Noah Scape - a Time Management Blog by Alex J. Seltzer, SPHR

Happy new year!

I know what you're thinking--it's been a while since I've posted anything. I can explain and promise to do better in 2012 and beyond.

This past March I was attending a Pittsburgh Coaches Association meeting when I learned about the Professional Coaching Certification Program offered at Duquesne University. Before I knew it I was registered, accepted and attending class in Pittsburgh. The whole experience was life changing and I hope to share some of what I learned in future posts.

Time: The Ultimate Un-Renewable Resource

I'm sharing this article from the E-Myth in case you missed it. It's well written and right on subject.

http://www.e-myth.com/cs/user/print/post/time-the-ultimate-un-renewable-resource

What do the Pittsburgh Steelers have in Common with Time Management?

Well for starters I love them both. But this post is about more than just a love affair with my favorite sports team and the science of managing time (yourself). Grant it, the timing of Pittsburgh's win over the New York Jets last night may be a bit suspicious, but stay with me for just a moment.

I'll keep this brief, but let's start with a question. What do you think of when you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers? I may be biased, but you think of a winning team more often than not. I believe that when you have self-control over how you spend your time you will be successful more often than not. Of course you need to have the right goals, talents, market, etc in place. But assuming all that, if you spend your time on the more important aspects of your job and your life, you will be successful. The challenge of course is to be careful to avoid the tyranny of the urgent. For most of us this is a continual work-in-progress.

Another comparison of the two is how Pittsburgh managed the game clock. Have you ever considered that a football game is a mere 60 minutes of playing time but the actual event lasts roughly 3 times that or 180 minutes? I'm certain the TV timeouts have something to do with the disparity, but managing the game clock is a big part of winning on the field. Managing the work clock is a big part of winning in life.

If you missed the game last night you missed a dominate Pittsburgh Steelers team in the first half. Their first drive took the majority of the first quarter and the Steelers had the ball over 57% of the time (34.41/60.00). They dominated the game by controlling the ball and using the time wisely.

I'd be interested to know if you think this might be a valid comparison or just my way of saying, "The Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!!"

5 Steps To Managing the Impossible

When I read this article on My Path, guided by Manpower, it really resonated with me. I often hear from others and talk about the need for "balance". This article will cause you to think differntly about how to get what you need (like balance). Enjoy!

"Instead of wondering why you haven't achieved something that may not really exist (like balance), embrace what you have accomplished and continue making amazing things from the "raw material" that is you".

 

Do you tend to be uncomfortable doing important things as oppossed to the urgent?

I was having a conversation today with a respected colleague as she was making her way to Harrisburg for an important meeting. This SHRM meeting would offer her networking opportunities, continuing education credits and fulfill a commitment that she made to volunteer for the organization. And yet I sensed she was feeling guilty for leaving her chaotic world at work.

I remarked that people generally have a problem when it comes to moving from the urgent to the important. I related to the feeling because I sometimes have that issue, but I haven't given it much thought to this point. As I ponder the question, here are some possible reasons why we might sometimes feel uncomfortable working on the important things:

1. We've become fascinated with the latest tools and gadgets and now we're addicted to using them. In reality, these so called tools have become distractions from the important stuff.
2. Perhaps we're avoiding the project work because we're afraid we might fail.
3. No one will fault me if I seem to be the busiest person in the office reading and responding to more email than Bill Gates. You may be the busiest person in reality, but nothing meaningful ever gets down. You're stuck in the "activities trap".
4. You may not suffer from any of the above and you may have good intentions, but you lack a sufficient system of organizing the important work.

These are just a handful of reasons I've considered in the moment. I hope you'll consider sharing with me additional thoughts on the subject?

The Daily Planning Process

At the end of every day I have a ritual that takes 10 minutes or so and which I consider to be the most productive part of my day. Try it for a week and tell me if you don't feel better and get more important stuff done:

The key to this process has as much to do with when you do it as it does the practice itself. Because I like to be home for dinner with my family by 5:30, at approximately 3:30 I begin the procedure. The actual time that you complete this process can be flexible, but the key is to do it an hour or so before the end of the day. Don't try this at the beginning of the day because by then it's too late—the chaos has already begun. And this process is as much about putting closure to the day as it is about planning for tomorrow.

