September 12, 2023 • 23 mins
Struggling with the whirlwind of tasks and constantly feel like you're falling down the administrative rabbit hole? Don't worry, we've all been there. But guess what, it doesn't have to be this way.
In this episode of the Lead Culture Podcast, I share my secret sauce of juggling a series of responsibilities without losing my sanity. From sharing how I prioritize my tasks to my strategy of breaking down mammoth tasks into manageable bites, this episode is all about how I have mastered the art of time management.
But that's not all. I also delve into the importance and benefits of setting boundaries around communication and carving out blocks of time for focused work - a lifesaver for leaders. Oh, and let's not forget about the importance of taking regular breaks to recharge and reset. As a bonus, I reveal how my assistant and I strive to protect an hour in our schedules just for planning and prioritizing, a crucial aspect of effective time management. So, are you ready to step up your productivity game and escape the administrative rabbit hole?
I want to hear about how you’re leading culture! I’m looking to interview leaders who have invested in their culture and seen a significant improvement. If that’s you, email me at podcast@get4sight.com
We need your help to get the LeadCulture podcasts in front of more leaders! There are three simple things you can do that truly help us:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jenni Catron (00:10):
Hey friends, I'm your host, Jenny Catron, and
this is the Lead Culture Podcast, a proud part of the Art of
Leadership Network.
Now, here on the podcast, mygoal is to coach you to lead
yourself well, to lead othersbetter.
My team and I at the 4SightGroup are committed to building
(00:30):
confident leaders, extraordinaryteams and thriving cultures.
Each week, we'll take a deepdive into a leadership or
culture topic that will give youthe tools you need to lead with
clarity and confidence andbuild a thriving team.
Now, today, I want to talk abouta topic that challenges the
(00:55):
best of leaders.
That topic is theadministrative rabbit hole.
Now, what do I mean by that?
Exactly?
What I mean is our inability toorganize our time and maximize
our efforts and really guard ourpriorities.
I bet you get this right and,if you're like me, you're
(01:17):
fighting to get back into asemblance of a routine for the
fall.
Do you feel that, right, summervacations are over, kids are
back in school and you need tobe getting back to a routine,
and yet I don't know about you,but I've found myself struggling
with this a bit right, like Ijust have this resistance to
(01:38):
fully getting back to my routine.
It's like I want to hold on tosome of those little pieces of
summer.
Now, the challenge with aroutine is that it typically
works for a season and then itbecomes a little monotonous,
doesn't it?
Now, in some cases, the routineactually puts us in a rut that
(01:58):
keeps us from pursuing, maybenew goals or challenges.
So, as most things inleadership, this is a bit of
attention to manage, isn't it?
So today, I want to share sometried and true behaviors that
continue to serve me well as aleader, and this is a list that
I'll go back to.
If I recognize what I'mnoticing in myself right now,
(02:21):
that I'm kind of resistingroutine a little bit.
I need some help, kind ofgetting back into healthy
rhythms of work, and so that'swhat I want to talk about today
how to avoid the administrativerabbit hole.
Now, for me, the opportunity tocoach, to write, to speak on
(02:42):
the topic of leadership is agift that I hope I never take
for granted, and sometimes evenjust the disruption of routine
gives me better perspective onthat.
But a productive work rhythm,even for somebody who devotes a
lot of time and energy to goodleadership development, like
makes it a point to study thisstuff.
A productive work routine is anart to be mastered Right Like.
(03:07):
It takes some effort, it takessome intentionality.
That administrative rabbit hole, like all the things that kind
of gobble up your time andenergy, it's real and it's real
for all of us.
Like we all feel that to somedegree.
Even those of us who are prettyorganized, like some of you,
are like I am not administrative, I am not terribly organized,
(03:28):
so I really get this.
Well, I want to encourage you alittle bit that I am pretty
administrative, I am prettyorganized, and even with that, I
can develop some unhealthyhabits or I can kind of get
caught up in administrativethings that really detract me
from doing the most importantwork that I need to be doing.
(03:49):
So even with that being a keypart of my wiring and my focus
as a leader, the administrativerabbit hole is pretty real.
Now, many of you would agreeit's key to develop rhythms and
routines that help us maintainpriorities.
I absolutely believe that Ithink we need those rhythms, we
(04:10):
need those routines.
They help trigger, you know,help us know where to focus our
energy, and there's tons ofresearch around the importance
of having some healthy routines.
But even when we know better.
We can find ourselves down thatrabbit hole, overwhelmed,
trying to find our way out ofjust the stuff coming at us.
(04:33):
I mean email alone.
You guys, right, like, howeasily do we get sucked into
email?
And before we know it, an hourhas passed, two hours have
passed and we can't quiteaccount for what we actually did
.
That's what I'm talking aboutwhen I'm talking about the
administrative rabbit hole.
It's letting yourself get lostinto work that can be time
(04:53):
consuming but not always themost productive.
So here's the thing whencircumstances change or
responsibilities increase, theissues are still the same, right
Like, we still are dealing withsome of the same issues, and
what we're dealing with in thiscase is an issue of
self-management.
