Maybe It's TIME For A Change

I find myself working with a lot of people who are challenged – too much work – too little time – too much stress.

I’ve become convinced the three are pretty closely linked.

We live in a world where so much information swarms around us – and through us – that if you’re not stressed from time to time you probably aren’t paying attention.

I remember reading a few years ago that if our minds were a laptop they would crash every 2 days – data overload.

Sounds about right.

We’re Time Travelers, you and I.

8,760 hours per year.

1,440 minutes a day.

Some of us seem to get to cruise control fairly quickly – some just start, stop, sputter, and repeat.

For what it’s worth, I’ve come to the conclusion that most people think about time in terms of length and width.

Said another way – how long we work and how hard we work.

I’ve done a lot two-dimensional thinking myself.

Patted myself on the back at the end of a long day of both.

But those on real cruise control seem to think about time a little bit differently – not just length and width – but DEPTH. ?(And Mrs. Boggs, my 10th grade teacher would be happy to hear about my rudimentary knowledge of Geometric dimensions.)

I think the cruisers may be onto something.

Deep work – truly productive work – is at another level.

I asked a contact about that not long ago – one so drained that they were at the point of full burn out.

“Why do you think you’re where you are?”

The answer – “Because I spend my life putting out fires, attending worthless meetings, reading Emails that are a waste, and hoping to get through the (insert expletive here) so I can get to my real job. I just scratch the surface…and try to hang on.”

That “scratch the surface” comment lingered. ?

I no longer conduct Time Management seminars – at least not in the classic sense.

We do have Time Strategy discussions – and it’s because Time will forever be one of our most precious – and most misunderstood – of resources.

It’s a darn shame that otherwise well-intentioned professionals treat Time like bottled water – chug one bottle down and assume there will always be another to take its place.

There won’t be.

And many are drowning (or choking to death) as a result.

Elite Time Experts seem to look at things differently. ?

Time, they posit, isn’t a 2 dimensional painting – something we “scratch the surface of”.

It’s a sculpture.

Like a great block of ice, it must be carved strategically – else it quickly melts away and you’re left with a puddle at the end of day. ??

Deep Work (depth) is the third dimension – and sculpturing time is very different from a few brush stokes on the canvas of our lives.

It takes thought and planning to get to Deep Work – and most of us are so busy slapping on paint (working long and working hard) that we don’t stop to consider working smart.

“Well,” we might tell ourselves, “at least I got something done.”

Except, in many cases we don’t.

And so our Cortisol levels skyrocket – and our stress – and we console ourselves with the knowledge that “something is better than nothing.”

Busyness – the addiction of the 21st century.

Which also explains the record levels of drug addiction, depression, and employee disengagement.

Strategy is a framework for decision-making around the resources we will invest to win.

Time is the most precious of those resources.

And there is precious little that should be wasted.

It’s up to you – decide.?