In an executive coaching session, Stephanie shared that the only time she had for reflection was a few minutes in the shower each morning and our weekly meetings. That was it. The rest of her week was booked with back-to-back meetings that she dutifully attended as Director of Operations. She spent her evenings and weekends catching up on emails. Stephanie is not alone in this — for many senior leaders, having a busy schedule like this is viewed as a badge of honor.
We are overdue for a shift from being busy to being productive. And that involves examining how we use our time. This Harvard Business Review article states that although 97% of senior leaders say that strategic thinking is the most important leadership behavior linked to their organization’s success, almost the same amount (96%) said they didn’t have enough time to engage in strategic thinking.
The benefits of blocking out blank space or unscheduled time include increased focus and creativity. Carving out time to reflect, imagine, and plan is one of the keys to successful leadership. Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, models this by saying, “You’ve gotta keep control of your time and you can’t unless you say no. You can’t let people set your agenda in life.” He keeps his calendar mostly open and only accepts appointments the day before, which is how he manages to stay in control of his time.
In my experience with hundreds of executives as a leadership coach, a common problem is that their calendars do not reflect the priorities that they claim to value. As a result, they end up being reactive instead of proactive. Here are some ways to rethink how we use our time and prioritize strategic thinking:
- Start by imagining that you completely cleared your calendar and build it again from scratch. What would you include? What would be absolutely essential to have on your weekly calendar? I encourage you to do this exercise on a white board or blank piece of paper before making changes to your actual calendar.
- First, add back the most mission-critical activities: (1) strategic thinking time by yourself, (2) weekly one-on-one meetings with your direct reports, and (3) one or two standing team meetings (the team you manage and the team you report to).
- Pick a format for your strategic thinking time block that works for you. This is an appointment with yourself to create space for the purpose of strategic thinking. You’ll have to experiment with the format that works best for you. For some, it’s 30-minute blocks of time sprinkled throughout the week. For others, it’s a larger chunk of time, maybe two hours, that allows them to really disconnect from daily work and go deep. Remember to also pick a time and location where you will be most productive. Maybe that coffee shop down the street or a walk outside is more conducive for this than your office.
- Protect strategic thinking time. It’s guaranteed that you will be tempted to give away your scheduled time because something more important comes up. Have a plan in place to reduce disruptions. Let your teammates know that during this time you are not to be disturbed. Close your door, put a sign on your desk, or get out of the office entirely in order to create a buffer. How will you deal with interruptions? What will you say when they occur?
- Create a filter for deciding what meetings you will accept in the future. Don’t accept meeting invitations without understanding the purpose of the meeting and your role in it. Does attending the meeting reflect your highest priorities and things you want to accomplish this week? If you have been invited to a meeting only so that you can be informed, think of the other ways you can stay in the loop without attending it. Can one of your direct reports go in your place? Is it possible to get a copy of the meeting minutes or a summary of the major decisions that were made after the fact?
You are the owner of your calendar and your time. Being thoughtful about how you spend your time is an investment in yourself and your own effectiveness. It’s also the difference between being a proactive leader who is driving initiatives and results, or reacting to an endless string of emails. You get to decide.
Here are some additional articles to check out on this subject:
https://hbr.org/2012/12/the-upside-of-downtime
https://hbr.org/2018/06/if-strategy-is-so-important-why-dont-we-make-time-for-it
https://www.fastcompany.com/3009536/why-productive-people-have-empty-schedules