So whether I'm managing mybusiness, leading a team, or
(05:14):
sitting in my home office withmy four-legged friend at my feet
, I have to resist that pull tothe administrative rabbit hole,
the things that really justdisrupt my best work.
So let me talk about five waysto guard your priorities.
So these are five things thatyou can do to kind of avoid that
administrative rabbit hole andhelp yourself be more purposeful
(05:38):
with some of your priorities,how you organize, how you deal
with even some of theadministration.
So the first thing before youbegin your day determine your
priorities, right?
So before you even start theday, I want you to know what's
the most important work that Ican do.
You might set these prioritiesas you wrap up the previous day.
(06:00):
I think that's always a goodpractice.
Michael Hyatt, in hisfull-focus planner, talks about
that, and if you use afull-focus planner, like I do,
you have your big three thingsfor the day.
It helps you determine yourpriorities.
So use a tool, and it couldjust be a simple planner, it
could be just a piece of paper,it could be a note on your
computer.
I don't care what you use, butknow your priorities before you
(06:24):
go into the day, before you getcaught up in the Slack messages
coming in or the emails that arepinging.
You know your priorities forthe day.
So, whether you do that thenight before, whether you do it
in the morning, before you getstarted, whatever you do, define
your priorities before you sitdown and before you open your
computer, before you startdigging into the different
(06:47):
requests on your phone.
Know your priorities, you guys.
This alone is a game changer,because everything's vying for
your time and attention, isn'tit?
And so when you know yourpriorities, you are already
helping yourself mentallyorganize or prepare your day or
know where to give your time andenergy.
Number two predetermine when youcheck emails and how you
(07:11):
structure your workflow.
So, guys, you have to manageyour emails and not allow email
to manage you.
I cannot overemphasize this,because opening email puts us in
reactionary mode.
We are reacting to everybodyelse's requests and priorities,
and so then we're defaulting onthe priorities we just set.
(07:31):
And so obviously there arethings in email you need to
attend to.
But predetermine when you checkit and put it as like a block
on your calendar of like here'smy email time and manage your
emails so that they don't manageyou.
Consistently reacting to emailswill put your days productivity
in danger.
Before you even think about it,right Before you've even gotten
(07:52):
to lunch, your day is off therails because you've spent time
down the email rabbit hole.
And so predetermine when am Ichecking emails?
And I'm very upfront with thiswith my team of.
I'm not checking emailsincessantly, I'm checking emails
at a couple of pointsthroughout the day.
Email to me is not an urgenttool, it is an important tool,
(08:16):
and my internal conviction isthat I wanna respond to emails
typically within 24 hours,sometimes depending on the
nature of the email.
But I wanna give people atleast a response within 24 hours
, barring it's the weekend orI'm on vacation, something like
that, and then you're gonna haveout of office assistance on
there to help communicate.
But I'm not going to live in myemail because when I live in my
(08:39):
email then everybody else'spriorities take over and trump
my priorities.
Number three map out yourschedule each day.
So some of you you have workthat everything is scheduled.
My work is like that.
Most everything on my calendaris scheduled because I often
(08:59):
have appointments with leadersthat I'm working with, leaders
that I'm talking to about doingsome work with, so everything
becomes an appointment on myschedule.
But for some of you that's nothow your day works.
You have a lot more ofindependent work.
I want you to actually schedulewhen you're doing what you're
doing.
So you've determined thosepriorities.
You've determined when you needto look at email.
(09:21):
Your work day should have aschedule Like you should know
what you're doing when.
Now I'm pretty competitive youprobably know that if you've
listened for some time and I'msuper goal oriented.
So I begin each day by mappingout my time.
I account for pretty much every30 minute window on my calendar
and then I challenge myself tostay on schedule.
(09:43):
If I only have 30 minutes tocheck and respond to emails,
it's amazing how fast I canclean out my inbox If I know
I've got 30 minutes.
I need to tackle what's here.
Who do I need to respond to?
What do I need to forward?
What do I need to delegate?
What do I need to put on ato-do list for later?
Like, take 30 minutes to likepower through that and then I
(10:05):
can move on.
So putting time limits on taskswill keep you moving forward
quickly, guys.
I can't overemphasize this, thatputting time limits.
So I'll put on my calendar.
I have an hour to prepare andrecord my podcast for the day
Now.
It will take me at least 20minutes to record it alone.
(10:26):
So I'm using those other 40minutes to synthesize exactly
what I need to say.
Make sure my script is linedout.
Make sure that anything that Ineed to be highlighting all the
little details around producingthe podcast, can get done within
that hour.
Now, depending on the nature ofif I'm doing an interview and
there's more prep work, then Imight have more time that's
(10:48):
required.
But basically what I'm sayinghere is that I'm looking at
everything I need to do and I'mgiving it a fair amount of time.
I'm not just putting it on myto-do list randomly and going,
okay, I'll kind of get to iteventually, like it has a
scheduled time block.
Map out your schedule each day.
