Don’t Let Perfect Become the Enemy of Progress

Nobody can do it like Eric! This was my motto early into my career as a District Manager in the automotive industry. I was responsible for five hundred employees and had seventeen managers that reported to me. My desire to delegate was low because I felt that if I wanted it done right, I had to do it. My days started early in the morning and ended late at night. I had limited free time and large amounts of stress. 

I then made the following discovery that helped me move from burnout to breakthrough: My desire for perfection was the root cause of my failure to delegate. I had allowed perfect to become the enemy of progress. So how can you avoid making the same mistake that I did?  Below are two steps that will help you to become a more effective delegator and break the perfectionist habit. 

Calculate Your Time Value
The first step that helped me to become more willing to delegate was to calculate how much my time was really worth. Start by taking your desired annual income and dividing by 52 weeks. For example, let’s assume that your annual goal is to make at least $110,000. One hundred and ten thousand divided by fifty two is two thousand one hundred fifteen dollars. Next, you take the weekly dollars and divide by the average hours you work in a week. If you work a 50 hour work week your time is worth $42/hour. Now that you know how much your time is worth, you can use this to determine if the task is worthy of your time. If the task is not a $42/hour task, then it can be delegated. 

I am often asked by business owners that work alone if they should hire a personal assistant. We have done the math and determined that their time is worth more than $60/hour in several cases. Paying someone ten dollars an hour to do the book keeping, make follow up calls, and schedule appointments is a smart investment that has created more time for them. 

Create a Follow-Up System
The lack of a consistent follow-up system is a major reason for the fear and failure to delegate. Many an entrepreneur has been burned by a task that they delegated to an employee that never got done. The key to successful delegation is to establish how you plan to follow-up BEFORE you assign the task. For example, most email providers allow you to schedule reminders on emails that you have sent that have not been responded to. You can set it up so that you get an email in your inbox in 24 hours that reminds you that you need to follow-up. 

When I was a District Manager, I used my “How will I know?” follow up system whenever I delegated an important task. I would ask the manager “How will I know when this is done?” They would tell me that they would call me to let me know. “Great, when can I expect your call?” was my next question. I would then put it on my phone calendar and set an alert that reminded me to follow up. 

Calculating your time value and creating a follow up system will make you a more effective delegator and help you to break the perfectionist habit. Stay tuned for the next Twiggs Time Tip. Or read more in the world’s most complete Time Management EBook for executives and entrepreneurs. 

Don’t Let Technology Kill Your Time

“A failure to properly automate can cause you to procrastinate.”

The lack of technology killed my time. The year was 1992 and I was an undergrad at Hampton University. I wanted to make a phone call and decided to go the pay phone. I realized that I did not have quarter and had to go get change. When I got back, there was someone on the phone so I had to wait. 

Later in the day, I got a letter from a friend who had transferred to a school in Wisconsin. She updated me on how she was doing and wanted to hear back from me. There was no Facebook, email or texting, and I could not afford the long distance bill. My only option was to write her a letter, drop it in the mailbox, and wait. 

That evening, the pay phone was finally free so I decided that I would make a collect call to my parents and ask them to send me some money. The line was busy and since there were no cell phones or Skype service, I had to . . . wait. 

Now that we are in 2012, technology has eliminated all of my time management issues, right? 

Technology is like a gun. When used properly, it can protect your time and add to your life. Just like a gun, technology in the wrong hands can kill your time and keep you away from your family. Think about it, you can spend your entire day responding to emails, answering your cell phone, and communicating on social media. 

Have you ever been out at a restaurant in the evening and seen a guy who is with his family, but spends his entire time on his smartphone? If you can relate to that guy, the tools below are for you. They will help you to effectively use technology and get your time back:

1. RescueTime
   RescueTime is a free app that allows you to measure how much time you spend on email, the Internet and social media. It gives you daily and weekly productivity scores based on the amount of time you spend surfing. You can adjust the settings and program predetermined time limits for any website. Once you exceed your limit the app will deny you access to that site. For example, if you feel you spend too much time on Facebook, you can set a limit of 15 minutes per day. Once you exceed your limit, Rescue time will deny you access.

2. HootSuite
   If you are like me and use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, the HootSuite app can save you a great deal of time. It will allow you to send one message that will update on all of your social media accounts at the same time. HootSuite also gives you the option to schedule your posts in advance.

3. Sanebox
   This nifty service will help you keep your e-mail inbox clean by creating separate folders for unimportant messages. Sanebox will also allow you to create an “unsubscribe folder” where you can move any newsletter or blogs that you no longer read and unsubscribe to multiple lists with one click. You can also program follow up reminders for emails you've sent that haven't received a response.

There you have it. All three of these services are free and can save you a great deal of time.

Stay Connected to Your "Why"

"He who has a why can endure any how."
Friedrich Nietzsche

Why do we procrastinate? It feels like we have two natures that are fighting with each other in a boxing match. In one corner, weighing in at 175 pounds, we have our progressive side. This is the part of us that has all of the right intentions and ideals. In the opposite corner, weighing in at 300 pounds, we have the procrastinator. The goal of our procrastinator is to get us to put things off by reminding us of our fears, flaws and failures. Below is an illustration from my past that sheds light on this battle:

It was 5:00 a.m. and I could hear my progressive side urging me to wake up and work out. Physical fitness is a personal goal. Then I heard my procrastinator suggest that I should hit the snooze button and sleep in for ten more minutes. After all, what difference would ten minutes make? The sleep felt so good that I snoozed through the morning. Three days went by and I still had not worked out. My procrastinator was the winner.

