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There is a Limit to How Much You Can Put on a Calendar

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This Isn’t the Same for a List

Last week’s post was about using lists and calendars for making plans. We talked about how your planning is up to you, but if you do nothing … nothing will get done. You can have the best laid plans, but life happens.

You can choose to do no planning and just take things as they come. This haphazard process gives control of your life to others. Or you can plan with so much detail that when things do happen that aren’t part of your plans, everything falls apart. Flexible rigidity is where planning and change can work together.

Calendars and lists are two separate things with two separate purposes.

A list is a place to keep track of things so that you don’t forget them. It’s a good place to prioritize tasks. Lists can be on paper or on the computer. I prefer lists on my computer. I find it easier to modify than paper. Not to mention that I always have my tablet and phone close by. Using OneNote for lists allows me to easily move things up or down in importance as situations change. I can also check things off when they’re done.

I break big goals down into smaller, first next step things. Then I move the small, first next step things to this week’s list and then from that list to today’s list. After doing this from a variety of different lists I now have a list of things that I want to do today to stay on track.

Okay, now we have a list of things to do. If time wasn’t a factor, we could just start going down the list in order…

But time is limited.  

This is where the calendar and a clock come into play.

Like lists, I can choose what I put on my calendar and when I schedule it. The difference is the limited time. I can’t be in two places doing two different things at the same time.

A lot of people view a calendar the same way they view a budget. It’s restrictive and restraining. I, on the other hand, see both as freeing. The same way a budget gives you control over your money; a calendar gives you control of your time. There is a limited amount of time, and you need to spend it wisely.

If you take care of the minutes, the hours will take care of themselves. It is a choice.

My calendar is on my computer for the same reasons that my lists are. It makes it easy to move things around and I always have it close by.

A good example of the ease and simplicity of rescheduling something on my computer calendar happened this morning. I had a meeting scheduled with a concrete contractor this morning at 11:00. The job site was 30 minutes away, so I had travel time scheduled at 10:30. I expected the meeting to take 30 minutes. So, I scheduled travel time back to the office at 11:00.

I got a text from the contractor at 9:40 AM. He was waiting on concrete to be delivered on the project he was working on. He needed to move our meeting to tomorrow at 10:00 AM.

With three simple drags and drops, the travel and meeting were rescheduled. I know that this can be done with an eraser and a pencil on a paper calendar, but it’s not as simple.

One thing I like most about a computer calendar over a paper one is the audible reminders. Granted, sometimes these can be a pest, but isn’t that the point? If we don’t want to be bothered … why even put it on a calendar or a list in the first place?

Ultimately, all of this is a choice. You have the power to control your own life.

Lists and calendars are two different things that can work together. You can put as many things as you want on a list. This isn’t the same for a calendar.

You just need to figure out what works for you and do it. This comes down to being intentional and taking action. It isn’t going to be perfect, but if you keep working on it, it will get better.

If you are feeling lost with your lists and calendar and would like to talk more about how I do it you can schedule a consulting call here.

God Spoke to Me This Morning

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But Did I Hear Him Over the Noise?

We are constantly bombarded by worldly noise. It is so easy to get sucked into the dark hole of TV, internet, social media, etc. We are surrounded by people yelling and wanting to be heard. These things can pull our attention from the things that really matter if we’re not careful.

It’s easy to be pulled into the noise of the world.

“An honest man is being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard! Suddenly, the light turns yellow just in front of him. He does the honest thing and stops at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hits the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she misses her chance to get through the intersection with him. As she is still in mid-rant, she hears a tap on her window and looks up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer orders her to exit her car with her hands up. He takes her to the police station where she is searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approaches the cell and opens the door. She is escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting
officer is waiting with her personal effects. He says, “I’m very sorry for this mistake.

You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bumper sticker, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.” Joke Buddha

The things we do and say represent who we truly are.

We forget how powerful our words and action are. God spoke and the earth was formed. Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 29 God spoke to Abram and a nation was born. God spoke the Word and humanity was redeemed through Jesus. Our words are powerful, after all, we’re made in God’s image.

“In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.” John 1:1-5 We need to use this Light and stay out of the darkness.

It’s hard to believe that God speaks to us, but He does. God speaks to us in what we read, listen to, watch, and associate with. He speaks through us by what we write, say and how we act.

The question is not if God speaks to us. The question is if we’re listening.

Deciding What Should Be First on The List

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It’s Amazing How Things Become Clear with A Limited Amount of Time

 

There are so many things trying to get on the “to do” list and each one competing for the top position. Deciding which one should get that spot is tough. There are so many great and important things that we need or want to do.


It’s easy to say that we have limited time, but hard to actually schedule that way.


My computer’s battery is not lasting as long as it did when it was new. Recently while working out of the office, without the power cord, I had 2-3 things that I wanted to get done before the computer shut down. This limited time forced me to sort and prioritize them.


How do we decide what to say yes to? 


Emergency situations often require triage. This is the process of prioritizing patients’ treatments based on the severity of their condition and the resources available. In these situations, victims are divided into three categories.

 

  • Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive;
  • Those who are unlikely to live, regardless of what care they receive:
  • Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.

