Time Management is Mind Management
To-Don't Lists, Asynchronicity, Meeting Strategically and People Power
Welcome to the latest entry in The Workaround. You’re in good company with thousands of fellow entrepreneurs and innovators!
I’m Bob, your host. My mission here is to share personal, behind-the-scenes stories of the ups and downs of my career leading tech startups and corporate innovation.
I write to make you think, smile, and discover a shortcut to success or a trap to avoid.
Here we go…
If the “Time Management” meme were a stock, it would be neck and neck with Nvidia right now.
Countless books, blogs, podcasts, and software solutions aim to help us better manage our calendars, inboxes, feeds, and habits. Let’s be honest: We lack time to listen to or learn from them. And it feels like once we manage some part of our day, two more new things suck us in.
I’ve had a hobby around time management for years, and I’ve made progress in fits and starts. But I hit a breakthrough in the past few years when I realized a higher level of the game: Managing our minds better is critical to managing our time better.
Below are strategic ways to understand and choose ways of living that give you more time back and make more meaningful moments throughout your day.
Time and Choice Mess with our Minds
My undergraduate degree was in Economics. I’ve forgotten almost everything I learned from those courses decades ago, which is actually good because some of the most helpful economic insights have arisen since then.
Here’s the first discovery: We have more free time than ever in the history of humanity. There has been a compounding growth of efficiency and wages that allows us to work less to acquire the things we require in life—and the quality of those things has improved. This somewhat revolutionary idea is best captured in data from the book Superabundance:
“For more than a century and a half, measured by time prices, resource abundance has been rising at a rate of 4 percent a year. That means that every 50 years, the real-world economy has grown some sevenfold. Between 1980 and 2020, while population grew 75 percent, time prices of the 50 key commodities that sustain life dropped 75 percent.”
So, we have to work fewer hours than our parents or grandparents to secure food on the table. But why does it feel like we are so busy? Well, this is another more recent discovery. Our minds screw us up…as all of the good things this modern economy has brought us come with a hidden cost. As first described in the book The Paradox of Choice:
Decisions massively stress our minds. This is an evolutionary development because our ancestors had to make daily decisions that put their lives at risk. Deep thought under pressure was critical.
Once we decide, our minds continue to worry whether it is the right decision. Again, second-guessing is good when the stakes are high.
But today, we have almost no decisions with life-or-death stakes. But the decision+stress programs are hard-coded in us.
We also have more freedom and decision-making options than ever before in human history, which means we have massive, useless second-guessing.
We have infinite channels to watch, games to play, posts to read, and products to purchase. Our governments, religions, work, and schools give us more freedom to choose. Yet this triggers hard-coded stress…
“Choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.”
I recently read that the Chinese character for “busy” translates to “dying heart.” This really hits home. When stressfully busy, we don’t have time for people, our health declines, and we feel like we’re sinking. Our sleep sucks, we drink and overeat, and we’re grumpy to those around us.
The mind’s ancient programs are our enemy here, so we’ve got to fight fire with fire by adding new programming to our lives. Our conscious selves must make strategic decisions on handling time and minimizing stress. Here are five that work for me:
1. Make Asychronicity Work for You
So much of our communication happens without individuals being together in real-time. This has been a key to rising productivity over the past few decades. We can do so much more without a live meeting or phone conversation. And I think we can do even more when we treat our own brains like co-workers.
Consider that our thoughts are programs that want to help out. They remind us of the upcoming meeting, make sure we call our mothers and worry about the client who hasn’t called us back yet. It’s like we’re the CEO of a company, and a line of employees with their priorities keeps barging into our office when we’re trying to get work done. So, set some rules!
Create a “Worry Later” list—Get out a physical or digital notepad when those important but not urgent thoughts pop up. Just write them down. This will help quiet the voices so you can focus more and stress less.
Assign jobs to your unconscious—When we sleep, there’s an army of processes whirling away in the background, gnawing on problems. This is why we often wake up with “shower thoughts” in the morning. Use this with purpose by literally telling your brain what you want the crew to work on overnight. This helps you solve meaningful problems and avoid some of the silly thoughts that will hit you when your internal team lacks direction.
2. To Don’t List
I recently learned this from Rudy Karsan, who has become my time management guru. This very simple concept is to list things you will NOT do. Here are some of the time sucks that I’m saying “no” to now:
No low-quality media consumption - If something looks like clickbait, I skip it. I got off Twitter because I now only pay attention to people who take the time to write something with depth. And if I’m reading a book that gets boring, I close it for good. By setting a high-quality bar, I’m not only spending my time better; I’m spending my mind better. Our minds are too valuable to let junk take up space!
No multitasking—With all those time temptations sucking us in, we’ve all tried to do two things at once. But multitasking is by far the biggest waste of time and mind. We do two things poorly and treat other people rudely—we see your eyes scanning some other website when we’re on Zoom together!
Cross off some interests—I did one of those genealogy tests a while back. Every few months, I get an email from someone doing a family tree project who emails me with questions about my family. I appreciate they enjoy this, but it’s not interesting to me. I have decided not to get sucked into that rabbit hole. Another To-Don’t is writing product reviews for any books, apps, or B2B software. I made this one decision, and now I never have to think again when asked. [Note: Exception at the end of this post]
Don’t be a jerk to your future self—It’s easy to say “yes” to a meeting, event, or other commitment days or weeks from now. You can avoid the present social pain of declining. But your future self must pay the price! When requests come through, consider: “Would I do this today if I had free time?” If the answer is no, save yourself the inevitable pain in the future and politely decline.
