I often hear leaders say that their time is not their own. While this is true in many ways due to being available to your followers, you still must be very mindful of how you utilize your time each day. You must be strategic in setting boundaries so you train your followers how to treat you.
I once read the account of a leader who was constantly distracted by his employees and drowning in his own workload. Something had to change. He decided to create specific time blocks in his days where he was available to his team members. He alerted them of his new availability, placed a white board outside of his office door, and allowed his followers to schedule 10-minute meetings with him. This helped everyone. He was able to get his work done more efficiently, he gave his employees his full attention when they met with him, and team members came more prepared because they knew they only had 10 minutes. He also made his team meetings more focused so they could get more done in a timely manner.
While everyone’s situation is different, the principles of this leader’s experience gives us some important insights to consider. The reality is that we all have the same amount of time to use each day. No one gets more than 24 hours per day. How you use your hours is up to you. Choose wisely.
Consider the following four key actions and consider how you can apply them to your situation:
1 – Create Specific Availability Time Blocks
Time blocking is a common productivity skill that many people fail to utilize. However, when you dedicate a specific amount of time to any task or meeting, you have a clear beginning and ending time that sets expectations. Determine what works best for you, then communicate your availability with your followers.
2 – Have People Schedule Time With You
While many leaders want to have an “open door policy,” this can often be a terrible idea for focus and productivity. I struggled with this for years. I wanted to be available to my team members, but I finally realized how unproductive it made me. I often felt extremely scattered. Closing my door and setting clear time blocks was challenging at first, but it ultimately made me a better leader to accomplish my tasks and it gave others clear boundaries for how to engage with me. When people have to schedule time with you, it requires them to think more strategically as to whether or not it’s needed.
3 – Give a Limited, Specific Amount of Time to Meet
Just as an open door policy can be detrimental, so can having no beginning and ending time in meetings. Much time is wasted on a daily basis due to lack of focus. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in a brief period of time when you are clear on what you need to do and when you need to finish. Give your followers a specific amount of time to meet with you and stick to it. If a follow-up meeting is required to continue the conversation, do it, but don’t allow yourself to run over your predetermined time frame. That creates bad habits and communicates that you’re not serious about your time blocks.
4 – Maximize Team Meetings
Many people cringe when they hear the word “meeting,” but that’s because most meetings are not well-planned or executed. People often come to the meeting unprepared or there’s often no clear agenda. Mastering the art of leading good meetings can take your team and organization to new levels. Communicate a clear purpose of your meetings, set clear expectations of how the meetings will be executed, then end with clear assignments and deadlines for actions to be accomplished. When you maximize your team meetings, you also improve your individual meetings. Many times, a well-organized team meeting removes the need for individual meetings altogether.
As mentioned above, I encourage you to reflect on these four key actions to help you set clear boundaries to maximize your valuable time. If you don’t guard your time, no one else will. Your calendar is yours to protect. When you implement these actions in customized ways that work for you and your team, you’ll be able to go farther faster in your life and business.
Until next time…make today GREAT!
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