It will be fascinating for youto see what you're able to
accomplish when you giveyourself a little bit of time
(11:11):
constraints and you have a veryclear schedule for the day.
Now.
Number four ways to guard yourpriorities is change your
scenery.
Now, this is a big one for me,you guys, because when I'm not
traveling or working with aclient or speaking at an event,
I am mostly working from my homeoffice, and so I can quickly
(11:33):
get antsy and bored andtherefore I lose focus simply
because I've been in the sameplace for too long.
Right, like I've just been inthe same place for too long.
Some of you that I work with ona regular basis, you know this
right, because sometimes I'm inmy office, sometimes I'm on my
front porch, sometimes I'm on myin my sunroom, because I need a
(11:53):
change of scenery, and so justknow that about yourself and be
mindful of when do you need tochange your scenery?
This is something you could mapin your schedule.
So if you've been in the sameplace for too long, you've got
to know how to change where youwork throughout the day to just
give you a little bit of lifeand energy.
One of my favorite all timequotes is from Pastor Mark
(12:15):
Batterson.
He says change of place pluschange of pace equals change of
perspective.
So when you feel yourselfgetting antsy right Like you're
just kind of antsy, you'redistracted, you're having
trouble focusing you might needto change it up.
So sometimes what I'll do is,if I have a chunk of time where
I don't have to be on Zoom calls, then I might go to a local
(12:37):
coffee shop and get like there'sthings on my calendar that I've
already mapped out on myschedule that are things that I
could do from a differentlocation.
So I will plan for that.
And it creates just a littlebit of disruption healthy
disruption in my routine.
That helps me stay focused.
But stay focused on thosethings I need to accomplish.
(12:59):
And then, number five do whatonly you can do.
And here's what I want you tohear Do that first.
So do what only you can do anddo that first.
So this really brings us backto that first point about
determining your priorities, butit's worth repeating from a
different angle.
We can get lost down theadministrative rabbit hole when
(13:24):
we lack the discipline to do thehard things first, right.
So it's like we kind of jump inand we do the easy things first
.
This is why email gets ourattention sometimes.
First thing right, because it'skind of easy and we're kind of
curious what came in who's?
You know who's reached out tome?
I get that.
But determine your prioritiesfirst and then do what only you
(13:45):
can do and do that first.
It's easy to be lured by a senseof accomplishment when we check
a few things off a list ratherthan spending time on one major
priority and the thing that onlyyou can do.
So when you're thinking aboutthose priorities for the day,
what are the things that only Ican do right?
They're the things that only Ican do.
(14:05):
It is my highest and bestcontribution to the team.
The team is counting on me todo this thing right and then
tackle that first, because thesense of accomplishment that
comes from doing the hard thingsfirst or the very meaningful
and productive things first thengives you the momentum to do
the other things.
So do the big or harder thingsfirst, and you're going to feel
(14:27):
refreshed and energized by thatand then, especially if then
you're a little tired later inthe day, then you're doing the
easy things.
You are responding to some ofthose emails you need to respond
to.
So pay attention.
Kari Newhoff and his work andhis latest book talks about your
energy and knowing when youhave your best energy.
(14:48):
Well, pay attention to that anddo your most challenging, your
most focused work in the timeswhere you have the best energy.
So paying attention to thisstuff is really, really powerful
and helps you guard yourpriorities.
So here they are again.
Those five have ways to guardyour priorities and avoid that
administrative rabbit hole.
First, before you begin yourday, determine your priorities.
(15:11):
Number two predetermine whenyou're going to check emails and
then structure your workflow.
Number three map out yourschedule each day.
Have a clear schedule every day.
Number four change the scenerywhen you need to.
And number five do what onlyyou can do and do that work
(15:34):
first.
All right, friends, so maybeyou're scrambling to get clarity
on your priorities and, likethe whirlwind keeps you from
being purposeful.
I want to encourage you not togive up, even if your schedule
is packed, because some of youare like Jenny this sounds
awesome, except that my scheduleis so packed I don't know how
to breathe.
I don't know how to adjust thisand get out of this whirlwind.
(15:56):
I want you to take out yourcalendar right now, as you're
listening, if you're driving oryou're on the treadmill, like,
obviously, pull over, stop, getoff, whatever you need to do,
but as soon as you can take outyour calendar and find at least
one hour that you can devote tothinking, planning and
prioritizing going, I got to geta handle on this.
(16:18):
What is my routine going to befor this fall?
And I promise that hour willnot be wasted.
I recently did this.
I was trying to get back intothe rhythm of the fall and I
said, ok, I've got to get ahandle on this.
What are the biggest priorities?
And we had set goals and I hadkey performance indicators for
this fall, but I needed toresettle around those and go OK,
(16:40):
what does that mean for me?
Forsight had its goals, but nowwhat does that mean for me?
So, take out your calendar,give yourself an hour to think,
to plan, to prioritize, to lookat your calendar and go is there
anything we need to adjust?
My assistant and I, emily, whois we partner with Belay and use
their virtual assistantservices.