3. Meeting Strategically
We all must do our part to fight wasteful meeting times. Like bad habits, they can creep into our calendars and stick there. However, meetings can be critical and the highlight of our day when done well. Here’s how to upgrade them:
Meeting moose on the table—This is a variation on my post about addressing issues when we get together directly. In that vein, each meeting should include questions before or at its start, such as: “What are we trying to get out of this meeting?” “How much is this meeting costing us?” “Why didn’t everyone read the pre-reading?” “Can we decide in 30 minutes instead of an hour?” Also, please have an agenda—and it’s OK to put “first 5 minutes are for bullshitting around”—a Ryan Watson original.
Office hours—People within and outside of your company will want to chat with you about random things. This is brutally painful when your calendar is full, but it can be amazing when you’ve got time. That’s why I love the “office hours” concept borrowed from college professors. Set aside an hour or two per week where you block the time for serendipitous meetings. You can find my office hours link below—don’t be shy! I love these chats!
Schedule self-time—Another way to block time is for regular personal tasks. Get your exercise on the calendar, and go ahead and add all the critical dates for your kids’ school when that schedule is released in the Fall. I save the 8-9 a.m. slot each morning for reading a book and walking my dog—and it’s on that walk that my unconscious delivers its insights from the night of sleep!
Make in-person more special—When all the stars align, and you get together as a group for a meeting, try to make it more meaningful. It doesn’t take money, just a little creativity: Play a short word game, tell some stories, throw out a trivia question. And remember that people will take the time to meet you in person if you make it fun. Rob, our CEO of A2 Influence, recently rented a fancy Airbnb and invited clients and partners to work from there for the day. People loved breaking out of their home offices and hanging out for an hour or two.
4. Think Output, Not Input
I’ve been an entrepreneur for 20 years and feel guilty when I haven’t put in at least a 50-hour week. These are my companies! Who am I reporting to?! Alas, the programming runs deep. Here’s two mental models that are helping, though:
Work like a lion, not a cow—This gem comes from Naval. Lions leverage their cunning and enormous bursts of energy to kill their prey, then lay around and digest most of the day. Cows graze for hours and hours, eating low-nutrient grass and constantly wary of attack. I like the lion approach, which in the business world translates to developing particular skills and using them in brief but effective bursts of energy. Then, you ease back and eventually look for the next opportunity.
Note what was important from your day—Recently I had one of those days where I wasn’t feeling productive, until the afternoon when I had two back-to-back conversations with amazing leaders. We might go into business with both of them. Nothing else I did that week mattered. By noticing this, I can better see where my actual value lies, and it’s not about filling my calendar. In fact, I need to leave my calendar free to spend time on random meetings that might lead to launching new businesses. Your work is likely different from mine, but by looking back each day for one or two key accomplishments, you’ll start seeing what’s most essential and adjust accordingly.
5. Be Present with People
If there is a single takeaway you get from this post, I hope it’s this one.
Everything we do and who we are is reflected in how we interact with other human beings in this crazy game called life. Words you speak can literally change the brain cells of another person. It’s a big responsibility—so this power wisely:
Honor your one-on-ones—Hopefully, you and your manager and/or direct report have blocked recurring time on your calendars. If not, add it. And rarely cancel it. Keeping your relationship warm is essential even when things are going fine, and you know each other well. I’m sure you can find something to talk about.
Don’t bring baggage to the meeting—As we walk to the conference room or boot up Zoom, many thoughts arise: “Is this going to be a waste of time?” “Are they going to sell me something?” “I’ve got so many other things to do.” Take a deep breath and let all this crap go. Lose the upfront assumptions and judgments. Instead, bring a spirit of wonder and genuine interest in how the meeting will unfold.
Dance the dance—Think about a time when you danced with someone, like on the dance floor or with a partner, spinning, shuffling, and dipping. Whether you have two left feet or are a swing dancing champion, you focused entirely on the other person! Your attention is great when dancing; you certainly aren’t analyzing them or multitasking. You have a real moment together for as long as the song lasts. This feeling can happen when you are fully present with people.
There is magic in connecting with another soul, even over something as basic as updating a project plan. Think about how infinite random events brought you together to be in this exact place and time. You will share thoughts across brains and leave the meeting as a slightly different person than before it started.
When you have the right mindset, you bring out the best in anyone you spend time with.
“To pay attention means we care, which means we really love.” - J. Krishnamurti
Oh, crap, where did the time go? I have another page of suggestions, but I need to honor your time and attention—and allow time for these to sink in. I’ll be back next week with Part 2, which introduces the idea of Freedom that can come with better time and mind management. Ahoy for now!
How we might work together…
Are you interested in launching your own consulting or service business or need help taking your current services business to the next level? Fleet is our holding company for services, and we’re actively looking to build business partnerships with winning leaders. Let’s talk!
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BONUS: Cool Content of the Week
A little something I found meaningful. You might agree…
Safer Brand Indoor Fly Trap
While writing product reviews for app stores and e-commerce sites is firmly on my To-Don’t List, I’m happy to make recommendations on my platform here. And I’ve got a game changer for you today…
This is the time of year when our doors and windows are often open, which means flying bugs come in for the party. Fruit flies are my nemesis. But last year, I came across the Safer Indoor Fly Trap, which is awesome. It’s a miniature version of the outdoor bug zapper lights. Just plug it into any outlet, insert one of the sticky strips, and by the next morning, you’ll be bug-free. The refills are cheap and easy to replace. It even makes a handy night light if you need to take the dog out at 3 am.
In a world where we await the promise of technology changing our lives through AI and VR, I am happy to discover a $14 product that makes my present real world much more enjoyable.