If Time Were Money, Would You Still Toss It?

Do you protect your time the same way you do your money? If not, why do you think that is?

Click the graphic to watch my recommendations or scroll down to read about this important time management lesson:

During a keynote I presented to the NASBP National Conference in Arizona, I asked audience members to participate in a little activity involving the cash in their wallets. This is a snippet from that:

Those of you who are standing there with the cash, you were laughing, also a little inquisitive, wondering, “What is this woman going to have us do now?” Those of you without the cash were wondering how you’re going to participate.

As soon as I said the word throw, the people without the cash smiled.

Those of you with the cash, you changed from that happy smile to the fake smile, “Uh, am I really going to do this? I think I’m supposed to be polite at conference, but this is not a good idea.”

The whole point is, within a split second of me saying the word throw, you decided in that moment whether or not doing it was going to benefit you. And yet when it comes to our time, we just throw it away.

Our time is more valuable than some of the fans of cash that I saw floating around the room.

If you remember nothing else from today, I want you to remember that fan of cash and how you made a conscious decision about what you’re about to do, whether or not it was going to be good for you. That is the same way you need to think about how you use your time.

Circling  back to Marc and Nancy, they were both successful in their journeys. Marc eventually scaled back on his work so much that when he showed up at his daughter’s game, she ran over and gave him a hug because it had been a couple of years since he had been to one. Family dynamics totally changed, and he was operating at full productivity, getting the same level of production in far fewer hours.

With Nancy, she began to understand the beauty of having structure but still allowing flow in there, and she, too, was able to accomplish the same or more in less time.

This is because they chose to implement the CIA.

Create clarity.

Implement structure and flow.

Assemble your team.

When you are having that crazy busy day and you feel like there are fire drills just coming at you, I want you to pause and take that deep breath and say to yourself, “I will tell my time what to do.”

Always remember, you do have the total power to tell your time what to do!

For a step-by-step guide to implementing the CIA, check out The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.