Profit Note: Install The Habit Of Time Management
The week has begun, there are lots to do today, and this is an important – albeit lengthy message, so lets start.
The heart of this post is the issue of effectiveness – and more to the point the HABIT OF EFFECTIVENESS, and so this being the case I would really like to show how habits are formed as well as a strategy you can use to bed in this – and new habits in general – not only faster but in such a way that they will be more likely to last..
It’s critical to remember that effectiveness is not inborn.
Just like each and every one of us had to learn to ride a bicycle, because no one is born knowing how – every competent business owner or manager had to learn to be effective and practice being effective until it became a habit.
Peter Drucker, a great writer on management competence tells us that:
“Effective managers do not start with their tasks. They start with their time. And they do not start out planning. THEY START BY FINDING OUT WHERE THEIR TIME ACTUALLY GOES. Then they attempt to manage their time and to cut back on unproductive usages of their time”
Now we need a simple way to ensure that what we learn about effective time keeping actually sticks.
Here is a great model on how learning a new skill takes place. Once you understand the model, you can leverage it to install new habits rapidly. Pay careful attention here,
first I’ll explain it, then give you examples to make it easier to understand, then I’ll show you how to use it for your own advantage.
Learning new skills is divided into four different stages of competence. The theory is that as you approach something to be learned you actually pass through four phases on the way to doing something without even thinking about how to do it.
Phase 1 – you don’t know how to do something and you don’t even know that you don’t know.
Phase 2 – you now know all the different things you don’t know and you begin to work on learning them.
Phase 3 – you now know what you need to know, you can do the skills necessary, but it takes all of your concentration.
Phase 4 – you can now carry out the skills necessary without thinking about it, in other words you have developed a habit.
OK, now let me give you two examples of how this work in your life.
How habits are formed in practice
Let’s look at this through a simple example, just to make sure you really get it, let’s take a look at learning to tide a bicycle.
Phase 1 – First there was a time when you knew nothing about riding a bicycle – you didn’t
know there were pedals, breaks, gears were and probably were oblivious of the all important issue of balance.
Phase 2 – Next you started to learn about riding a bike – your parents would have explained how to ride one, showing you how to change the gears, raise and lower the saddle and you would have started trying to ride one – with the help of parents – and you would have realised there was a lot to learn but you were basically still unable to ride.
Phase 3 – After a lot of practice and concentration on how to ride a bike – you were still not ready yet to signal left or right, talk to others and ride all at the same time (never mind cycle in a straight line with your arms folded) – even though you were capable of riding a bicycle you had still to focus and concentrate.
Phase 4 – then at last you rode enough so that riding a bicycle became automatic, you no longer needed to think about what you had to do, you just did it – you were now unconsciously competent at riding a bicycle.
So, to install habits in the quickest manner – its important to know which stage you are in and then concentrate on what you need to do to move to the next stage.
But here’s a question – are you able to ride a bike, arms folded, talk to a friend and go round a bend all at the same time?
In other words can you do several different – yet related things at the same time? Most people would find this difficult – if they hadn’t done them before they would have “to focus and concentrate” on what they were doing until they could do all these things in “tandem” –until then though they would go round the bend with their hands on the handle bars an stop talking!!
The point is significant because until you are able to accommodate all these various related activities any attempt to BE FULLY COMPETENT in time management won’t be accomplished. It means simply being effective from time to time won’t really help you in establishing the habit of effective time management.
Applying the framework to time management
If you are serious about managing time a la Drucker then its as well to realise that
1. there is still parts to being highly effective that you simply don’t know and
2. that your initial goal is to become aware of what really makes up effective behaviour
but even though you have the knowledge you don’t really know yet how to do it yourself
3. that you must consciously choose and then practice the behaviours and work on doing them without even thinking about it so that you achieve consistent time management and often (given the presence of related and unrelated activities).
4. that such practice of relevant activities makes you competent by habit, which should be your goal as a business owner and manager.
Incidentally if you want more on the behaviour and strategies required to achieve high status as an effective time manager – why not e.mail me at andrew@real-results.org and ask for The Vital Habits to Reclaim Time to Achieve More Results. Its yours for the asking.