(17:00):
So just a little plug that theyare phenomenal.
If you need some administrativesupport, which I highly
encourage, emily works with meabout 10 or 11 hours a week, so
just enough to give me helpfulsupport on the administrative
side, and that's one of thethings I love about Belay's
model.
So Emily and I will sit downand we will look at my calendar
(17:23):
and go OK, what do we need toblock differently, like where do
we need to give you morepriority time in the mornings
for you to work on content anddevelopment and some of the big
picture work?
I've got some book writing todo, so we're constantly going.
How do we fight for that?
Prioritizing that in yourschedule?
So you guys, every few monthswe revisit it, we think, we plan
(17:48):
, we prioritize to make surethat I am structuring my time in
a way that's most effective forme and, ultimately, for the
team.
So plan an hour and just dothat work, get perspective, zoom
out and get a look at what'sgoing on in your schedule and
how can you prioritize your timea little bit better.
It's the most valuable work youcan do for yourself and for
(18:12):
your team, so make the time andmake it happen.
And I'd love to know what aresome of your tricks of the trade
for keeping yourself focused onthe right priorities.
Maybe you have some goodrhythms and systems.
I'd love for you to email me atpodcast at getforsightcom.
Tell me what works for you andwe'll share it with everyone
else as well.
And then I want to encourageyou if this kind of content is
(18:34):
the thing that you need more of,or maybe your team needs more
of these practical discussionsaround real problems that every
leader faces.
I want to make sure that youhave checked out the 4sight
Leadership Institute.
We designed the LeadershipInstitute, we launched it back
in the spring and we designed itto provide monthly leadership
(18:55):
training for the busy leader.
We recognize that every one ofyou have a million things going
on, and yet the expectation andthe responsibilities of
leadership are not lessening.
If anything, they are growing.
And so the Forsight LeadershipInstitute is a focused
leadership training programdesigned to equip you with the
practical skills to succeed.
(19:16):
The practical things likeprioritization, time management,
how to deal with juggling allyour priorities, leading good
meetings, et cetera.
We really tackle some of thosejust basic skills we need to
lead well.
So it includes practicaltraining.
Every month you get one videoit's about 10 minutes long from
(19:37):
one of our coaches teaching youon a specific topic.
Then we do coaching forapplications.
So we're not going to leave youhanging, because I know you get
tons of content and it's not alack of info, it's a lack of
application.
So a Forsight coach meets withyou monthly as a group.
We do a group coaching call andwe're helping you apply what
(20:00):
you're learning and then we'realso holding you accountable to
that.
So you're getting a weeklyemail from us saying, hey, how
are you doing?
Here's a couple of resources tokeep you thinking about this,
to help you take action on this,because we really want to equip
you to thrive in yourleadership.
Now here's one of the things I'mloving most about the
Leadership Institute is that itreally is becoming the
(20:20):
leadership development trainingprogram for so many teams.
So my suspicion is that yourorganization, if you have a half
a dozen, couple dozen or morestaff, like typically, you don't
have the budget to have afull-time leadership development
person building out aleadership training program for
(20:41):
your team.
Fair enough, I mean, I knowthat we didn't have that
position when I was on some ofmy previous staff teams.
We didn't have that positioneven with a hundred staff, right
?
So most of you, yourorganizations, are not big
enough to have somebodydedicated to building out a
training program like this.
So we've really designed theForesight Leadership Institute
(21:03):
to provide that structure foryou.
So what you can do is you canenroll all of your leaders into
the Leadership Institute they'reall going through the content
and in the same rhythm and thenyou can schedule one meeting a
month with your team to processand discuss it together for
(21:24):
application in your specificorganization.
And we have found so many teamsthat are doing that and finding
really significant value at avery affordable price.
So if that is something you areinterested, I want you to go to
getforsightcom and check out.
When you get to the dropdown,you'll see the Foresight
Leadership Institute.
(21:44):
Go check it out and see ifperhaps it is a resource that
would help you, would help yourteam and keep giving you the
tools you need to succeed as aleader.
All right, friends, I am sothrilled you joined me today.
Thank you for listening to theLeap Culture podcast.
We have just released a surveyfor everybody who is engaged
(22:07):
with Foresight in some way oranother, and I would love for
you to fill that out.
So we'll make sure there's alink to that in the show notes,
because we wanna hear what'sworking for you from 4Sight.
We celebrated our seventhanniversary our seventh birthday
, I guess, as an organizationearly this month, and so we are
trying to learn and grow andkeep serving you well.
(22:30):
And so either just email mepodcast at get4sightcom and I'll
send you the link to the survey, just to put survey in the
subject line, or it'll be in theshow notes for you to link
through and if you take thatsurvey for us, we actually have
seven really fabulous giftswe're randomly giving away to
people who take the survey, sothere's a little incentive there
to you know, get entered into,win one of those gifts, because
(22:54):
your feedback is a huge gift tous.
That would be a great seventhbirthday present to me if you
would share and give us feedbackin the survey.
All right, my friends, thank youfor joining us today.
