Note: This is an excerpt from the book Think Huge: Elevating Your Life and Your Business
Let’s be honest with each other: stuff happens. We get so busy with our jobs or daily tasks that we don’t leave enough time for people. We have to allow time for the unexpected.
I tend to struggle with this. I come to work with a “To Do” list that is 20 items deep. I immediately check my e-mails and voicemails, get entranced by the computer and start working on marking off those tasks. Then two hours later I look up and realize I haven’t even said “hello” to my employees! Ouch—what kind of leader is that?
Heaven forbid we’re in the middle of one of our all important tasks and one of our employees walks in and needs a few minutes of our time to talk. That’s hard. But it is reality.
In Massage Today, author Perry Isenberg noted, “You need to leave some time available for when the unexpected or ‘unplanned’ happens—and it will, more often than you think. I believe it’s important to be flexible and ‘pad’ some time in your schedule for the unexpected.”
We are all juggling a great deal. We tend to not leave time for interruptions. And many of these interruptions are necessary. Don’t juggle so much that you don’t take time for the unexpected and for people.
People can sense when they’re “bothering” us or when they don’t have our full attention. If a person interrupts one of the tasks you are doing, put aside that task and give them your undivided attention. The project will be there when they’re gone. It’s not going anywhere. Will you accomplish it faster because of the interruption? No, but you will communicate to that person that they are more important.
As you are putting your task list together, give yourself wiggle room for those interruptions. If your list is so long you will need every minute to accomplish it, then you may need to cut back on your list. You can’t make your task list so long that you don’t have time for people.
Think Huge!
Let’s be honest with each other: stuff happens. We get so busy with our jobs or daily tasks that we don’t leave enough time for people. We have to allow time for the unexpected.
I tend to struggle with this. I come to work with a “To Do” list that is 20 items deep. I immediately check my e-mails and voicemails, get entranced by the computer and start working on marking off those tasks. Then two hours later I look up and realize I haven’t even said “hello” to my employees! Ouch—what kind of leader is that?
Heaven forbid we’re in the middle of one of our all important tasks and one of our employees walks in and needs a few minutes of our time to talk. That’s hard. But it is reality.
In Massage Today, author Perry Isenberg noted, “You need to leave some time available for when the unexpected or ‘unplanned’ happens—and it will, more often than you think. I believe it’s important to be flexible and ‘pad’ some time in your schedule for the unexpected.”
We are all juggling a great deal. We tend to not leave time for interruptions. And many of these interruptions are necessary. Don’t juggle so much that you don’t take time for the unexpected and for people.
People can sense when they’re “bothering” us or when they don’t have our full attention. If a person interrupts one of the tasks you are doing, put aside that task and give them your undivided attention. The project will be there when they’re gone. It’s not going anywhere. Will you accomplish it faster because of the interruption? No, but you will communicate to that person that they are more important.
As you are putting your task list together, give yourself wiggle room for those interruptions. If your list is so long you will need every minute to accomplish it, then you may need to cut back on your list. You can’t make your task list so long that you don’t have time for people.
Think Huge!
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