[00:00:00] Hi everyone and welcome back to Reflect Forward. I'm your host, Kerry Siggins and I'm
[00:00:13] so glad you're here today. Today I want to talk about why leaders need to protect their
[00:00:17] time. We all need to protect our time whether we're a leader or not. I mean let's face it,
[00:00:21] we're all busy. In fact, I am working hard to not respond with, oh, I'm so busy whenever
[00:00:26] I'm asked how I am because let's face it, we all are busy and no one really wants to hear
[00:00:30] how busy we are. I try to be much more thoughtful in my response rather than oh so busy but the reality
[00:00:37] is that leaders are busy and we really do need time. Time to think, time to strategize, leadership
[00:00:44] is a high pressure job and if we're constantly sprinting then we never can recover and any of you
[00:00:52] who are athletes or like to work out know that you can work out harder when you recover and
[00:00:58] leadership is the same way, thinking is the same way, managing is the same way, working is the
[00:01:03] same way. As the saying goes time is money and what does that mean? Well that time is opportunity
[00:01:09] and when we are bombarded with emails and meetings and constant interruptions how do we protect
[00:01:15] that most precious asset, that asset that allows us to grow, to rest and recover, to think,
[00:01:22] to create those new opportunities that are high value instead of putting out all of those little
[00:01:28] fires that don't actually move the needle. So that's what I wanted to talk about today and I've
[00:01:33] been thinking about this a lot because I have over scheduled myself. I find this funny because
[00:01:38] people ask me how I manage my time so well and I do have a capability to handle a lot of different
[00:01:44] things, especially when I'm really happy with the things that I'm doing in my life but
[00:01:49] I once again have found myself over scheduled. I've over committed because I love saying yes to
[00:01:54] things and I always want to participate and make an impact but when my calendar is so full that
[00:02:01] I dread waking up on a Monday morning that's not good. So I have been figuring out ways to
[00:02:08] reduce my commitments and give myself more time to be present and to think and to
[00:02:14] not just be so dang busy all the time. The interesting thing is that there's this paradox of
[00:02:20] availability like our nature, we have to be the guiding light for our teams, we have to help them
[00:02:26] and there's this idea that the more accessible that you are, the less available you become for
[00:02:32] things that actually matter and I absolutely know this to be true. I think a lot of people did
[00:02:37] when prior to COVID when I was in the office all the time and my door was always open, people could
[00:02:41] come in and it was great to have that accessibility and I learned so much and I was very in tune to
[00:02:47] the organization but I would leave at the end of the day and say how I had a lot of great conversations
[00:02:52] but what did I do to move the needle forward? Did I think about strategy? Did I talk to our most
[00:02:56] important customers? And the answer was no. And so when we went to work from home and I didn't
[00:03:01] have those interruptions, I got so much more done and you can start to see where that paradox
[00:03:06] lives, where that accessibility, where people want to talk to you which is a very good thing as a
[00:03:11] leader has to be balanced with being able to focus on things that move the needle and the more
[00:03:18] accessible you are, the less available you are to work on those things. And interestingly,
[00:03:23] a study by McKinsey revealed that senior executives spend more than 28% of their working hours
[00:03:28] reading and answering emails. That's nearly a third of their work week and that means that they're
[00:03:33] not strategizing, innovating, leading but they're waiting through their inboxes. And I know this to be
[00:03:38] true and I used to be so meticulous about responding to emails and I've had to let that go a little
[00:03:44] bit because answering emails is not the most important thing that I do as a leader.
[00:03:49] Leading is the most important thing I do as a leader and that's where this paradox of availability
[00:03:54] really is we have to balance that. There's also so this myth of multitasking that we need to take
[00:04:00] into consideration. Like multitasking is absolutely written into every single job description.
[00:04:06] I think we all think that we need to multitask and in fact many of us thinks that we are good multitaskers,
[00:04:12] but neuroscience absolutely debunks this myth especially for leaders. Research indicates that
[00:04:20] task switching when you go in between different things can actually reduce your net productivity
[00:04:25] by up to 40%. For those of us leaders whose decisions are carrying a lot of weight and
[00:04:31] impacting the entire organization, this cost of a diminished focus is not just lost in hours,
[00:04:38] but in opportunities opportunities that we miss to work on moving the ball down the field. Or it
[00:04:44] might result in crappy work product or errors that are made. As it turns out our brains don't like
[00:04:51] juggling. They don't like keeping multiple balls in the air. Our brains are much better at doing
[00:04:56] one thing at a time and doing it well, so don't get caught into this idea that you need to multitask
[00:05:01] and that multitasking is a good thing. Do what you're working on really well. Focus on it, be present
[00:05:07] with it, do it really well and then move on to the next thing. Don't try to do multiple things at once.