Email me a podcast atgetforesightcom.
Let me know how we can serveyou better.
Connect with us on Instagramand Facebook at get4sight, and I
(23:16):
would love it if you wouldshare this episode with another
leader.
Maybe there's another leader onyour team who you know would
benefit from thinking throughtheir priorities.
Maybe they get stuck in theadministrative rabbit hole, like
all of us do from time to time,and this would just help them
think differently about how toprioritize their work.
Share it with them, leave us areview.
I would so appreciate that, andthen I will see you back next
(23:40):
week for more from LEAD Culture.
So keep leading well.
Hey friends, I'm your host, Jenny Catron, and
this is the Lead Culture Podcast, a proud part of the Art of
Leadership Network.
Now, here on the podcast, mygoal is to coach you to lead
yourself well, to lead othersbetter.
My team and I at the 4SightGroup are committed to building
(00:30):
confident leaders, extraordinaryteams and thriving cultures.
Each week, we'll take a deepdive into a leadership or
culture topic that will give youthe tools you need to lead with
clarity and confidence andbuild a thriving team.
Now, today, I want to talk abouta topic that challenges the
(00:55):
best of leaders.
That topic is theadministrative rabbit hole.
Now, what do I mean by that?
Exactly?
What I mean is our inability toorganize our time and maximize
our efforts and really guard ourpriorities.
I bet you get this right and,if you're like me, you're
(01:17):
fighting to get back into asemblance of a routine for the
fall.
Do you feel that, right, summervacations are over, kids are
back in school and you need tobe getting back to a routine,
and yet I don't know about you,but I've found myself struggling
with this a bit right, like Ijust have this resistance to
(01:38):
fully getting back to my routine.
It's like I want to hold on tosome of those little pieces of
summer.
Now, the challenge with aroutine is that it typically
works for a season and then itbecomes a little monotonous,
doesn't it?
Now, in some cases, the routineactually puts us in a rut that
(01:58):
keeps us from pursuing, maybenew goals or challenges.
So, as most things inleadership, this is a bit of
attention to manage, isn't it?
So today, I want to share sometried and true behaviors that
continue to serve me well as aleader, and this is a list that
I'll go back to.
If I recognize what I'mnoticing in myself right now,
(02:21):
that I'm kind of resistingroutine a little bit.
I need some help, kind ofgetting back into healthy
rhythms of work, and so that'swhat I want to talk about today
how to avoid the administrativerabbit hole.
Now, for me, the opportunity tocoach, to write, to speak on
(02:42):
the topic of leadership is agift that I hope I never take
for granted, and sometimes evenjust the disruption of routine
gives me better perspective onthat.
But a productive work rhythm,even for somebody who devotes a
lot of time and energy to goodleadership development, like
makes it a point to study thisstuff.
A productive work routine is anart to be mastered Right Like.
(03:07):
It takes some effort, it takessome intentionality.
That administrative rabbit hole, like all the things that kind
of gobble up your time andenergy, it's real and it's real
for all of us.
Like we all feel that to somedegree.
Even those of us who are prettyorganized, like some of you,
are like I am not administrative, I am not terribly organized,
(03:28):
so I really get this.
Well, I want to encourage you alittle bit that I am pretty
administrative, I am prettyorganized, and even with that, I
can develop some unhealthyhabits or I can kind of get
caught up in administrativethings that really detract me
from doing the most importantwork that I need to be doing.
(03:49):
So even with that being a keypart of my wiring and my focus
as a leader, the administrativerabbit hole is pretty real.
Now, many of you would agreeit's key to develop rhythms and
routines that help us maintainpriorities.
I absolutely believe that Ithink we need those rhythms, we
(04:10):
need those routines.
They help trigger, you know,help us know where to focus our
energy, and there's tons ofresearch around the importance
of having some healthy routines.
But even when we know better.
We can find ourselves down thatrabbit hole, overwhelmed,
trying to find our way out ofjust the stuff coming at us.
(04:33):
I mean email alone.
You guys, right, like, howeasily do we get sucked into
email?
And before we know it, an hourhas passed, two hours have
passed and we can't quiteaccount for what we actually did
.
That's what I'm talking aboutwhen I'm talking about the
administrative rabbit hole.
It's letting yourself get lostinto work that can be time
(04:53):
consuming but not always themost productive.
So here's the thing whencircumstances change or
responsibilities increase, theissues are still the same, right
Like, we still are dealing withsome of the same issues, and
what we're dealing with in thiscase is an issue of
self-management.
So whether I'm managing mybusiness, leading a team, or
(05:14):
sitting in my home office withmy four-legged friend at my feet
, I have to resist that pull tothe administrative rabbit hole,
the things that really justdisrupt my best work.
So let me talk about five waysto guard your priorities.
So these are five things thatyou can do to kind of avoid that
administrative rabbit hole andhelp yourself be more purposeful
(05:38):
with some of your priorities,how you organize, how you deal
with even some of theadministration.
So the first thing before youbegin your day determine your
priorities, right?
