The REAL Problems That Time Management Addresss

When I am introduced as a time management coach and consultant, many people come up to me and tell me – quite naturally – “Everyone needs help with time management. I never find the time to do anything.” That is not the real problem.

Eliyahu Goldratt’s Cause-Effect-Cause analysis (see his “The Goal” and “It’s Not Luck”) allows us to drill down to a small handful of root causes that manifest as so many symptoms. I analyzed the root causes of the “no time” symptoms that many people present, and came up with a few (surprising) causes.

For example, constantly being late for appointments is not the problem, it is a symptom of starting late, incorrectly estimating transit time, forgetting something and having to go back for it, not keeping track of appointments, distraction, interruption, unrealistic expectations, getting lost, etc. Underlying all of these are factors such as lack of sufficient organization, lack of sufficient planning, inefficiency, and lack of sufficient discipline.

Another example of a symptom is the “too much work / not enough time” syndrome. It reflects inability to say no, attempting too much, insufficient delegation, too much clutter (i.e. unnecessary tasks on your plate), inefficiency, unrealistic expectation, consequences of action, etc. Underlying these problems are the same factors!

Let us try one more example symptom, completing tasks late or leaving things unfinished. The problems that display these symptoms include distractions, inability or reduced capability, pacing yourself too slowly (or marching to the wrong drumbeat), lack of preparation, improper process or sequencing of tasks, interference of thought and action (think first and act afterward otherwise the thought gets in the way of the action), conflicting priorities (pulled in different directions), etc. What are the underlying factors? The same!

Therefore, the REAL problems that must be addressed by any time management program is the lack of sufficient organization, lack of sufficient planning, inefficiency, and lack of sufficient discipline.

Do More of What With Less Time?

Stephen Covey asked the question: When people claim to do more with less time, what do they do more of? More of the same?

I am a time management coach and consultant specializing in teaching people how to do more with less time. My Bank Your Time program helps people gain control over the events that shape their lives. I do have an answer to Dr. Covey’s question.

The first thing I teach my clients is about eliminating the clutter, the 80% of tasks that yield only 20% value.
The second thing I teach them is about dividing their worlds into two parts – things they “have to” do and things they “want to” do. (This set of “have to” tasks is after eliminating the clutter, so they do indeed have to do these tasks!)

The question is: When do people get to do things they want to do? Answer: In their spare time. However, if they are stuck in prison of their own making wherein their “have to” tasks suck up all their time, where is the spare time? When can they do what they “want to” do? Most people have very little time to spare! What a problem!

Here is my solution: If people complete what they “have to” do in less time than expected (through efficiency tactics that I have developed), they can put together the time they save and create spare time for the things they “want to” do.

My concept is that if people only do what they “have to,” they merely exist. Only when they do what they “want to” do people really live. I teach people to stop merely existing and start really living.

In answer to Dr. Covey’s question, I teach people how to do more of what they “have to” in less time so that they can do more of what they “want to.” This is what I mean when I say “Do more in less time.”

Why Bank Your Time?

I was asked a question yesterday at a networking meeting: Why another time management system? What is the difference?

True, there are many time management systems out there. And, as everyone else who has created a new system, I feel I have “invented a better mouse trap.” Or have I? What is significantly different about Bank Your Time? What fuels my passion?

Over the years, I have developed slogans or tag lines for Bank Your Time, ranging from “Do More With Less Time – Time is Money,” “Create Spare Time For Things You WANT To Do,” “Stop merely existing; start really living,” “The Goal-Oriented Metrics-Driven Productivity Enhancement System,” etc. All of these are true – they all describe Bank Your Time to some degree. None of these, however, reflect the main reason why I started doing this and quit my well-paying job to teach others and bring some sunshine in others’ lives.

Bank Your Time is a GAME! It evolved from something I created to teach my 9-year-old son the elements of time management. Since lectures don’t work with children but games do, and, in Mary Poppins’ words, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun,” I put some fun into time management. It worked, my children now manage their time to the best of their abilities (they are, after all, children!), and the experienced enriched me. It enthused me and infused me with the passion to take this to the tops of tall buildings and shout out for the world to hear. Many people have told me, “Time management is so B-O-R-I-N-G,” or “Time management systems don’t work for me.” The same people have accepted Bank Your Time with (not so surprising) open arms. When something is a game, it is fun and more readily adopted than a process or a system, however good the process is for you.

For more information about Bank Your Time, do visit my website, http://www.bankyourtime.com.