No doubt you have seen the countless books claiming to solve the time management problem everyone faces. It is very appealing to figure out how to squeeze more out of each 24 hour day. Our modern society makes it easier to be distracted and harder to make the best use of any available time.
Yet, the super achievers seem to have all the time they need. They must know the secrets of time management the rest of us don’t. In December of 2007 and January of 2008 I interviewed a sampling of the really high achievers here at the Field Guide and I learned an amazing time management revelation.
They do know a secret but it is not the one you might expect. The super achievers know that time management is a myth. They focus not on managing their time but on managing their achievements.
They know a to do list is often used as an excuse to avoid the difficult, yet critical, task. They refer to this ignored task as the elephant or 800 pound gorilla in the room. As long as the items on the to do list are dealt with success is declared.
The problem of course is the to do list itself.
Let me ask you something, do you think Donald Trump carries a DayTimer® and updates a to do list throughout the day? Are you insane? You might think, “No, but he has someone who does that.” I guarantee you he doesn’t. In the corporate structure the to do list doesn’t appear at the “C” level.
Super achievers don’t manage their time, they create, manage and maximize their opportunities. At any given time they know the one critical, must complete, task and they work on that task. It is the most important and therefore deserves their full attention.
“But, isn’t that what a to do list is for? To know and track which is the critical task?”
Not the way they are taught by their proponents. Too many use the to do list not just to set priorities but to project plan at the micro level. They estimate it will take so long to do this item and then match that with an available time slot throughout the day. The to do list wastes more time than it purports to save.
“Wait, are you saying they don’t plan their day?”
Of course they do, but they plan based on opportunity and what has to get done.
There is another, even more important secret the super achievers know you probably don’t. They know their down time is ten times more important to their success than their “work” time. Super achievers are not workaholics. They understand they have to rest and recharge to be sharp and focused. They tend to get more sleep than the average person and can easily compartmentalize their professional lives and keep their personal lives free of stress carryover from the office.
So, what is the biggest secret they know? They know you must work to live, but not live to work.
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October 6th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Put into plain language: “Git ‘er done.” (Larry the cable guy)
October 6th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
The key is ‘lackeys’ or ‘minions’ to handle all of the other things that need to be done.
‘Underlings’ is another accepted term.
Not having ‘go-fers’ I have a list so that I can manage what needs to be done and when it is to be done by.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Interesting. I don’t think qualify as a “super achiever,” but in addition to my full time job, I’ve also managed to do a lot of interesting things in the last few years: write several books, contribute meaningfully to a popular open source project, learn to shoot, fix cars and brew beer, sing and do other musical things professionally and still be able to spend more quality time with my family than most other employed people that I know. The secret, I think, fits in with this. You actually have to DO stuff. If you just make your list of the chores, errands and little things you have to do today, you can always end your day feeling accomplished, while you’ve only just fought off entropy for another twenty-four hours. When you’re old, are you really going to proudly tell your grand kids how frequently you scrubbed the kitchen floor?
This advice is accurate: monitor and maximize your opportunities. Go after and do things that will last, or that are at least interesting.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I like what Roland says about action, that’s true. I once saw David Allen speak, the time mgmt guru, and one thing he said has always stuck with me, he said, “Just focus on the next thing that must be done.” It keeps you out of fear or whatever you might experience if looking at the whole list and wondering how you’ll manage it all. Good post. I can’t believe that is the biggest secret they know, : -), but I do believe you have to have more to life than work. Balance is good. Thanks!
October 6th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
At my old firm, my crazy-ass boss demanded a to-do list from me everyday. I’d dutifully make one everyday, and not 10 minutes after I was done making it, he’d give me something completely out of left-field to do that wasn’t on it and would take all day (and most of the evening and weekend) to do. At the end of several weeks, when none of my to-do items were completed, he would go on minute-long tirades that I was being lazy and ineffective. It was like something out of Hitler: The Last Ten Days listening to him yell and scream for minutes on end about performance of myself and the rest of his staff. The problem was I was never working on my “gotta get these goals accomplished” list, but his “gotta put out these fires and try out these nutty ideas” list.
I got fed up with his crap after two years of working for him (funny how he never got around to firing me during all that time), and got a job that paid literally twice as much for half as much work almost immediately afterward. Several months afterward, he decided to close down his firm after 20 years of business and take a government position.
It leaves me working how much of the must-dos and essential practices of business are just exercises to feed the neuroses of the people in charge.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Great comments, all!
When Conner first wrote this article, I felt vindicated. For many years I fought against keeping an up to date to do list.
Michelle mentioned, ‘”Just focus on the next thing that must be done.” It keeps you out of fear or whatever you might experience if looking at the whole list and wondering how you’ll manage it all.’ There have been times in my life when that was the only way I could operate for months on end. Incremental steps in the right direction are the best way to set up for the big leaps you get to take from time to time.
October 12th, 2009 at 11:12 am
The best way I can put it is that you can’t MAKE more time – you get a set amount.
It’s what you DO with that set amount that’s important.
- Steve
October 16th, 2009 at 5:23 am
Absolutely! You simply have to learn what makes these people become a super achiever. You have to understand what drives them. First of all they have an incredible amount of ambition. They don’t set small goals, they think BIG! And, they take action!
October 26th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Although I am no(t yet) a super achiever, the underlying principles seem to be true for many working people: concentrating on the next critical task, and I will paraphrase “planning based on an opportunity” with “always being aware of a bigger goal”. A to do list is a very individual thing. However, it has to be, in order to be able to detect the next critical task. I have been trying a lot of time management methods and philosophies. However, finally came to very simple solutions providing more down time – one of the secrets of the super achievers. I personally know the feeling of fighting for an up to date to do list, as Tim Owensby commented. Since I don’t care how long or up to date my to do list is, I am literally free and enjoy more time. The to do list is my container of things to do, and I decide in the moment, what is the next critical task to do, guided by a bigger goal, or which one to cancel or postpone? The top secret, however, seems to be, not to manage time – what is impossible – but manage tasks.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Yes. Thank you. It’s not about the “To-Do” list. It about knowing where you are going and working first and foremost on it. People that have no direction (and are not Super Achievers) seems to cling to the easy items on the list and wonder why nothing get accomplished. Funny how life works….