Later in the day, I could hear my progressive side reminding me to attend my Toastmasters meeting at 6:00 p.m. I have a goal to improve as a public speaker. Suddenly, I heard my procrastinator reminding me of how tired I was from a full day's work. Missing one meeting wouldn't make a difference. Three weeks went by before I attended my next meeting. This was another victory for the procrastinator.

That evening, I could hear my progressive side reminding me to start writing my weekly blog. I have a goal of becoming a successful writer. Once again, I heard my procrastinator reminding me of how difficult is was to come up with new ideas. Putting off my writing for one day should not cost me anything. Three months went by and I had not written a word. Score a third victory for the procrastinator.

What is the key to victory and how can you win you're next fight against procrastination? 

The key to victory is to stay connected to your personal WHY. Your why is the mission, meaning and motive behind what you want to accomplish. Your WHY will drive you to wake up early, work into the night, and walk with purpose. What is your WHY? Answering the following three questions will help you to discover it:

1. What does success mean to you?

2. What are you passionate about?

3. If you could make a difference for anyone what would that difference be?

The answer to these questions is your WHY. If you connect your goal to your passions and purpose, you will win the fight against procrastination every time. 

Schedule Your Priorities

"Time is what we want the most, but use the worst." -- William Penn

Have you ever begun your week committed to take action only to arrive at Friday realizing that it didn't happen? This was the week that you were going to apply for that job, start that blog, write that business plan, or start writing your book. You tell yourself that even though you missed this week, you will get it done next week. Sadly, next week goes by and you have the same result. You are an intelligent, goal oriented go getter, so why didn't you follow through? 

The reason for your lack of follow through can be summed up in one word: LIFE. 

The normal demands of life can throw you off course. These demands can come from family, career, friends, or the organizations that you belong to. Modern technology makes it easier to be thrown off course now that we have cell phones, email, text messaging, and social media. We live in an era of instant access and interruptions are only one click away. So how do you accomplish your priorities in spite of all of these interruptions? 

Scheduling your priorities in advance is the key to success. Below are my three steps to scheduling your priorities:

1. Identify the Priority 
What are the tasks that if accomplished will help you to achieve your ultimate goal? To accurately identify your priority, you must use what I call "The line up" test. If the task does not "line up" with the ultimate vision and goals you have set for yourself, then it should not be considered a priority. For example, if your ultimate vision is to be an entrepreneur, then the task of writing a business plan passes the line up test and should be given priority status.

2. Isolate the Time 
This is where you use a calendar to schedule in advance those tasks that are priorities for you. Depending on the task, you may need to schedule multiple days to complete it. There are three steps involved with isolating the time: First, set aside a minimum of a thirty minute block of time to get it done. Next, get a timer and set it to alert you once your time is up. The final step is to discipline yourself to not check email, send text messages, use social media, or do anything other than that task during the time you have isolated. 

3. Issue the Communication 
It is very important that you communicate with those around you and let them know that you are not to be disturbed during the block of time that you have scheduled. They will need to answer the phone and take messages on your behalf. This communication can be issued to family members, co-workers, employees, etc. The more advance notice you can give to those around you, the better results you will see. For example, Sunday's from 8:00pm to 8:30pm is the time that I have set aside to analyze my results from the previous week and to make plans for the upcoming week. My family members and friends know in advance I will not be available during this time because I have issued the communication to them.

So there you have it. If you commit to identifying the priority, isolating the time, and issuing the communication, you will be on your way to time management mastery! Remember, it takes twenty one days to form a habit so consistent focus is the key. 

Become High Maintenance

"Delay is the enemy of your destiny."
Eric M Twiggs

Do you anticipate and prepare, or do you just react to what the day brings? While in my late 20s, I competed in Karate tournaments. I had a match scheduled with an older, slower but more experienced competitor named Mike. I was confident that I would win because of my youth and speed advantage. Mike had grey hair, a pot belly, and an old worn out Karate belt around his waist. I watched him warm up and my confidence increased because of his slow and awkward movements.

In spite of all of my confidence, I lost the match! Mike used his experience against me by anticipating my moves and responding with the appropriate counter. It appeared that he knew what I was going to do before I did. This experience taught me that anticipation and preparation can give you a competitive advantage over superior talent. The best way to achieve this advantage is to become "high maintenance". 

Becoming "high maintenance" means that you are focused on the maintenance activities that will keep you in a position of anticipation and preparation. A maintenance activity is easy to ignore because it's a priority, but it's NOT pressing. There is no deadline for completion and you don't experience an immediate negative consequence for ignoring it. This lulls you into thinking that everything is fine. The long-term consequence of neglecting maintenance is that you end up in the "mandatory zone". In this undesirable place, the activity is now a priority AND it's pressing. How do you know if you are high maintenance, or in the mandatory zone? The following scenarios will help you decide. 

• Changing your oil at the recommended intervals is high maintenance. Once you have a blown engine, you are in the mandatory zone

• Exercising three times a week makes you high maintenance. Getting the high blood pressure report from the doctor puts you in the mandatory zone.

• Scheduling regular date nights with your spouse is high maintenance. Having your spouse move out puts you in the mandatory zone.

When you are in the mandatory zone you lose precious time that you never get back. The time that you would normally focus on your goal is now spent on damage control.

Take the time today to reflect on your TO DO list. If the majority of your tasks are maintenance activities, you will be like Mike and have a competitive edge.