Peter Bregman

Peter Bregman speaks, writes, andconsults on leadership. He is the CEO ofBregman Partners, Inc., a globalmanagement consulting firm, and theauthor of Point B: A Short Guide ToLeading a Big Change. Sign up to receive

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An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day2:27 PM Monday July 20, 2009 | Comments (118)

Yesterday started with the best of intentions. I walked into

my office in the morning with a vague sense of what I wanted

to accomplish. Then I sat down, turned on my computer, and

checked my email. Two hours later, after fighting several

fires, solving other people's problems, and dealing with

whatever happened to be thrown at me through my computer

and phone, I could hardly remember what I had set out to

accomplish when I first turned on my computer. I'd been

ambushed. And I know better.

When I teach time management, I always start with the same

question: How many of you have too much time and not

enough to do in it? In ten years, no one has ever raised a

hand.

That means we start every day knowing we're not going to

get it all done. So how we spend our time is a key strategic

decision. That's why it's a good idea to create a to do list and

an ignore list. The hardest attention to focus is our own.

But even with those lists, the challenge, as always, is

execution. How can you stick to a plan when so many things

threaten to derail it? How can you focus on a few important

things when so many things require your attention?

We need a trick.

Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru, knows all about tricks; he's

famous for handcuffing himself and then swimming a mile or

more while towing large boats filled with people. But he's

more than just a showman. He invented several exercise

machines including the ones with pulleys and weight selectors

in health clubs throughout the world. And his show, The Jack

LaLanne Show, was the longest running television fitness

program, on the air for 34 years.

But none of that is what impresses me. He has one trick that

I believe is his real secret power.

Ritual.

At the age of 94, he still spends the first two hours of his day exercising. Ninety minutes lifting

weights and 30 minutes swimming or walking. Every morning. He needs to do so to achieve his

goals: on his 95th birthday he plans to swim from the coast of California to Santa Catalina Island, a

24 HOURS 7 DAYS 30 DAYS

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distance of 20 miles. Also, as he is fond of saying, "I cannot afford to die. It will ruin my image."

So he works, consistently and deliberately, toward his goals. He does the same things day in and

day out. He cares about his fitness and he's built it into his schedule.

Managing our time needs to become a ritual too. Not simply a list or a vague sense of our priorities.

That's not consistent or deliberate. It needs to be an ongoing process we follow no matter what to

keep us focused on our priorities throughout the day.

I think we can do it in three steps that take less than 18 minutes over an eight-hour workday.

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day. Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank

piece of paper and decide what will make this day highly successful. What can you realistically

accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like

you've been productive and successful? Write those things down.

Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the

hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day. And by the beginning of the day I

mean, if possible, before even checking your email. If your entire list does not fit into your calendar,

reprioritize your list. There is tremendous power in deciding when and where you are going to do

something.

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz describe a study in

which a group of women agreed to do a breast self-exam during a period of 30 days. 100% of

those who said where and when they were going to do it completed the exam. Only 53% of the

others did.

In another study, drug addicts in withdrawal (can you find a more stressed-out population?) agreed

to write an essay before 5 p.m. on a certain day. 80% of those who said when and where they

would write the essay completed it. None of the others did.

If you want to get something done, decide when and where you're going to do it. Otherwise, take it

off your list.

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus. Set your watch, phone, or computer to ring every hour.

When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour

productively. Then look at your calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going to use the

next hour. Manage your day hour by hour. Don't let the hours manage you.

STEP 3 (5 minutes) Review. Shut off your computer and review your day. What worked? Where

did you focus? Where did you get distracted? What did you learn that will help you be more

productive tomorrow?

The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the same thing in the same way over and over

again. And so the outcome of a ritual is predictable too. If you choose your focus deliberately and

wisely and consistently remind yourself of that focus, you will stay focused. It's simple.

This particular ritual may not help you swim the English Channel while towing a cruise ship with your

hands tied together. But it may just help you leave the office feeling productive and successful.

And, at the end of the day, isn't that a higher priority?

More on: Time management

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An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day - Peter Bregman - Harvard ... http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2009/07/an-18minute-plan-for-managing.html

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