Time Management is More than Managing Spinning Plates * Incedo Group

Time Management is More than Managing Spinning Plates

We think of time management as the ability to do more, to be more productive, and at the end of the day or week to have accomplished everything that needs to be done.

This thinking is part of what causes us to be stressed and interferes with us meeting our goals.

One of the most difficult tasks for any leader is keeping all the spinning plates going without letting one drop.

While there is a lot of information about how to manage multiple priorities and how to keep the plates spinning, there isn’t much on how to deal with our own feelings when things are going out of control.

Companies expect leaders to simply manage through the chaos and keep their feelings hidden.

Managing the chaos and managing one’s feelings about the chaos are not the same things. And assuming that if the disorder is handled the feelings associated with it will be alleviated is faulty thinking. For many people, when things (process, people, situations, etc.) are out of control, they believe they are out of control.

Putting order to this will help lighten the feelings but they don’t go away.

Why not? Because as a leader you recognize that the situation you just solved is likely to recur, or some new crisis or challenge, so there is a constant undercurrent of ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop.’

Picking up the plates and getting them spinning again might resolve the immediate crisis, but it does not guarantee that the situation will not happen again.

Knowing this means there is a constant state of thinking that things are out of control, or will be in the not-too-distant future.

How do you as a leader learn to handle those feelings?

And how do you learn to handle them without believing you are weak or incompetent?

First, accept that your feelings exist. Ignoring them or pretending you don’t have them won’t help.

Second, understand the cause. Is it too many spinning plates, not knowing when they will drop, worrying that you have not solved the problem, fear of how others will view you, or something else?

You can’t resolve what you don’t understand.

Finally, ask for help. You can’t know it all or do it all by yourself.

You don’t have to go it alone. You might be surprised when you ask for help that others have the same concerns and fears, which is comforting. So often we think it’s just us, just us that can’t handle things or are weak for feeling insecure.

Work Fewer Hours and Be More Productive

There are times we aren’t as productive as we want and I can help you identify where time is slipping away from you or what’s getting in the way of you being your most productive self.