Does this sound familiar?
All of my time is spent ‘putting out fires’ and ‘burning platforms!’ I don’t have time to even breathe let alone keep up! ‘Innovate, optimize, grow!’ Yeah that all sounds great but how do you expect me to do that if I can barely even accomplish my ‘day to day’ responsibilities? My team is under capacity, we have limited budget this year, and I’m being pulled at all angles!
So how are you supposed to “do more with less?” Read on as today’s blog identifies how to more effectively prioritize your time at work.
Let’s face it. All of us are being asked to do more with less.
The need to constantly redefine, refine, improve and ‘move the needle’ is a norm in this age of information technology and global competition. The world is indeed smaller and faster. And that means the time we have to respond and change to demanding environments is even less than before. Almost overnight, companies are popping up from out of no-where and on the other extreme, dissolving. What separates those who survive from those who become extinct is literally one’s ability to constantly adapt, respond and act quickly enough. No one wants to become the next Kodak!
Survive and Thrive . . . Understanding Your Capacity Pyramid
So what does this mean for you and your survival and even better, ‘thrival’? The bottom line is that just ‘putting out fires’ and doing just your ‘day to day’ work is not going to cut it. You must focus on the other important areas of your ‘work life’ if you are going to at the very least, ‘keep up in the game.’
I’ve designed what I like to call a Capacity Pyramid which prioritizes how you can have a more ‘holistic’ focus to your day. The goal is to move from the current state of focusing only on day-to-day and “burning platforms” to carving out time each day for more strategic aspects or you’ll never grow and progress. Instead, you’ll forever be ‘victims of our environments.’
Let’s discuss each area to devote time to each work day:
Current State Areas
- Time for Functional, day to day responsibilities: These are your ‘bread and butter’ responsibilities. They are the bulk of the reason why you are ‘paid to do what you do.’ Drop these areas and the ‘lights go out,’ literally.In terms of priorities, this area should be first. Through time, however, they should become ‘second nature’ to you. Doing so allows you to focus on the other critical areas of the ‘Capacity Pyramid.’If you are not there yet, start pouring in all of your energy to get your day to day responsibilities to be as efficient as possible!
- Time for Burning Platforms: There will always be last minute needs, stakeholder requests, urgent items that come ‘out of nowhere,’ each and every day. First off, if you are not doing so already, start planning for them, most importantly, Mentally! The last thing you want to happen is have your day ruined because you were ‘blindsided’ by a last minute and/or urgent request you weren’t ready for in a given day. Do yourself a favor and know that when it comes to ‘burning platforms,’ they can come at any time. That’s business.
Now, most of us just stay in the above two areas ALL DAY LONG!
The goal is to become as disciplined and persistent as possible to ALSO move into the other areas of the ‘Capacity Pyramid!
Ideal State Areas
- Time for Strategic Initiatives: Remember all the ‘new goals’ you set out to achieve this year? Are you allotting time each and every day on these goals? ‘Strategic Initiatives’ are the areas in your work life that you and/or your company deem as critical for ongoing optimization and/or growth. It’s goes without saying, but if you don’t allot any focused time on achieving these goals, each and every day, the likelihood that you are going to achieve them are slim to none!Questions to help you:
- What can you start doing tomorrow to make sure you are spending time in this area?
- Who can you involve to tackle the initiative with and not have to own it all?
- How can you better manage your time in your day to day and burning platform areas so you create space to handle the rest of the areas?
- Time for Developing Relationships: How much time in a given day are you spending on actually developing your relationships in the work place? Let’s be honest, it’s easier to be a ‘human doing’ in the workplace than a ‘human being.’ Relationships are key to being able to live out your ‘capacity pyramid.’ There is not ONE thing you do that doesn’t impact someone else in the workplace. Whether it’s people who work for you, who you work for or who you serve, people go out of their way to work and support you when you have a healthy relationship with them. Can you say are spending enough time in your day to develop your relationships?Questions to help you:
- What can you start doing tomorrow to make sure you are spending time in this area?
- Who do you need to make sure you have healthy working relationships with?
- What’s ONE little thing you can do every day to develop your working relationships?
- Time for Visioning, Planning, Evaluating and Goal Setting: People set goals and forget about them for the rest of the year. Don’t do that! At the start or end of each and every day, get into the routine of planning your next day’s goals. At the start of every week, lay out your top goals you want to achieve. Monthly, set out your targets. Get into the habit of tracking and evaluating progress much more frequently than every 6 months! You will be able to change and respond quicker and easier! It will make sure you are keeping on the right track and not lose sight of what you set out to accomplish. It will keep you from falling into a rut.Questions to help you:
- What’s ONE simple thing you can do every day to make sure you are keeping your vision and goals top of mind?
- When would be the best time in a given day for you to evaluate your day?
Keep it Simple and Start Small
The ‘Capacity Pyramid’ is important for company success but even more important, for your need for balance. No one is sustainable always focusing just on burning platforms and day to day responsibilities. You will not only burn out, but your sense of feeling and being valued will be limited. Your growth will be stunted. You will not last. And I wouldn’t blame you for it!
Make a commitment to create more balance in your work-life and you will feel happier, more fulfilled and satisfied! I guarantee it!
I’d Love to Help You, really
Privately send me your challenges, questions and comments at [email protected]. I can’t guarantee I’ll have all the answers, but I will be candid, truthful and genuine at all times with you. All of us deserve to be inspired and joyful in our lives. We simply need to work towards it.
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Regards,
Rubi