1. The first step is to check today’s calendar and tasks to capture any loose ends or cycling thoughts that need to be noted. The process of downloading and recording this information is liberating and will free your brain for more complex work. As I often tell my clients, the brain is too valuable to be used to remember something. This is also a good time to understand what work must be completed before you leave for the day.
2. Similar to the first step, the second step is a review of tomorrow's commitments to assess any preparation required. This is the time to realize that you have an 8AM staff meeting as opposed to when you normally arrive at the office at 8:30AM (has this ever happened to you?). I recommend you expand your calendar view to the week for a broader assessment of preparation that may be required beyond tomorrow.
3. This is the best time to make an appointment(s) with yourself to get those important but certainly not urgent tasks completed. You’ve been avoiding this work up to this point and the act of setting an appointment with yourself doesn’t guarantee they’ll get done, but it does increase the chances considerably. Most tools like Outlook or Lotus Notes make the process of copying a task on the calendar a cinch.
4. Since you're not living in your In-box anymore, the last step in the process is checking your in-box. Since you’ve learned a new more productive way to process email, you won’t be spending too much time here and yet you’ll leave the office with no more than a dozen emails in your in-box.
5. I recommend setting a recurring appointment on your calendar until this process becomes habit.

Remember, toward the end of every day take 10 minutes or so to bring closure to your day and make an awesome plan for tomorrow. Try it for a week or two and let me know how it’s changed how you work and feel.

I don't have time....I make it

That's how I responded to someone last week who suggested I likely didn't have enough time to play golf. Those who know me well know that I love the game of golf. I'm not very good but I absolutely enjoy the game. So, when it comes to "making time", I'll make time for golf.

My response got me to thinking....how is it that we make time? Imagine if there was actually a process that could  make the additional time we needed? I know I'd be playing more golf and spending more time with my family if I could actually manufacture time. If I got really good at it I suppose I could bottle time and sell it for big bucks. It's this idea that draws me to the science of time management.

There is a process I use that gets me more time every day. When I use it I get the things done that are most important and I find I have time to spare. I spend less time thinkng about what to do next and the flow of the day is perfect. There are days that I don't use the process and inevitibly I waste time thinking about what to do next or worse working on something that doesn't bring me value. What is this miraculous system I speak of? It's called planning. Before you leave this page disappointed that you haven't found that "magic bullet" that solves the time starved dilema we all face, please read my next post that describes the process in detail.

What's with the name---Noah Scape?

A couple years ago a friend of mine in the advertising business told me of a name that he was contemplating for a business. The name--Noah Scape wasn't spoken for at the time so I jumped at the opportunity to make it my own. It reminded me of the feeling I would often experience in the past when I was overwhelmed with work and uncertain what to do next. I felt like I had "No Escape".

I thought the play on words would work well if I ever wanted to start a business helping people in similar situations. Unfortunately, when I tell people that I started a consulting company which focuses on helping people work smarter named Noah Scape, they just look at me with a blank stare in their eyes. Am I saying "No escape"?

So, if you find yourself, like I found myself a dozen or so years ago, with no system of organization, feeling unproductive and you figure there's No Escape, don't despair I am here.

The worse part of vacation is coming back?

In my last post, I mentioned I would share with you the feeling I had when I returned from vacation and found several hundred e-mails in my inbox (among other work that needed to be done). Obviously the feeling was pretty bad, but having a plan as to what to do first and how to do it can be helpful;

• Like me, you might find it helpful to get into the right frame of mind before arriving at the office. I’ve been on vacation for 2 weeks and now I must change gears and perhaps my mind set. Some quiet time with deep contemplation helps me regain my focus for work.
• The first thing I do when I get back to work is review my calendar (fixed commitments) and then my tasks (the flexible stuff). I determine what actions must be taken today to be well prepared for things coming up tomorrow. I also commit blocks of time on the calendar to get caught up.
• I do my very best to get through the majority of my emails before I walk into the office. This way I can deal with the more important issues that may have arisen while I was gone.
• I spend uninterrupted time processing email using a simple process. I’ll expand on these techniques in a subsequent post.
• First, get into the habit of opening an email only once. In other words, closing the email with the intention of coming back to it is not an option. Studies have shown that it takes twice as long to decide what to do with the email the second, third or forth time you open it. This habit will ensure that you end the day with zero emails in your inbox.
• Use a simple decision tree to decide to do it now, date activate it, delegate it or my favorite, delete it.
• I triage my snail mail similar to how I deal with e-mails. I separate it into three piles with the first pile going into the trash (which is most of it). The second pile is mail that needs to be shared or forwarded to others and then of course the pile that requires action/reading by me.

I hope these basic steps help you to have a more enjoyable time on vacation knowing that it won’t be such a burden when you return.

Brain Drain: Real Result of Digital Overload?

I was ready to write a post describing the feeling I had when I returned from two weeks of vacation and found several hundred emails waiting for me in my inbox (more on this later), but instead I feel the need to share a piece that I happened to catch yesterday morning on The Early Show.

The piece describes the affect technology has on our brain. I encourage you to read the article and consider how technology has affected you. I’ve long recognized that people are changing as a result of technology and in my opinion most of the changes aren’t good. The productivity improvements these tools have afforded us are well documented no doubt, but as I suggested in my last post, being continually connected to work or other things has its costs. If we’re connected to our devices what are we disconnected from? Whatever happened to good old verbal communications?