Time is Finite

I ended my last BluPrnt https://joeytenuta.mba/2023/04/16/am-i-productive/ with a bit of an ambiguous statement.  “Find the minimum tools you need and focus on goals not tasks. Adopt ways to work that make the most sense for you so you can find value in your time and no longer pay the price of being busy.”  Sure, why not but…how?  That’s the most typical follow up question I get but the answer is not simple.  There’s a heavy lift involved in developing your systems.  If you’re serious about focusing on productivity and not about just being busy, then your next step is to build a system that is fit for you and your situation.  Systems are not one size fits all.  Your system needs planning and it needs to rest on a solid foundation.

To begin your foundation, you need to reflect and accept what your roles and responsibilities are.  I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to understand your roles and responsibilities.  Personally, wearing many  hats leaves much that I’m responsible for and many people have to hold me accountable.  Lest anyone think that this applies only to  my professional life.  My personal life carries a similar amount of weight and importance.  In my situation, my wife’s profession carries much more travel resulting in a great deal of consistent communication and proactive scheduling to coordinate and manage our household.  That withstanding, I have clear understanding of my role and I plan my block time accordingly.  It too greatly reduces the angst and stress each week while allowing dedicated time to move projects closer to the finish line.  In setting out to build a system of your own, you will need to understand your role and responsibilities for each facet of your life.  From work, to kids, to marriage it all requires you to understand what is expected.  Who are the important stakeholders?  Where do you need to be?  Why do you need to be there?  What time?  Is it routine?  How long?  What can I do differently to make it work?  What can I not change?  Accepting your roles and responsibilities (or not accepting some) provides level bedrock for which you can begin to build your foundation.

Commonly found in lean manufacturing, the 5 “S’s” correlate nicely to one’s productivity and serve as the ideal substrate to your foundation.  Specifically, the principle provides a methodology for organizing, cleaning, developing, and sustaining a productive environment. Originating in Japan and first implemented by the Toyota Motor Corporation, the methodology was developed as a way to make just in time (JIT) manufacturing possible. This type of manufacturing intends to produce only the amount of a product that is needed, when it is needed.  When applied to one’s day it allows you to focus on what requires your attention and eliminates distractions and disorganization which will counteract your productivity.

The method begins with Sorting which means identifying what is a shallow task (run an errand) versus what is deep work (create a slide deck for my side hustle).  Set In Order applies to scheduling block time where deep work can take place and progress can be made.  Sweep guides you to  keep your spaces and areas clean and free from clutter (distractions).  Standardization is crucial as it will force you to create rules that allow you to worry less about shallow decisions creating more bandwidth to focus on important items.  Finally, self-discipline allows for this methodology to be sustainable over time.  As a simple example, I pack a brown bag lunch everyday.  Since I rarely do lunch meetings, this simple “standard” or  “rule” allows me not to worry or distract me when it’s lunchtime.  Knowing I will work through lunch, I can now  schedule four 90 minute blocks with two 15 minute breaks for checking emails.  I can remain focused on my projects and time is spent more productively.  It’s important to understand that I’d rather have dinner with my family than lunch alone.  Foregoing the typical lunch affords me ending my day satisfied with the day’s accomplishments with time available to dedicate it to where I feel it is most important.  Accept your roles and responsibilities and reject those concerns that don’t mean much.  Apply the “5 S’s” to your life and begin the heavy lifting of creating a system that helps manage your time.

Time is the only commodity that we all have that is finite.  We cannot make more time.  We have to take it from somewhere else and that can only be done by eliminating waste and distractions.  Many of us, if not all of us, fail because we allow other items of non-value to enter our lives so please understand your system will forever be a work in progress.  Distractions takeaway precious minutes.  It’s only when we intensify our focus will we find that we can accomplish a great deal.