Managing your glass in 2016.
With one week left in the year, I am starting to reminisce.
At the start of this year, I was a father to a toddler, a sales guy and a FIRST Robotics mentor. My "cup of available time" felt unbalanced and I was nervous to move too fast and make a mess. I was very careful to say "maybe" to things and then checking with myriad calendars, probing touch points and getting permission before switching that "maybe" to a solid yes or no. I missed a lot of opportunities out of fear of losing time. I wasted a lot of time examining how to make something work (instead of just doing it). I regretted not moving fast enough.
Balancing the "cup of time" is an illusion.
My life, energy and ability scaled to the challenge time and time again this year. I have created "time" again and again to complete work that I love. I have filled the cup to the brim and walked across a tightrope. I have switched cups for buckets. I have gotten rid of the bucket entirely.
Of course, there are a finite amount of hours per day and days per week. By dividing that time appropriately, I have confirmed Zeno's Paradox. I can create moments inside of "booked time" (be it a quick 2 minute email, a text, or a quick call to a old mentor) that create value. A single tortoise of progress will continue to move slowly and in half measures. Instead of crawling along with it, I can spur on dozens of tortoises in the moments in between!
In my daughter's kindergarten class, they are teaching the 12 habits of highly effective people. One that really sticks out this year is "Begin with the end in mind". I certainly did not do that last year, but 2016 is starting soon! I will make a concerted effort to think about what I can accomplish and how I will go about it. I hope you do too.
Have a Happy New Year!
-Daniel R. Dugan
https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/dugandaniel
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9 年This is a good read. Thanks :)