Stressed for Time? Manage Your Energy, not Your Time!

One of the reasons many professionals come to me is because they are constantly stressed from their “unmanageable” workload, and the feeling they get that they simply cannot keep up. They’d also like to better manage their “work-life balance.” Thus, their quest is how to save time during their busy day, and how to manage their priorities, so that they feel less stressed and more fulfilled. There have been many postings on this topic in the recent weeks. For example: If money does not buy you happiness, consider time: http://bit.ly/ManageTime , and http://bit.ly/Reenergize . This blog is my perspective after reviewing these and other postings, and what I tell my clients:

1. Instead of managing your time manage your energy. What do I mean by that? During the course of our day we all have energy levels that cycle from peak to valley; we cannot function like a machine creating constant output throughout the day. So, when you recognize your peak energy (and creativity) periods, synching-up your energy-time demands to match those periods, you can be more efficient in how you create outcomes. Become conscious of your rhythms and synch up your workload accordingly.
2. No one can save time; you can only spend it! How you chose to spend that time is up to you, and freeing time that can be more productively utilized. Studies have shown that up to 70% of the meeting time is wasted, which can be utilized more productively. In today’s business culture many meetings are actually conference calls—virtual meetings. This makes them even less productive, because people cannot see each other face-to-face, which is often further exacerbated by technical glitches in these meetings. So, unless your presence is mandatory in such meetings stay away from them, and use that time more productively. See if you can report your status by email to the meeting leader, so you do not have to be sitting through the entire meeting. Insist that the leader provide meeting minutes and action items.
3. When attending to tasks only select those that get your FULL attention. Do not multi-task. So, do not sit in a meeting catching up on your emails. Studies have shown that engaging in a distracted task takes up to 25% longer to complete that task. So, if you’re pretending to be paying attention to what is going in a meeting you are attending, while catching up on your emails, you are missing out on important proceedings AND taking longer to do your emails. You’re also apt to make serious mistakes in completing such tasks—such as cc’ing the wrong person on such emails. If you are on the phone with someone, and are also catching up on your emails, the other person generally knows what is going on, and will have less respect for that conversation. So, avoid this habit.
4. Do not spend time on tasks that stem from lack of good communication. In one case, my client—a software developer—spent an entire week and a weekend rewriting the code he had just written and tested, because someone, who attended a meeting, overheard his boss telling others that the code could have been more robust. Without checking with his boss first-hand my client went ahead and decided that the code should be re-written, instead of first talking to the boss and getting specific guidance on what needed re-work. Actually, he later found out that the boss was talking about something entirely different in that meeting.
5. When a task is important or significant do not take oral orders. If your boss or someone senior orally tells you to do something, do not just jump on it and start working. Go back and write down what you heard, and communicate that in an email with copy to others, so that if you are afraid to ask for written requirements before you begin a task, you are holding the “order givers” accountable for misguided or miscommunicated orders.
6. Stop thinking of “work-life balance,” think of work-life integration. In today’s highly connected world it is virtually impossible to get out of staying connected with your work. Telecommuting further exacerbates this, where people work out of their home offices most of the time. The word “balance” connotes a weighing scale in perfect balance. This image alone can be stress inducing. Instead, integrate your work with your life—work-life integration—so that you can find time to manage both activities with some control.
7. Make a periodic audit of your workload and re-arrange your tasks so that you are always working on tasks that create the greatest impact. Do not be afraid to tell others, including your boss, that in doing certain tasks you are not creating the impact your expect, and that those tasks are better done by someone else. Learn how to say no!

Much of our stress that we experience comes not from the excessive workload we all face, but how we deal with it. Using some of the ideas in this blog, hope you can find some time to make your work-life less stressful.

Good luck!