I spent time in October searching online for a place to buy a navy blue puffy jacket. You know… like the kind Ted Lasso wears.
My son wanted me to go out with him on Hallowe’en and I didn’t want to just be “that guy” that goes out with his kid without being in costume myself.
“Wait a minute,” I thought to myself as I browsed on my iPhone. “I have a blue puffy jacket already. It’s not navy blue, but it’ll do. After all, it’ll be dark out.”
Search over. I checked off the item on my to-do list app and moved on to the next thing, satisfied in a job, well… done.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. In fact, it happens all the time… not just when I’m trying to create a great Hallowe’en experience for my son.
You see, this isn’t time management at all. And I should know because working with time is my life’s work.
Taking Your Time Further
I’m a time management and productivity expert. I have been a professional in this area for over a decade. I’ve taught hundreds of people how to craft their time better than before. I continue to do this through my writing, my podcast, my videos, and my courses. I even coach people from time to time, both in a group setting and one on one.
And I’m always the first person I work with, making sure I’m crafting my time in the best way possible.
Time management isn’t going to take you as far as time leadership is. Managing time is taking what you have of your time and making it work. Leading your time is taking what you have of your time and leading it to where you want to go.
I only knew that I had to find that puffy jacket because I made sure to put it in a place where I’d notice it. Productivity, after all, is all about actively linking your intentions – what you need and want to do – with your attention – what you need to bring those intentions to life in the best possible way.
You Can’t Command Time (So Don’t Try)
That’s right. Productivity isn’t about efficiency and effectiveness. Those are just byproducts of being productive.
Trying to check off as many boxes as possible isn’t productive. Even checking off as many isn’t. Checking off the right boxes – that’s the key.
When you do that, you’re giving your attention – something you do have command over – to what you intended to do. That’s productive. That’s you leading your time.
We don’t have command over time. It moves on whether we want it or not. That’s why we need to lead it. Then within that flow of time you can command the things inside of it. Things like finding a puffy jacket so you can go out with your kid trick-or-treating dressed as your favourite fictional football/soccer coach.
But how do you lead your time instead of managing it? How do I do it?
It’s actually pretty simple. (Not easy, but simple.)
Capture EVERYTHING (and Regret Nothing)
When you have something that you need or want to do that enters your head, get it out of your head as soon as you can. Put it down on a napkin if you have to.
When you say to yourself, “I’ll remember that for later,” take that as a signal that you need to capture it.
Use an app. Use a new index card. Use your hand. Use something other than your mind to hold on to that task, that thought, that idea.
Capture everything and you’ll regret nothing.
Even the most mundane needs to go. That’s how I knew to find that jacket. I decided to go as Ted Lasso with my son and put all of the steps needed to build that costume on my to-do list.
That’s also how I got that project – Halloween Night with Son – done. Because it was a project.
That leads me to the next thing you can do to lead your time…
Find Projects Disguised as Tasks (and Break Them Down)
Doing laundry. Write a book. Cleaning the house. Go to Africa.
These are all projects. Every. Single. One.
Sure, some you’ll have done before but you still need to break them down into smaller particles. If you’ve never done that project before then those particles will need to be smaller. If you’re a seasoned house cleaner, then those particles don’t need to be as small.
Breaking a project down like doing laundry or going to Africa means that you can make measured progress on these projects regularly. You can make big or small steps along the way, which will inspire you to keep going. Why? Because you’re getting closer to the finish line with every single step.
Fail to break projects down – especially those disguising themselves as tasks on your to-do list – and your brain will look at them and declare that they can’t possibly get them done today. And so you’ll move on got something less impactful… and less inspiring.
It’s Time for a Momentous Realization
If you looked at my to-do list, you’d see tasks like this:
– Write article for Inspired Humans Project
– Watch a show in my Netflix queue
– Update podcast guest canned response withy new details
– Call Mom
– Create list of potential guests for The BIG Ready
– Put up holiday decorations
There’s a mix of tasks in there. All from a variety of projects, both personal and professional. This list might seem daunting and never-ending at first glance – especially since you’ve only seen a tiny portion of it.
But that’s the thing: I’ve come to the realization that my to-do list is no longer than it was before I made it more visible to me. And because I’ve done that, I can illuminate the important things and make reasoned choices with the time I have on hand.
I can do more inspiring things – and inspire more people in my life – because I don’t manage my time at all. I lead it.
You can, too.
So use what I’ve shared with you to start leading your time today. Do that and your time will take you to the places that you really want to go – and help you become the best version of yourself in the process.
Guest Author Bio: Mike Vardy
Mike Vardy – also known as “The Productivityist” – is a highly-acclaimed productivity strategist and the creator of the productivity philosophy and framework known as TimeCrafting. He’s considered to be one of the top thought leaders in the personal productivity and time management space, with over a decade of expertise under his belt and having coaching hundreds of clients over that timespan.
His work has been featured in Lifehacker, Fast Company, HuffPost, Inc., and Forbes. Vardy is a renowned international speaker and has taught productivity practices on popular online education platforms CreativeLive, Skillshare, and LinkedIn Learning where his courses are among the most popular in the business category. He also hosts A Productive Conversation, a conversational podcast that has featured guests such as Seth Godin, Brain Tracy, Keith Ferrazzi, and Gretchen Rubin – and has been downloaded over 5 million times since its inception.
Mike lives in Victoria, Canada with his wife, daughter, and son.
Blog / Website: https://mikevardy.com
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