My calendar is void of white space

I vaguely remember when I could see white space on my calendar.? Now, I purposely color-code my meetings and appointments to amuse myself.? The colors mean nothing.? Reds…blues…greens….whatever.??

The colors exist to brighten my mood, but mostly, glances at my calendar bum me out.? It’s not mine anymore.? I dunno whose it is, to be honest.?

In a valiant attempt to regain control, I took a time management course and this guy coached me to enter calendar blocks with the words “MY TIME” in caps….but I ran those red lights easily. (C’mon, do I look like a rookie?)

Then, one day while out with a friend, she nicely told me that I looked like crap (but?she was nice about it).? When she heard what my days were like, she said something that changed my life, and that’s when I got that spiritual awakening stuff folks talk about.?

She said, “Ohhhh, I see...you can’t quit the crack, boy…you addicted!”?

I very meekly replied, “…but they need me.”?

She answered, "More than you need you?"

CHAPTER TWO

It was hard at first, but I eventually got to the point where I could admit that I loved feeling needed at my job. Unfortunately, "feeling needed" was defined by the chaos of the work: endless appointments and the communication crush from a laptop that wouldn't let go of its choke-hold. I was willing to sacrifice the lack of control and the ability to eat lunch when I needed nourishment, all in the name of?doing good work?and?being a high performer.? Thirteen meetings and four fire drills a day?? No problem.? Just let me knock off Friday at 7pm and I’ll be fine.

But then I started noticing friends dropping on the curb.? No…not literally…they weren’t suffering heart attacks, but I could see their lifestyle wasn’t healthy.? That’s when I looked hard in the mirror and concluded I wasn’t either.?

So I started asking the questions that prompted the additional sleeplessness: how would I be able to keep up this pace and continue to do high-quality work?? And, what path did I see towards a fulfilling job…this one,?and?the next?? (Or did I just have to “buck up,” as they say?)

I did not have answers.

Hmmmmm…..

So I quit, sold my futon, bought a ticket to the Caribbean where I write to you now.?Screw it.? I'm poor, but I'm tan.

EPILOGUE

I have taught more time management workshops in the last three months than I have during the previous three years.? Coincidence?? Not at all.? By the way, all this action was just in time as I was losing faith in the marketability of the words “time management” – I was gonna push ‘em out of my workshop titles in exchange for something more modern sounding.? How do you like, “Boundary Control Mechanics” oh, wait wait… “Boundary Control AI”!!!!? YES.? Or, “Autonomy Leverage Strategic Planning Playbook”?? I dunno, just playin’.?

Point is, wise companies?are?getting wise to address this issue - mostly because their recruiters are getting marred like lions in Roman gladiator pits.??

Teaching?time management?to field-level workers – sellers, AMs, CSMs, PMs – is tricky ‘cuz there is zero light in the tunnel.? They all simply say, “Those are nice ideas to help me manage my calendar, Michael…who’s gonna do all the work that needs to be done?”?

Fair.

Managers?? Different story.? They are the ones who must put pressure on their senior leadership by telling the real story about productivity.? And btw, If our tech is so good, why can’t we use some to help make our sausage faster and better?? Again, fair question.?

Listen,?I am pretty damn good at TML?(Time Management Logic…hey….new workshop title??), after all, I'm an expert at mismanaging my calendar (ha), but this isn't just about time management. There are some big issues on the table and I can help there too. Right now, our industry needs these…

1. Better job training.

2. Better skills training (so that every client request is NOT a fire drill….if I hear “fire drill” one more time….).

3. Better internal examination and discussion on how to improve the way business gets done. (While we're at it, let's lump this under "communications" training.)

4. Better?CAREER PATH?vision and coaching.?Isn’t it rather irresponsible that we ask many of our foundational workers to give us 14 hours a day (IN FRONT OF A MONITOR, for Pete’s sake), and we DON’T provide a career path for them??

C’mon folks, we can do better.? We have to, or else folks won’t be craving to break into our exciting, rewarding, stimulating, "fun" industry!