and nowt to show for it? Nah, mate. We can do better than that.
MANAGE YOUR TIME WITH CALENDAR RULES
It’s your time, so why let other people tell you what to do with it? Manage your calendar or it will manage you.
Start with simple, predictable rules. No Meeting Mondays. Travel Tuesdays. No meetings before 9 or after 4.
Rules reduce your stress because you have a rhythm. You know what to expect from your days. And as your subordinates learn them, they’ll learn when to request a meeting and when to leave you alone.
Then, use time blocks to get stuff done. Assign each task on your to-do list to a specific slot on the calendar.
Match the complexity of the task to your energy levels throughout the day. Morning person? Go ahead and tackle that lion-taming job first thing. Need to ease into the day? Save the big cats for after you’ve had your coffee.
You’ll always know what to do next, and when people ask if you have a minute, you’ll know if you really do or if stopping now will put you behind.
FOCUS YOUR ENERGY ON THE RIGHT TASKS
About that to-do list. Are the tasks on it time investments? Or time expenses?
If you’re busy all day and not getting any closer to your goals, you’re busy with the wrong things. You’re spending time, not investing it in activities that yield a return.
Give your to-do list a makeover. Start with your priorities, in business and in life. Set actionable goals that align with those priorities. Then map out what you need to do to make each goal happen.
TAKE OUR FREE 30-DAY CHALLENGE TO STOP BEING BUSY AND START BEING PRODUCTIVE.
Once you know what tasks you should spend your time on, what about those little bothers eating up your day now? They still have to be done, don’t they?
Of course they do – but maybe not by you.
DELEGATION: JUST BECAUSE THINGS NEED DOING DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO DO THEM
Avoid the poverty mindset of thinking you can save money by doing everything yourself.
Can you save money by gift-wrapping your widgets yourself instead of hiring someone to do it? You might think so, but you’d be wrong.
As the boss, what is an hour of your time worth? Add up your salary, the value of your benefits and the value of your revenue-generating potential.
Does it still seem like a good idea to pay an executive’s salary to do an assistant’s job?
(And honestly, do the widgets need to be gift-wrapped, or is that a waste of everybody’s time?)
Delegation is not a cop-out. It’s the secret to freedom and to a greater ROI on your time.
HOW TO DELEGATE
Write down all the tasks you usually do – even the ones that aren’t technically in your job description. Then copy-paste each task into a Covey Quadrant.
Rank high-priority tasks that only you can do Urgent + Important.
Rank high-impact tasks that are not time sensitive Not Urgent + Important.
Rank tasks that have to get done but don’t require your unique skill set Urgent + Not Important.
Rank tasks that honestly feel like they might be a waste of time as Not Urgent + Not Important
Now it’s time for the magic.
Urgent + Important: DO. These are the tasks that actually belong on your to-do list.
Not Urgent + Important: DECIDE. You don’t have to do these right now, but decide when you will make time for them. Schedule the time so you don’t forget.
Urgent + Not Important: DELEGATE. This stuff has to get done by somebody – but not by you.
Not Urgent + Not Important: DELETE. No one has time for this busywork. Chuck it in the bin.
WHO SHOULD YOU DELEGATE TO? HOW SHOULD YOU FOLLOW UP? GET ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS GUIDE.
ACCOUNTABILITY: NO MORE BROKEN RESOLUTIONS
Accountability is the productivity hack no one talks about. Which is weird, because it makes you 95 percent more likely to reach your goals.
Accountability just means you have an external partner following up with whether you did the things you said you would do.
That might sound a little bit like nagging, but it’s not. An accountability partner helps you set realistic goals and build a structure to achieve them. They motivate you to follow through and help you identify and eliminate obstacles to your progress.
The trick is finding the right accountability partner – someone who can keep you accountable without making you feel bullied or harassed.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE: IT REALLY DOES EXIST
You might wonder if work-life balance is really an area of execution. It sounds more like a byproduct.
You’re half right. When you invest your time wisely so you can make more money and do more things without burning through your hours, you might find your work life and personal life naturally falling into a healthier state of balance.
But work-life balance doesn’t just happen by accident. It’s something you need to consciously maintain – both for your own health and that of your company.
Work-life balance doesn’t necessarily mean working less or spending exactly the same number of hours per week on work and personal pursuits. We’re not wired that way.
All it means is that you can meet the demands of your job and the demands of your personal life – like friends, family and interests – without feeling overwhelmed.
CHECK OUT THE SCIENCE OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND HOW YOU CAN GET IN ON THAT ACTION.
PRODUCTIVITY: IT’S ALL IN THE EXECUTION
We’ve worked with a lot of executives, and we can confidently say almost all productivity issues stem from one of the 4 Areas of Execution.
Most people are naturally good at one or two. By identifying their weaknesses and building strength in all four areas, they can start making more money and having more time.
Take this 7-minute quiz to see what’s stopping you from being your most productive self. Then connect with Zembr to learn how our flexible support can help.
