Welcome to my Time Management' Hell - the result of Big Hairy Audacious Goals and Deliberate Blind Spots!

I'm curious.What do you do when you find you are chasing your tail because there's more to do than time to do it?

 

Conversations this week tell me that I'm not the only one who is feeling the effects of having overfull plates. (Is there something in the air?) Deeper than usual conversations though have had me thinking about patterns in my thoughts and behaviours and I think it's fair to say that I have learned some stuff about myself.

1.That my problems with time management are nice problems.

‌I am incredibly fortunate to be full up with work I love to do. To be able to discern my workload in this way is a luxury that I have not had until recently.

2. That maybe it's time for some new time management strategies.

Clearly it's time for me to overlay another layer of assessment in the decision-making process: 

(i) Is it something I would like to do?

(ii) Have I got time to do it?

I would like to say that I had been asking myself these two questions all along but with deeper exploration I identified the next 'problem':

‌3. That I have what I can only define as a deliberate blind spot.

What brought the deliberate blind spot to light was the an acknowledgment of the excitement of taking on Big Hairy Audacious Goals (Collins & Porras, 1994). The fact that everything I have agreed to has lately been a BHAG which, in the aftermath, begs the question, 'Why on earth would I do that to myself?!'

Considering my BHAGs, I can understand the benefit of this blind spot of really naming the likely amount of time, effort and impact that achieving the BHAG will take might lead me not to take it on. How dull would life be then though? The metaphor for this battle with self is like the fight scene in the alley between Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in Fight Club. (If you've come across this and you've not seen the film, I won't say more but recommend it as a good watch.) In my metaphor, the Norton early in the film would represent my more sensible part, encouraging me to analyse the data; Pitt is the voice of, 'Yes, it hurts like a bitch but isn't it amazing!'

4. That I can be a sneaky procrastinator.

And so I guess I find myself in the position of dealing with the point where everything becomes urgent.

Thankfully, there are thousands of time management and productivity tips and techniques available in books, on apps and social media that I can procrastinate with. In fact, this week, I have managed to use what I will, going forward, refer to as the 'Social Media Approach to Time Management' to fairly good effect. I can find hiding in the illusion that I am learning more ways to 'work smarter, not harder' incredibly soothing. Underneath, a dose of denial helps me to lie to myself about how productive I'm being.
When everything is urgent and everything is a frog to be eaten (Mark Twain), prioritising something - anything - is enough. So when I have cracked on this week, what has actually worked is a good old fashioned task list and some heavy duty prioritising. Don't get me wrong, I haven't achieved everything but prioritising the backside off my week has created space for work, rest and play and a little bit - albeit not enough - research.

5. That it's complicated.

So what's the pay-off?  What do I get from taking up the BHAGs and driving myself to near burnout? And inversely, what do I not get? Well, I get to pretend to be dumb. And I get to have an excuse to be exhausted. I suppose I get to receive idealised praise and recognition because I was raised in a family where working hard was prized (and necessary?) for survival. Though ultimately, I think it boils down to not liking to be told, 'No'.

Ohhhh - that was NOT the answer I was expecting to arrive at when I asked myself that question because nobody is telling me, 'No'. Actually, it's quite the opposite. It's me. I don't want to tell myself, 'No'! because I want to believe that anything is possible. So, even though I could find multiple legitimate reasons why not to take on that next BHAG, likelihood is, I will.

6. That maybe I should ignore Number 2 and accept Number 6?

Hmm.

Gratitudes.  Thank you to everyone who knowingly or unknowingly contributed to my thoughts that went into this week's reflections.