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Other articles in this issue:

• The major time robbers and how to avoid them
• How Owners/and Managers should manage their time
• Effectively scheduling your time to maximize your accomplishments
• Vacationing for better health and productivity

The Difference Between Time Management and Controlling Events

“Time is merely the order of events, not an entity itself” Albert Einstein

When we think of Time Management, we really mean controlling the events that touch our lives.  We cannot make time do anything.  Time is, it was, and it will be.  We can only manage the actions that we take during the time that we have.  Good Time Management really means that you have control over what you do with the time you have.

There are three types of events: Those you have total control of, those you have absolutely no control and those that you have some control.  The only factor in your time management that you have absolute and total control over is you, your actions, and your reaction to others actions.
The sooner you stop thinking “time management” and start thinking “event control”, the sooner you will be able to manage how your time is spent each day and the more productive you will be.

.I recently had a client share that the two countries that have the highest incidence of ADHD are the USA and Australia.  These are the two countries that have the highest level of work achievement goals.  Why, as Americans do we suffer from ADHD?  As a society (in general) we have been conditioned to how we respond to the events that affect our lives.  We have been “programmed that (1) there are events we cannot control, but we think that we can; and (2) there are events we actually can control, but honestly believe that we cannot control them.

. A good example of the first case (those events we think we can control, but cannot) include any project that includes other peoples actions and input.  The most important lesson to learn here is that what other people do is completely and totally out of our true control.
On the other hand, when we do have control over the event, but have been programmed that we do not, we quickly dismiss the event. These are events that our minds have convinced us cannot happen, but given the right circumstance, our brain will realize that we can accomplish the event.
If you think about your agency and its processes, this might make sense.  Together, we have mapped out the typical steps and timeline for getting your projects in and out the door most efficiently and profitably.  We have worked with your Account personnel to help educate the clients of this timeline and that to get things done quicker will mean shorter timelines or eliminating steps.  However, if a client were to call you tomorrow and say they were willing to pay you an exorbitant amount of money to complete the project in a day, I feel relatively confident that you will find a way to make that happen.
The key to making this type of event happen is NEED.  If you have more business than you can handle with all of your full time and freelance staff, this may not be a NEED and you may pass on the offer.  However, if business is slow and you have the capacity to make this happen, then you might be more apt to make this happen. 

Another example of this type of event would be if I tell you to be at my office in 45 minutes and you know that with traffic and distance, you are 2 hours away, you don’t have a great need to try to make that happen and therefore deem it undoable and uncontrollable.  However, if I tell you there is $1 million for you if you make it, then the need becomes more eminent and you may hire a helicopter or find other means to get you there past all of the traffic and distance.  By having a NEED, you have found a way to make it happen.
The most important thing to remember in controlling your events is to do the things that are most important to you, your vision and your goals.  We don’t always do that.  Time is just like money and when you decide to spend an hour surfing non-productive sites that is an hour you chose not to do something that helps you reach your objectives.  Make sure that you spend your time on what is fundamental to getting you where you want to be and anything else should be considered a waste of time.

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Copyright 2008© CSB Consulting and Connie Burtcheard