Fixing the vicious cycle of not having enough time requires leaders to start with a blank slate and radically redesign the way they work, instead of making small incremental changes. Focus and discipline to master this 80% of the time will lead to an exponential shift in creating time and mind space for innovation.
Lize Lubbe CA(SA) Chief Growth Officer of Thrive Investment Managers
Focus on ‘big rocks’
Big rocks are a leader’s top five strategic goals and priorities, of high importance and significant impact, but not necessarily urgent. Other examples of big rocks can include fostering relationships and healthy habits. In contrast, pebbles are issues that seem to be urgent, but are not necessarily that important in the bigger picture. If leaders intentionally prioritise big rocks first, this will prevent pebbles to fill up all their time and distract them from focusing on big rocks.
Create a ‘not to do’ list
A ‘not to do’ list is a list of items that leaders consciously and actively choose not to do, no matter what. These items are either delegated, outsourced, automated, deferred or simply not done – depending on their nature and importance. Bad habits can also be included on a ‘not to do’ list. Strictly adhering to a ‘not to do’ list can easily free up large blocks of time.
Schedule ‘meeting time’ and ‘making time’
‘Meeting time’ consists of short back-to-back timeslots of attending meetings, working through emails, or completing task lists. These items can effectively be batched together. However, to innovate, the human brain needs large blocks of laser-focused uninterrupted ‘making time’ or ‘design sprints’. This is defined as a few hours of focussed time working on a specific goal, without any interruption or distraction from emails, phones, social media, and apps. It is critical that ‘making time’ and ‘meeting time’ is proactively scheduled and guarded in a leader’s calendar.
Align productivity peaks to energy levels
Some people are early risers, while others work most productively at night. Most successful leaders align their productivity peaks around natural energy levels by working on their ‘big rocks’ or difficult projects at a time when they feel most energetic. Conversely, low-energy slots can, for example, be used for autopilot projects or mundane tasks.
Work ON the business
Working IN the business refers to day-to-day management and execution, while working ON the business is about strategy, innovation and growth. Experts advise leaders to spend around 20% of their time working ON the business. Failure to do so is one of the main reasons for lack of strategic direction and ultimate demise. Booking regular timeslots to work ON the business is vital to growth.
Build an A-team
Building an A-team is all about increasing talent density. Good work motivates greater work and bad performance is contagious. According to the Netflix founders, their company culture was transformed to one of innovation when they focused on hiring exceptional employees and equipping them with freedom and responsibility.
In Brief
Entrepreneurial executives within a scale-up context often have a chronic feeling of having too many things to do and not having enough time to do them. Navigating the ambiguity of a ‘work anytime anywhere’ context adds further complexity to traditional time-management and productivity tools. Innovation, a critical lifeline to every business in today’s ever-changing world, is often the first casualty of this time poverty. A few simple hacks can help leaders to take control of their time and prioritise innovation.
