Course Correction

Is everyone else’s calendar a mess these days?  I go between periods of insanely busy to periods of not being busy enough.

The swing isn’t ideal … at first the non busy days feel nice … I can catch my breath, I can relax, I can get caught up. The problem? I don’t get caught up - I procrastinate, or … I create projects - I go all in - so I can’t quit part way through (read: painting the hallway, deep cleaning my space etc.).

I’m in a busy period now. Productive busy - I’m good with. Some of my current busyness falls into this category. Some … Some feels busy for busy sake. Don’t love that. I get sometimes we need to do things - just because … too much of that and I feel off balance … disengaged, easily frustrated or annoyed. Don’t love that. I have a little too much of that right now and it’s been stretching on just a little too long. I’m moving into the place where I want to brutally review my calendar … my tasks … priorities etc. a lot of where I spend my time shouldn’t survive the audit.

But … 

Hmmm … and there’s the rub. The excuses. My boss told me to deliver x … I committed to y … 

They seem valid.

Are they?

Maybe. Maybe not. 

I fall into the trap at work - my boss mentioned x and I added it to my laundry list of deliverables. Well … sometimes I fall into that trap. Sometimes I ask questions … sometimes he doesn’t understand the impact of the ask, sometimes what he really wants - we are already working on it, sometimes it's merely an observation or suggestion … Sometimes the ask is an ask and needs to be prioritized and delivered on immediately. 

My point? 

When I’m brutally honest in auditing where and how I spend my time? I find I’m often guilty of having made assumptions, wasting time on tasks or calls that I shouldn’t be or don’t need to be … If I’m brutally honest … I’m not investing that time on the key priorities that will drive the biggest results. If I’m brutally honest - I own that. No one else - just me. 

The brutal honesty part - that’s hard. It’s worth it. It’s still hard. I’m in the head space now - where and how am I spending my time - what returns am I getting from that investment? What should I be getting? How and where do I adjust that? 

I’m travelling this week for work - a time audit will likely be how I use my time at the airport. Well - that and a good book. 

The goal? Invest a couple hours reviewing my goals, my team's goals and what my non-negotiables are for the month ahead. Cross reference that with my calendar … 

For me … I do my best thinking in the morning. Where and how I use that time is valuable. I’m more creative, I problem solve better, my patience and tolerance levels are at their highest - which means I’m more open to mistakes - to seeing where and how to pivot. 

For me - that time in the morning - is my most valuable and I should be prioritizing (fiercely) what is scheduled there. 

This is what I mean when I say I’m cross referencing my non-negotiables with my calendar. If meetings during this time aren’t aligned with those non-negotiables they need to be moved, or cancelled. Period. 

When I do a time audit - I look at everything. Life is happening at all times - some of those non-negotiables are mine - not just work’s - also mine. They need to be in the mix - they need to be protected too. 

I’ve done this before. It’s the equivalent of doing a financial audit. When you’ve got eyes on everything you quickly start to see where you’re bleeding - usually unintentionally … but bleeding none the less. The trick is keeping emotion out of the mix - treating information as what it is, data points. Did I lose two hours in an evening to doom scrolling? Hmmm. Not ideal. How do I change that? 

Ego can’t be at the table - it will defend, protect, bias the activity … it will prevent an honest review, necessary change and ownership. 

If the goal isn’t that - then why do it? 

Why do I do it? 

I don’t like busy. I like productive. My goal is to drive change - to grow … progress … focussing on the right things allows for that.

Don’t get me wrong … in my line of work, fires happen daily. Unplanned operational work is a reality. It’s also the excuse. If I know what my non-negotiables are daily -  I can audit that daily. I can assess - honestly - where legitimate resource gaps exist versus where time management is the actual problem. I can’t do that if I’ve lost the forest for the trees. That’s the danger of busy - we pretend it’s productive … We pretend not reaching our goals is outside of our control. Is it? Maybe. Without taking a hard look, an honest look at the data … I’m less inclined to believe that's true. 

It’s possible the “control freak” in me needs to disagree … it’s also possible I’m right … 

I feel the difference between busy and productive - it’s a different kind of tired. It sits differently in the body. Ownership of that starts with me. Starts with an honest look at where and how I spend my time. Are the what’s the right whats. 

Drift happens … Course correction exists to accommodate that … It’s knowing where and how to apply it that matters. People will disagree with your choices - that doesn’t make the choices wrong. It does make them hard to maintain, hard to protect, hard to defend … It doesn't make them wrong. There is a certain culture around busy - it looks productive, meetings equate to collaboration … How many meetings have you sat in where you haven’t said a word, you’ve worked on other things, you weren’t really needed? 

My point? 

I own my time - if I don’t question where and how it’s being used, who will? If I don’t understand what is expected of me in a meeting, how it aligns to key deliverables or priorities or creates value … Why am I on the invite?  I’m allowed to ask. I should know.  My rigour has lapsed and it needs to return - that rigour drives performance and results … It’s part of what sets me apart from my peers … my competitive advantage as it were … It’s an uncommon thing, which surprises me.  In my mind it should be as common as brushing your teeth … Everyone should do it … Everyone’s time is valuable. Everyone’s time is finite.  Everyone should audit that resource.  Everyone should course correct when that time isn’t spent on things that matter. 

It fascinates me that I have to defend my choices, and yet those choices get me results. Those choices run counter to corporate culture yet that same culture wants results.  Time audits are a fascinating study in human nature … That rabbit hole aside … I appreciate them, I need them, I will continue to use them as a resource to support my growth, my evolution, my progress …