Nearly all of my clients tell me that lack of time is the obstacle that’s standing between where they are and where they want to be. It seems to be universal to the human experience. It’s likely that you experience this frustration as well.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a time machine. I can’t give you any more than the 24 hours we all have in a day. The only magic wand I know of is to use our time more effectively. That’s where the concept of the high impact activity comes into play.
In any given moment, think about what you’re doing right then and how it relates to your most important goal. Is this activity providing the highest possible impact, or is there something else that would be a better choice?
This notion of what creates the highest impact is highly personal and may change from day to day and moment to moment. Pay special attention to your leadership role and consider if your highest impact activity might be something that helps set your team up for success, even if it doesn’t feel like the most pressing issue to you right at that moment.
The act of paying attention will make a difference. Simply being mindful and evaluating your choice in the moment, rather than running on auto-pilot, will cause you to make better choices. And as you pay attention, you will find more and more often that you are making a good choice. It’s a virtuous cycle that feeds on itself.
Check out my short video on this topic and let me know what you think in the comments below.