One of the ongoing challenges that executives face is that there is “never enough time to get it all done”. It sounds like those executives think that they should have more time than they actually have. Thinking you should have more time than you actually have is an illusion that leaves you frustrated, overworked and dissatisfied with the work you are actually getting done.
In reality, the only things we actually do are those things that we work on, not the things we’ll get around to working on. So how we allocate our time determines what actually gets done, and therefore our performance and the results we produce.
This begs the question – “How do you allocate your time?”. Do you do it in a planned, intentional manner, or is it unplanned and unintentional? For example, some managers put off the strategic and leadership aspects of their role to focus on more immediate operational issues, saying to themselves “I’ll get to that when I have handled these more urgent issues” to find that they never seem to get around to it and they are always working on urgent issues.
If something is important, but doesn’t seem urgent, and you think that you will get around to it, it’s unlikely that you will, especially when there is a never ending list of things urgent things to get done.
Getting the right things done is a more realistic perception than getting it all done. Start there. Then address what the ‘right things’ actually are and intentionally plan when you are going to work on them i.e. decide how long you are going to spend, put it in your diary and then work on it when that time comes around.
This approach is a more effective, productive and balanced way to work and you’ll be more satisfied with the work you produce.
Also, if you are an executive or senior manager with people that you delegate to, remember, you are a role model and they will do things the way you do them. How you do things communicates more strongly than what you say, so your team will learn by observing you more than listening to you.