So before you even start theday, I want you to know what's
the most important work that Ican do.
You might set these prioritiesas you wrap up the previous day.
(06:00):
I think that's always a goodpractice.
Michael Hyatt, in hisfull-focus planner, talks about
that, and if you use afull-focus planner, like I do,
you have your big three thingsfor the day.
It helps you determine yourpriorities.
So use a tool, and it couldjust be a simple planner, it
could be just a piece of paper,it could be a note on your
computer.
I don't care what you use, butknow your priorities before you
(06:24):
go into the day, before you getcaught up in the Slack messages
coming in or the emails that arepinging.
You know your priorities forthe day.
So, whether you do that thenight before, whether you do it
in the morning, before you getstarted, whatever you do, define
your priorities before you sitdown and before you open your
computer, before you startdigging into the different
(06:47):
requests on your phone.
Know your priorities, you guys.
This alone is a game changer,because everything's vying for
your time and attention, isn'tit?
And so when you know yourpriorities, you are already
helping yourself mentallyorganize or prepare your day or
know where to give your time andenergy.
Number two predetermine when youcheck emails and how you
(07:11):
structure your workflow.
So, guys, you have to manageyour emails and not allow email
to manage you.
I cannot overemphasize this,because opening email puts us in
reactionary mode.
We are reacting to everybodyelse's requests and priorities,
and so then we're defaulting onthe priorities we just set.
(07:31):
And so obviously there arethings in email you need to
attend to.
But predetermine when you checkit and put it as like a block
on your calendar of like here'smy email time and manage your
emails so that they don't manageyou.
Consistently reacting to emailswill put your days productivity
in danger.
Before you even think about it,right Before you've even gotten
(07:52):
to lunch, your day is off therails because you've spent time
down the email rabbit hole.
And so predetermine when am Ichecking emails?
And I'm very upfront with thiswith my team of.
I'm not checking emailsincessantly, I'm checking emails
at a couple of pointsthroughout the day.
Email to me is not an urgenttool, it is an important tool,
(08:16):
and my internal conviction isthat I wanna respond to emails
typically within 24 hours,sometimes depending on the
nature of the email.
But I wanna give people atleast a response within 24 hours
, barring it's the weekend orI'm on vacation, something like
that, and then you're gonna haveout of office assistance on
there to help communicate.
But I'm not going to live in myemail because when I live in my
(08:39):
email then everybody else'spriorities take over and trump
my priorities.
Number three map out yourschedule each day.
So some of you you have workthat everything is scheduled.
My work is like that.
Most everything on my calendaris scheduled because I often
(08:59):
have appointments with leadersthat I'm working with, leaders
that I'm talking to about doingsome work with, so everything
becomes an appointment on myschedule.
But for some of you that's nothow your day works.
You have a lot more ofindependent work.
I want you to actually schedulewhen you're doing what you're
doing.
So you've determined thosepriorities.
You've determined when you needto look at email.
(09:21):
Your work day should have aschedule Like you should know
what you're doing when.
Now I'm pretty competitive youprobably know that if you've
listened for some time and I'msuper goal oriented.
So I begin each day by mappingout my time.
I account for pretty much every30 minute window on my calendar
and then I challenge myself tostay on schedule.
(09:43):
If I only have 30 minutes tocheck and respond to emails,
it's amazing how fast I canclean out my inbox If I know
I've got 30 minutes.
I need to tackle what's here.
Who do I need to respond to?
What do I need to forward?
What do I need to delegate?
What do I need to put on ato-do list for later?
Like, take 30 minutes to likepower through that and then I
(10:05):
can move on.
So putting time limits on taskswill keep you moving forward
quickly, guys.
I can't overemphasize this, thatputting time limits.
So I'll put on my calendar.
I have an hour to prepare andrecord my podcast for the day
Now.
It will take me at least 20minutes to record it alone.
(10:26):
So I'm using those other 40minutes to synthesize exactly
what I need to say.
Make sure my script is linedout.
Make sure that anything that Ineed to be highlighting all the
little details around producingthe podcast, can get done within
that hour.
Now, depending on the nature ofif I'm doing an interview and
there's more prep work, then Imight have more time that's
(10:48):
required.
But basically what I'm sayinghere is that I'm looking at
everything I need to do and I'mgiving it a fair amount of time.
I'm not just putting it on myto-do list randomly and going,
okay, I'll kind of get to iteventually, like it has a
scheduled time block.
Map out your schedule each day.
It will be fascinating for youto see what you're able to
accomplish when you giveyourself a little bit of time
(11:11):
constraints and you have a veryclear schedule for the day.
Now.
Number four ways to guard yourpriorities is change your
scenery.
Now, this is a big one for me,you guys, because when I'm not
traveling or working with aclient or speaking at an event,
I am mostly working from my homeoffice, and so I can quickly
(11:33):
get antsy and bored andtherefore I lose focus simply
because I've been in the sameplace for too long.
Right, like I've just been inthe same place for too long.
