The average team member spends two to five hours in meetings a day (Zippia). This number goes up as we move up the company ladder. I work hard to stay under five each day. There are 2,080 work hours in a year. If we are in roughly 1,250 meetings a year, that leaves 830 hours to do all the work we got assigned in those meetings. Yikes!
How do we get real work done? We need uninterrupted time when we are at our best to get the highest quality work done. How do we make this happen when it feels like everyone is demanding our time? We can’t keep working 60-hour weeks (Another topic for another time).
Time blocking is the answer. I am sure you have heard of time blocking. You may have even tried it. If you are going to complete projects, continue your education, achieve goals, and get work done, you need to wrestle your calendar to the ground and insert some blocks of time to move the needle on your MITs (Most Important Things). You can do this by identifying your peek time, blocking your schedule, and learning to communicate. Let’s explore further.
Identify your work peek time
Before you randomly block time and let reality get in the way, take 10 minutes and think about when you are at your best. Most people believe this is first thing in the morning, but a few studies have shown what we all know, we are all different. Pay attention to your daily habits, energy levels, and regular working hours.
Take this coming week and note:
Highest and lowest energy times - Are you roaring to go early in the day, after lunch, or later in the work day? Do you need a quick walk at some point and have two times?
Attention - When are you able to pay the most attention in meetings versus the least?
Demands for your time - When do you have your highest volume of emails, IMs, calls, and drop-ins?
These are broad timespans for what defines your workday, such as early, mid-day, and late in your day. Without thought to your scheduled regular meetings, when are you at your best which could be for your most productive work?
Blocking your schedule
Do you have your times? I am an early morning person, as in first thing. I prefer no meetings before 10 am so I can work on my MITs. I know people who love the 3 - 5 pm slot when I am crashing. It is essential to know your most productive time.
I am assuming you have no time blocking happening today. Here is the plan.
August - one 30 min block per week
September - two 30 min blocks per week
October - one 60 min and one 30 min block per week
November - two 60 min blocks per week
You can do that, right? Come on; you are worth it! You need to get your MITs moving and get your calendar back under control. When I am a ninja about this, at 2, 1.5 hours a week, I seriously move MITs along. When I let things step on this time, I feel the pressure and stress.
Assuming you work Monday through Friday, find a 30 min block in your schedule within your peek performance time that is open for the rest of August. Here is how you block that time.
Create a calendar appointment for the blocked time
In the subject, put “CONTACT BEFORE SCHEDULING during this time - Focused Work Time”
Each morning, during your workday startup routine, you decide what to work on during this time block. Do not wait until you get to the time block. You could end up spending 10 min checking email and messing around. Know what you will work on before the clock starts, set the timer, and hit it!
Learn to communicate about your blocks
One of the most significant challenges with blocking our time is getting people to respect our time blocks. Do you know why people do not usually do not respect them? Because we let them schedule over them. Most of us only have one boss. Our MITs are critical goals and projects in alignment with what our boss wants us to achieve. We do not need to explain our schedule to anyone except our boss. So how do we get people to respect time blocks?
Label the calendar appointment - We already reviewed this in the previous section. By putting “contact before scheduling” in the subject, we signal people to contact us first. We can move this block to another peek time we have open if needed to accommodate a group scheduling challenge, but we need to get that block in during that week. Many times, the move is not required.
Ask if they need you for a meeting - Sometimes, people invite me to a meeting because they are unsure who to invite from my team. I contact them, let them know I already have something during the scheduled time, and ask what they need from me so I can get it to them in advance or delegate it to another team member. Many times, I am not personally needed.
Ask to reschedule the meeting - If someone double books you, just contact them privately and let them know you already have something, and can the meeting be scheduled for another time.
Remember, do not discuss what the block is about or for, why you need it or try to justify yourself with all these items. Someone double-booking you when you have blocked your calendar is the same as if you had two physical meetings. What would you do in that situation? The less said, the better.
Your Challenge - Block Your Calendar This Month
We are all in more meetings than we know what to do with. We cannot work any harder. We need to work smarter, and time blocking will help you achieve more with your time. Your challenge:
Identify your peek work time,
Block your schedule, and
Communicate about your blocked time.
As Carl Sandburg said, “Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.”
Let me hear from you and how this method works for you.
コメント