The Time of Your Life

I was recently checking in with a client, Charles, about how coaching is going for him, where we are regarding key measures, and what we might improve in our work together.

It struck me when Charles said that the work we’ve done on time management has been the most impactful. It makes sense; time is one of our greatest resources. Consciously structuring your time intersects with your life-vision, your values, your productivity and results, your fulfillment, your personal and professional relationships and communication, and lots more.

Here are three fundamental recommendations for structuring the time of your life:

You Can’t Do Everything 

Choose who you are going to be. Write a description of the person you intend to be in your journal, including how you see yourself living the virtues and values most important to you. What does this have to do with time management? We have more choices, more opportunities, and more offerings made to us than ever before, and this phenomenon is compounding as we become more globally interconnected. If we don’t become more selective about how we spend our time, we become more scattered and ineffective. 

Notice how the dynamic changes when you choose a target market and focus your efforts there. That dynamic is called traction. As long as you’re trying to accommodate everyone, no one gets your full and best attention; the quality of your work suffers and you’re not as productive (read: you don’t make as much money).

At the smorgasbord of life, it’s crucial to prioritize. On the top of your list are the things that mean the most to you, that best further your life’s purpose, that align with your values. This means that some wishes, aspirations, and downright good ideas will have to be ranked less important, less urgent. You can keep them in a tickler file for the day when current priorities have been accomplished.

Ultimately, it’s about Quality

There are parts of life where we strive to be the smartest, the fastest, the biggest (quantitatively measured); but those parts only occur inside a general context of our life-time experience, which is not a competition and is more about quality and fulfillment.

Charles has tracked how much better he’s done at marketing his business, converting prospects into clients, and managing people’s money for growth, since he carved out time to reflect, research, contemplate and plan how to best market, convert prospects and manage money.

Cal Newport calls this “deep work” in his book of that title (2016, Grand Central Publ). Newport borrows from Carl Jung is defining deep work as “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capacities to their limit. These efforts create value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.” “Shallow work,” on the other hand, is “non-cognitively demanding logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. These efforts tend to not create much new value in the world and are easy to replicate.”

Newport’s hypothesis is that: “The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.”

This was exactly my client Charles’ experience. Note: you’ll have to do less shallow work, if you want to fit deep work in your week. 

Restorative Time is Essential

Finally, Charles reported his delight in riding his bike, playing his guitar and serving his congregation’s effort to feed hungry street-people. Is delight really so important?

Although he has not spent more time with family and friends, those relationships have improved markedly. Why is that, I asked? It appears to be because—having structured his time to include restorative activities--he’s now more relaxed and genuinely interested in those folks when he’s with them. 

Restorative activities like exercise, music and offering service to a social cause are not just niceties; they actually render us better able to produce results and communicate effectively. Service—in particular—lifts us up out of self-absorption and into a wiser, more visionary place within, from which we then make better decisions, do more accurate work, and appreciate the richness of this life.

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GROWTH:

PEER GROUP FORUM FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND EXECUTIVES

We meet Wednesdays at 1p mountain on zoom.us (meeting # 354 347 7822) to share challenges and insights in personal and business growth. Dr. Kettelhut facilitates the conversation.

This is a Mastermind group, where our combined intelligence and experience creates a wisdom far beyond any individual's. Come prepared to tell the group about issues you’d like feedback on, and bring your best listening skills to contribute to others.

This is an opportunity for us to guide and encourage each other to grow from and toward your relationship to self (your values, purpose and aspirations). Bring a friend. RSVPs appreciated: [email protected].

Yours truly,

Martin Kettelhut, PhD

ListeningIsTheKey.com

303 747 4449

Reserve a no-cost, one-hour Gift Coaching Session atwww.ListeningIsTheKey.com. Or call:  303 747 4449.