Some of you that I work with ona regular basis, you know this
right, because sometimes I'm inmy office, sometimes I'm on my
front porch, sometimes I'm on myin my sunroom, because I need a
(11:53):
change of scenery, and so justknow that about yourself and be
mindful of when do you need tochange your scenery?
This is something you could mapin your schedule.
So if you've been in the sameplace for too long, you've got
to know how to change where youwork throughout the day to just
give you a little bit of lifeand energy.
One of my favorite all timequotes is from Pastor Mark
(12:15):
Batterson.
He says change of place pluschange of pace equals change of
perspective.
So when you feel yourselfgetting antsy right Like you're
just kind of antsy, you'redistracted, you're having
trouble focusing you might needto change it up.
So sometimes what I'll do is,if I have a chunk of time where
I don't have to be on Zoom calls, then I might go to a local
(12:37):
coffee shop and get like there'sthings on my calendar that I've
already mapped out on myschedule that are things that I
could do from a differentlocation.
So I will plan for that.
And it creates just a littlebit of disruption healthy
disruption in my routine.
That helps me stay focused.
But stay focused on thosethings I need to accomplish.
(12:59):
And then, number five do whatonly you can do.
And here's what I want you tohear Do that first.
So do what only you can do anddo that first.
So this really brings us backto that first point about
determining your priorities, butit's worth repeating from a
different angle.
We can get lost down theadministrative rabbit hole when
(13:24):
we lack the discipline to do thehard things first, right.
So it's like we kind of jump inand we do the easy things first
.
This is why email gets ourattention sometimes.
First thing right, because it'skind of easy and we're kind of
curious what came in who's?
You know who's reached out tome?
I get that.
But determine your prioritiesfirst and then do what only you
(13:45):
can do and do that first.
It's easy to be lured by a senseof accomplishment when we check
a few things off a list ratherthan spending time on one major
priority and the thing that onlyyou can do.
So when you're thinking aboutthose priorities for the day,
what are the things that only Ican do right?
They're the things that only Ican do.
(14:05):
It is my highest and bestcontribution to the team.
The team is counting on me todo this thing right and then
tackle that first, because thesense of accomplishment that
comes from doing the hard thingsfirst or the very meaningful
and productive things first thengives you the momentum to do
the other things.
So do the big or harder thingsfirst, and you're going to feel
(14:27):
refreshed and energized by thatand then, especially if then
you're a little tired later inthe day, then you're doing the
easy things.
You are responding to some ofthose emails you need to respond
to.
So pay attention.
Kari Newhoff and his work andhis latest book talks about your
energy and knowing when youhave your best energy.
(14:48):
Well, pay attention to that anddo your most challenging, your
most focused work in the timeswhere you have the best energy.
So paying attention to thisstuff is really, really powerful
and helps you guard yourpriorities.
So here they are again.
Those five have ways to guardyour priorities and avoid that
administrative rabbit hole.
First, before you begin yourday, determine your priorities.
(15:11):
Number two predetermine whenyou're going to check emails and
then structure your workflow.
Number three map out yourschedule each day.
Have a clear schedule every day.
Number four change the scenerywhen you need to.
And number five do what onlyyou can do and do that work
(15:34):
first.
All right, friends, so maybeyou're scrambling to get clarity
on your priorities and, likethe whirlwind keeps you from
being purposeful.
I want to encourage you not togive up, even if your schedule
is packed, because some of youare like Jenny this sounds
awesome, except that my scheduleis so packed I don't know how
to breathe.
I don't know how to adjust thisand get out of this whirlwind.
(15:56):
I want you to take out yourcalendar right now, as you're
listening, if you're driving oryou're on the treadmill, like,
obviously, pull over, stop, getoff, whatever you need to do,
but as soon as you can take outyour calendar and find at least
one hour that you can devote tothinking, planning and
prioritizing going, I got to geta handle on this.
(16:18):
What is my routine going to befor this fall?
And I promise that hour willnot be wasted.
I recently did this.
I was trying to get back intothe rhythm of the fall and I
said, ok, I've got to get ahandle on this.
What are the biggest priorities?
And we had set goals and I hadkey performance indicators for
this fall, but I needed toresettle around those and go OK,
(16:40):
what does that mean for me?
Forsight had its goals, but nowwhat does that mean for me?
So, take out your calendar,give yourself an hour to think,
to plan, to prioritize, to lookat your calendar and go is there
anything we need to adjust?
My assistant and I, emily, whois we partner with Belay and use
their virtual assistantservices.
(17:00):
So just a little plug that theyare phenomenal.
If you need some administrativesupport, which I highly
encourage, emily works with meabout 10 or 11 hours a week, so
just enough to give me helpfulsupport on the administrative
side, and that's one of thethings I love about Belay's
model.
So Emily and I will sit downand we will look at my calendar
(17:23):
and go OK, what do we need toblock differently, like where do
we need to give you morepriority time in the mornings
for you to work on content anddevelopment and some of the big
picture work?
I've got some book writing todo, so we're constantly going.
How do we fight for that?
Prioritizing that in yourschedule?