[00:05:12] That does not help you manage your time well at all. The next thing I'd like to talk about is how
[00:05:19] important deep work is. I love Cal Newport's concept of deep work, which is the ability to focus
[00:05:24] without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks is this is a really important thing for leaders
[00:05:31] to do. Deep work is where strategy is born. It's where innovation happens. It's where solutions to
[00:05:36] complex problems are found and if we are cluttering our brains with multitasking or we don't have time
[00:05:44] to do that deep work, to do that deep thinking we are not going to have the brain power to focus on
[00:05:51] solving the most important challenges in our teams and businesses. So it's really important
[00:05:56] that you are the architect of your time and that you carve out time for uninterrupted thought and
[00:06:03] creativity. Before I jump into strategies on time protection, I do want to talk about one
[00:06:09] other thing and that is the ripple effect of leadership focus. We leaders, we set the tempo
[00:06:16] and the tone for our organizations. If we are buried in administrative tasks and endless meetings,
[00:06:22] it sends a signal that this is what valued work looks like. Be busy with meetings, be busy answering
[00:06:28] emails and other administrative work but on the contrary, if a leader prioritizes strategic thinking,
[00:06:34] team development and high impact projects, this inspires their teams to emulate the same things.
[00:06:41] So it's really important that you role model this because it has that ripple effect. What you do is
[00:06:47] a leader is what other people will do too. So remember being a role model matters and your leadership
[00:06:53] focus has a ripple effect throughout the entire organization so make sure that you're modeling how
[00:06:59] to use time effectively. Okay, so let's jump into some strategies for protecting your time.
[00:07:05] The first thing that you need to do is audit your time. I know this is a pain in the butt but it
[00:07:10] is really insightful. Keep a log of your activity all week long how you are spending your time
[00:07:16] write it down. You will be surprised where those hours go by doing this you can identify
[00:07:21] where you have these time drains so to speak and you can strategize on how to either eliminate them
[00:07:27] or delegate them or at the very least reduce them. The next thing that you should consider doing
[00:07:32] is time blocking. I do this, I block all my mornings off from eight to nine that's when I do my best
[00:07:37] thinking. Unfortunately, I have let those time blocks get filled but I am going to work to put
[00:07:43] them back in but having specific blocks of times matters so you should set a time for answering emails.
[00:07:51] I should say I do meetings on these days between this times and then block out on your calendar
[00:07:57] that time for deep work and then you need to guard those blocks furiously. You have to be disciplined
[00:08:04] to follow how you're time blocking your calendar otherwise it won't matter and I am guilty of
[00:08:10] letting my calendar get completely out of control because I've taken too much on and my time
[00:08:15] blocks have been completely obliterated and that is why I'm having this conversation with all of you
[00:08:19] because I am taking control of my calendar and I am going to fix this going forward. March is
[00:08:28] a mess and April is two but starting in May, I am being much more disciplined because I'm backing
[00:08:34] out of some of these commitments that I've made and I'm really focusing on making sure I have time
[00:08:38] to work on the most important things that help my team and company. The next thing is to learn to say
[00:08:43] no. Remember no is a complete sentence and every yes that you say is a new commitment so saying no
[00:08:50] is potentially more important than saying yes. You need to evaluate opportunities through the lens
[00:08:56] of your strategic priorities. What do you want to achieve in your company, in your team, in your
[00:09:01] career, in your life and if you have things on your calendar that aren't helping you get to those
[00:09:06] things then figure out how to remove them from your calendar. It's okay to say no. In fact, saying
[00:09:12] no is the most important thing that you will do in your leadership career, say no. No is a complete
[00:09:18] sentence. The next thing is to leverage technology. There's all kinds of tools out there that you can
[00:09:22] use to eliminate repetitive tasks. AI is going to change the game with this. Manage your schedule
[00:09:28] effectively with technology. I use Outlook to manage my calendar and I use Asana to manage my daily
[00:09:35] tasks and it's incredibly helpful. I also have my assistant who helps me on both of these areas too
[00:09:41] and it makes it so much easier to be able to collaborate through technology on my calendar.
[00:09:47] So leverage technology to help you be more efficient. And then finally, this is the most important
[00:09:53] is that you have to cultivate a culture that respects time. Encourage your team to adopt similar
[00:09:59] practices. Encourage them to not fill up every moment of their day. Make it knowing that you value
[00:10:05] deep thinking, deep work, that you value strategic input, that you want people to not just be
[00:10:11] busy. That is not what is effective. So really think about what your culture says about time.
[00:10:17] And if it says busyness is the most important thing, then start to work to change that. No deep thinking,
[00:10:24] quality work and time to rest and recuperate so that you can work harder is far more important.
[00:10:32] So hopefully that inspires you to manage your time, to protect your time. There's always
[00:10:37] going to be more work to do than hours in a day. So it's really important that you ensure that your
[00:10:43] time is spent working on things that really matter, on things that move that ball down the field.
[00:10:48] Lead by example, audit your calendar, say no, use technology, time block and really think about
[00:10:57] what your relationship is with time and how to bring more value to time within your own life,
[00:11:05] within your team's life and within your company's life. And your life will be so much better.
[00:11:09] Remember quality over quantity, being busy is no way to live. The demands of leadership
[00:11:16] requires wisdom, thoughtfulness, strategic thinking, so carve out spaces to do that kind of deep work.
[00:11:23] All right, with that I will leave you for your day. I hope that helped.
[00:11:27] And as a reminder, if you like this podcast, please write a review, subscribe to it, share it with
[00:11:32] a friend. I always appreciate it helps with the algorithms and be sure to check out my book,
[00:11:37] The Ownership Mindset. It has all kinds of useful information just like what's in these advice from
[00:11:41] the CEO podcast. All right, have a great day. See you next week.