Gino's Tips on Time Management

  “To know and not to do is really not to know.” – Stephen R. Covey

Actually, to know and not to do is probably worse than not knowing, since if we choose not to do what we know—and that we know will improve our business—then we have squandered our investment of time, money, and effort in the learning!

As we worked through Buffini Peak Producers training in the Keystone, Fishers, and Lafayette offices this year, all of the brokers involved in the classes recognized that Buffini’s methods and systems will absolutely, without a doubt, enhance anyone’s business when they’re implemented. We also all recognize that the real struggle is in the ongoing implementation of these great tools and systems—ie, to KNOW and DO!

So, it’s time for a refresher from Gino Blefari, CEO of HSF Affiliates, and his 63 Points on Time Management he presented at our Annual Business Conference last year. Gino recognized this stumbling block that impacts nearly everyone and urged us to take control of our time and actions. Here are his first ten points:

1.  As you go through these points on time management, don’t think about whether you’ve heard them before. Think about whether you’re applying the discipline to implement them.
Wow, we all know how true this is!

2.  There are fundamental steps to great time management. Put these steps into daily practice and you won’t believe how much you can accomplish in a regular workday.
We’ve all probably done this before and know how true it is . . . so the key is how to stick with it!

3.  Email is there for your convenience. If it’s not convenient, don’t answer it—or even look at it!! Guilty! I’ve just started closing my email server on my laptop when I’m working on something and only checking a few times a day. Not easy but I realize how much time I waste running through email, 98% of which is of no importance in my business.

4.  If you touch it, take action.
Time management 101! If you can do this, you will immediately be more productive!

5.  If you spend just 15 minutes per day to revisit, readdress, or reread documents or emails, you will waste 97 hours per year where no action is taken.
The consequence of not doing number 4—and more than 2 weeks of work!

6.  The key to great email management is to institute a policy where you use—and request—very descriptive subject lines for all emails.
Wow, what a great idea! Let’s do it!

7.  When the subject of the email changes, the subject line on the email also changes. This is critical. Another fabulous idea! Come on, let’s do it!

8.  Concentration is like a muscle and it strengthens as you concentrate more. If you stop concentrating every time an email comes in or the phone rings, you actually lessen your ability to concentrate and you become less effective in any situation that requires concentration. This really means there is no such thing as productive “multi-tasking.”
Gino reminded us that if we try to catch 2 rabbits, we catch neither one! So true, and we all know it don’t we?

9.  If you don’t keep a list, you are most likely a very reactive person.
Another time management 101 point! And Evernote is the perfect way to keep your list and never lose it plus have with you all the time!

10. Keeping a list will double your productivity right away.
So true, so let’s give it a try!

So, are you ready to KNOW and DO?

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

Time Management & Productivity: Don't Forget to Manage Your Energy as Well as Your Time!

We’ve addressed Time Management and Productivity in The Coach’s Playbook before—and it’s still one of the most important yet least consistently implemented ways a person can improve their business and their life. The Peak Producers’ approach of working on those Big Rocks First, that is, the CEO/Rainmaker activities that help you build your business for the long term—those calls, handwritten notes, coffees and, yes, even those “pop-by’s”—while filling in the pebbles and sand of returning client phone calls, reading emails, and doing the paperwork that keeps our clients delighted with our service. (You don’t play Pokemon Go, do you?)

Most of these discussions and ideas for time management and productivity, though, don’t address what’s probably the most important element of how we handle and process our daily activities, both business and personal: our energy levels.

First of all, Buffini suggests there are five “wells” of energy from which we draw each day. The five wells are: Spiritual, Family, Business, Financial, and Personal. It’s a good idea to take a few minutes and consider whether each of our tanks are on full, three-quarters, half, or even on Empty, and how that impacts our attitudes and abilities.

It’s also important to remember that our energy is a dynamic resource—it wants to move and flow rather than sit idly in the tank. If we don’t control our energy and its flow, it will go somewhere anyway! So, give some thought to the following ENERGY DRAINERS, ENERGY GIVERS, and ENERGY SUSTAINERS:

ENERGY DRAINERS

            Fear—False Evidence Appearing Real! The best counter: have a detailed plan!

            Worry—how do you approach problem solving, both short and long term?

            Indecision—does it take you a long time to reach a decision? Do you overthink things?

            Drama—so much of this is available to us in this business! As Dr. Phil might say: what’s in it for you?

            Personal Conflict—how is your personal life complementing or interfering with your business?

            Poor Physical Condition—remember Gino’s M.E.D.S!

            Lack of Direction—do you have written goals—both personal and business—and are they S.M.A.R.T. goals?

ENERGY GIVERS

            Associations—the folks you hang out with and the things you do have a huge impact on your energy levels. Choose wisely!