So you guys, every few monthswe revisit it, we think, we plan
(17:48):
, we prioritize to make surethat I am structuring my time in
a way that's most effective forme and, ultimately, for the
team.
So plan an hour and just dothat work, get perspective, zoom
out and get a look at what'sgoing on in your schedule and
how can you prioritize your timea little bit better.
It's the most valuable work youcan do for yourself and for
(18:12):
your team, so make the time andmake it happen.
And I'd love to know what aresome of your tricks of the trade
for keeping yourself focused onthe right priorities.
Maybe you have some goodrhythms and systems.
I'd love for you to email me atpodcast at getforsightcom.
Tell me what works for you andwe'll share it with everyone
else as well.
And then I want to encourageyou if this kind of content is
(18:34):
the thing that you need more of,or maybe your team needs more
of these practical discussionsaround real problems that every
leader faces.
I want to make sure that youhave checked out the 4sight
Leadership Institute.
We designed the LeadershipInstitute, we launched it back
in the spring and we designed itto provide monthly leadership
(18:55):
training for the busy leader.
We recognize that every one ofyou have a million things going
on, and yet the expectation andthe responsibilities of
leadership are not lessening.
If anything, they are growing.
And so the Forsight LeadershipInstitute is a focused
leadership training programdesigned to equip you with the
practical skills to succeed.
(19:16):
The practical things likeprioritization, time management,
how to deal with juggling allyour priorities, leading good
meetings, et cetera.
We really tackle some of thosejust basic skills we need to
lead well.
So it includes practicaltraining.
Every month you get one videoit's about 10 minutes long from
(19:37):
one of our coaches teaching youon a specific topic.
Then we do coaching forapplications.
So we're not going to leave youhanging, because I know you get
tons of content and it's not alack of info, it's a lack of
application.
So a Forsight coach meets withyou monthly as a group.
We do a group coaching call andwe're helping you apply what
(20:00):
you're learning and then we'realso holding you accountable to
that.
So you're getting a weeklyemail from us saying, hey, how
are you doing?
Here's a couple of resources tokeep you thinking about this,
to help you take action on this,because we really want to equip
you to thrive in yourleadership.
Now here's one of the things I'mloving most about the
Leadership Institute is that itreally is becoming the
(20:20):
leadership development trainingprogram for so many teams.
So my suspicion is that yourorganization, if you have a half
a dozen, couple dozen or morestaff, like typically, you don't
have the budget to have afull-time leadership development
person building out aleadership training program for
(20:41):
your team.
Fair enough, I mean, I knowthat we didn't have that
position when I was on some ofmy previous staff teams.
We didn't have that positioneven with a hundred staff, right
?
So most of you, yourorganizations, are not big
enough to have somebodydedicated to building out a
training program like this.
So we've really designed theForesight Leadership Institute
(21:03):
to provide that structure foryou.
So what you can do is you canenroll all of your leaders into
the Leadership Institute they'reall going through the content
and in the same rhythm and thenyou can schedule one meeting a
month with your team to processand discuss it together for
(21:24):
application in your specificorganization.
And we have found so many teamsthat are doing that and finding
really significant value at avery affordable price.
So if that is something you areinterested, I want you to go to
getforsightcom and check out.
When you get to the dropdown,you'll see the Foresight
Leadership Institute.
(21:44):
Go check it out and see ifperhaps it is a resource that
would help you, would help yourteam and keep giving you the
tools you need to succeed as aleader.
All right, friends, I am sothrilled you joined me today.
Thank you for listening to theLeap Culture podcast.
We have just released a surveyfor everybody who is engaged
(22:07):
with Foresight in some way oranother, and I would love for
you to fill that out.
So we'll make sure there's alink to that in the show notes,
because we wanna hear what'sworking for you from 4Sight.
We celebrated our seventhanniversary our seventh birthday
, I guess, as an organizationearly this month, and so we are
trying to learn and grow andkeep serving you well.
(22:30):
And so either just email mepodcast at get4sightcom and I'll
send you the link to the survey, just to put survey in the
subject line, or it'll be in theshow notes for you to link
through and if you take thatsurvey for us, we actually have
seven really fabulous giftswe're randomly giving away to
people who take the survey, sothere's a little incentive there
to you know, get entered into,win one of those gifts, because
(22:54):
your feedback is a huge gift tous.
That would be a great seventhbirthday present to me if you
would share and give us feedbackin the survey.
All right, my friends, thank youfor joining us today.
Email me a podcast atgetforesightcom.
Let me know how we can serveyou better.
Connect with us on Instagramand Facebook at get4sight, and I
(23:16):
would love it if you wouldshare this episode with another
leader.
Maybe there's another leader onyour team who you know would
benefit from thinking throughtheir priorities.
Maybe they get stuck in theadministrative rabbit hole, like
all of us do from time to time,and this would just help them
think differently about how toprioritize their work.
Share it with them, leave us areview.
I would so appreciate that, andthen I will see you back next
(23:40):
week for more from LEAD Culture.
So keep leading well.
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