            Mental Intake—the books you read or the games you play.

            Taking Care of Yourself—again, remember Gino’s M.E.D.S!

            Alignment of Values—do your life and work reflect your personal values?

            Written Goals—yes, those with written goals are statistically far more successful than those without them!

ENERGY SUSTAINERS

            Tracking Your Progress—yep, in detail so you know where you are and can celebrate success or add course corrections.

            Visual Anchors—consider a vision board with photos of your BIG WHY—why are you doing all this? Retirement in five years? Send the kids to Harvard? Tour India and China or buy a new carbon fiber bike? Put it on your wall and keep it as a shiny carrot!

            Consistency—the tortoise ALWAYS wins the race. ALWAYS!

            Taking a Break—daily, weekly, annually, take a break to recharge your energy level so you can knock it out of the park when you’re “on.”

            Accountability—yep, again tracking your progress toward those written goals—and that vision board—and remembering it’s you who is in charge. You are the boss of you.

So how are your energy levels? Remember, our energy will absolutely go somewhere . . . Make sure YOU choose where it goes!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

Kaizen: Constant Learning Part 2: Empty Space

In our last Playbook, we shared the first part of a great blog post from Inc. Magazine by Michael Simmons entitled “Why Constant Learners All Embrace the 5-Hour Rule.” The piece reminds us that Ben Franklin, who never complete formal schooling, devoted an hour a day—5 hours a week--to “deliberate learning.” Today, we conclude Simmons’s blog post as he takes us further into the Kaizen approach of continuous—and “deliberate”—learning as he digs into what he calls the concept of “Empty Space:”
 

So what would it look like to make the five-hour rule part of our lifestyle? The core concept of the five-hour rule: empty space

To find out, we need look no further than chess grandmaster and world-champion martial artist Josh Waitzkin. Instead of squeezing his days for the maximum productivity, he's actually done the opposite. Waitzkin, who also authored The Art of Learning, purposely creates slack in his day so he has "empty space" for learning, creativity, and doing things at a higher quality. Here's his explanation of this approach from a recent Tim Ferriss podcast episode:

"I have built a life around having empty space for the development of my ideas for the creative process. And for the cultivation of a physiological state which is receptive enough to tune in very, very deeply to people I work with ... In the creative process, it's so easy to drive for efficiency and take for granted the really subtle internal work that it takes to play on that razor's edge."

Adding slack to our day allows us to:

1. Plan out the learning. This allows us to think carefully about what we want to learn. We shouldn't just have goals for what we want to accomplish. We should also have goals for what we want to learn.

2. Deliberately practice. Rather than doing things automatically and not improving, we can apply the proven principles of deliberate practice so we keep improving. This means doing things like taking time to get honest feedback on our work and practicing specific skills we want to improve.

3. Ruminate. This helps us get more perspective on our lessons learned and assimilate new ideas. It can also help us develop slow hunches in order to have creative breakthroughs. Walking is a great way to process these insights, as shown by many greats who were or are walking fanatics, from Beethoven and Charles Darwin toSteve Jobs and Jack Dorsey. Another powerful way is through conversation partners.

4. Set aside time just for learning. This includes activities like reading, having conversations, participating in a mastermind, taking classes, observing others, etc.

5. Solve problems as they arise. When most people experience problems during the day, they sweep them under the rug so that they can continue their to-do list. Having slack creates the space to address small problems before they turn into big problems.

6. Do small experiments with big potential payoffs. Whether or not an experiment works, it's an opportunity to learn and test your ideas.
 

For many people, their professional day is measured by how much they get done. As a result, they speed through the day and slow down their improvement rate.

The five-hour rule flips the equation by focusing on learning first.

To see the implication of this, let's look at a sales call (note: replace "sales call" with any activity you do repeatedly).

Most professionals do a little research before the call, have the call, and then save their notes and move on.

Somebody with a learning focus would think through which skill to practice on the call, practice it on the call, and then reflect on the lessons learned. If that person really wanted an extra level of learning, he or she would invite a colleague on the call and have the colleague provide honest feedback afterward.

Embracing a learning lifestyle means that every time we make a sales call, we get better at doing sales calls. Focusing on learning un-automates our behaviors so we can keep improving them rather than plateauing. Every event is an opportunity to improve.

By focusing on learning as a lifestyle, we get so much more done over the long term.

So, are you ready to embrace the five-hour rule?
 

How about reading a book a week to get started? Even though he's the richest man in the world and could afford to hire an army of teachers and consultants, Bill Gates still reads a book a week. In a 2016 New York Times interview, he said, "Reading is still the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding."

So, how about reading a book a week? Or even just reading a book for five hours a week and sharing what we learn? I’d love to hear what you’re reading as you continue to improve!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development