 

These choices aren’t easy and often require a quick “gut decision”. A pre-determined system, training and experience aid in the process and provide for the greatest number of survivors.


Another life and death choice is deciding who gets a transplant when there are a limited number of organ donations available. Take for example a set of twins who both need a liver transplant and their father has one liver to give. Which little girl gets it? The early thoughts of a father would be to give half to each. The problem with this, half would help neither. The final decision will be determined by which one needs it most or which one is most likely to survive.

 


Most of the choices that we make in business aren’t this critical…or are they? The decisions we make can mean life or death for our business.

 

In medical life or death situations there is a system and plan in place before hand. This same type of system should be implemented in our business. We should predetermine how we are going to choose the most important thing to the life of our business. This is where things get hard.

 


What makes one thing more important than another?


 

What should be the highest priority? Should it be production or proposals, record keeping or customer service, marketing or staff? We’re faced with tough decisions in business every day.

 


I can’t answer this question for you, but I’m tired of struggling with this dilemma and plan to design and implement a “business triage” system going forward.


What will give my business the highest chance for survival?

How to Be More Intentional About Being on Time to Meetings with Myself

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My Time Is Just as Important As Anyone Else’s

 

Scheduling and planning accurately are a difficult (practically impossible) thing to get right. This includes not keeping appointments with ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I’m much more intentional about being on time to a meeting with someone else…not so much when I’m meeting with me.


We’ve all been given a limited amount of time; we need to spend it wisely!


How we choose to spend our time is going to vary for each of us. What we spend it on is not the issue. The problem is not a lack of time, it’s a lack of control. Why is it that if we have a day full of meetings and appointments we can make it to all of them on time, but if we fill our day with tasks and projects that don’t involve anyone but ourselves we are running late after the first thing?


Here are three major things that can cause schedules to go wrong:


Things take longer than planned – We have all experienced things taking twice as long, or more, to do than we expected. This is called the Planning Fallacy. This is a phenomenon in which predictions about how long something will take to complete is underestimated. Parkinson’s Law is when we underestimate the time needed as a way of accomplishing more. If I think something should take four hours and then tell myself that I can do it in two, I will get it done faster than if I tell myself I have all day, even if it still takes five. We focus more and work harder when there’s a deadline.

 


Too many things on the list – This is another common problem. Most of us have said yes to too many things. There are so many good things that we need or want to do. The more things we think about the harder it is to focus on one thing. This, like the previous point, pushes us harder to get the things on the list done, even though we know we won’t be able to do them all. Having too many things on the list leads me to the next cause for schedules to go wrong.

 


Distractions and interruptions – Our busy lives are full of these, whether self-inflicted or from outside sources. In this fast-paced digital age, there has never been more opportunities to be distracted. The previous two things are more internal than this one. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have any control, it just means that it often comes from outside sources. These can play havoc on our schedules if we allow them.


You can choose to manage your time better or not…it’s up to you.

 

Managing how I spend my time is up to me. If I’m going to manage it better, first I have to decide that’s what I want to do. Second, I need to consider who I am and what works best for me. Third will require developing a system that works for me.


The flexibility of a digital calendar is nice, but I’ve noticed recently that it’s much easier for me to move things back when it’s a meeting with myself rather than someone else.

 


There’s no perfect system for scheduling and planning, but my time is as valuable as anyone’s. I need to be intentional about how I spend it and be on time to the meetings I’ve scheduled with myself.


It’s up to me!

 

Links to similar Solutions:

How to Live A Well-Balanced Life

How to Get Your Puzzle Pieces to Fit

How to Achieve Your Desired Life Results

 

 

Christmas Is About Giving, Business Should Be Too

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How Do We Know What to Give Without A List?

Last week I wrote about the coming new year and our excitement about the possibilities and opportunities it will present. This week I’m going to back up just a little (chronologically) to focus on Christmas (considering that it is just a few days away).

Christmas at its very foundation means giving. “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not be lost but have eternal life.” John 3:16, ERV. We’re talking about the ultimate gift. The giving of His child to be mistreated and ultimately killed on a cross. This Holiday is the celebration of that Child’s birth.

“God created humans in His own image. He created them to be like himself.” Genesis 1:27 ERV. If we have been created in His image, then shouldn’t we be willing to give. Isn’t this a part of who we have been put here on earth to be?

What does giving look like in business?

It doesn’t mean we do work for free. It doesn’t mean that if we win the customer loses or the other way around. Business isn’t supposed to be a win-lose arrangement. It can and should be a win-win.

Once again, this last week I met with another couple in the middle of a remodeling project that has taken a bad turn…they had to fire their contractor. What should have been the fulfilling of their dream turned into a nightmare. This was primarily due to a breakdown in communication. As professional builders, or businesses of any kind, this responsibility is ours. This is such a big problem. I have written about it as much or more than any other.

Here are links to some of those “Weekly Solutions”:

So, how do we know what it is that the customer wants? WE ASK THEM

This seems to be a no brainer, but for whatever reason the question doesn’t get asked, not really. The basics get discussed and everybody thinks they know what the outcome is going to be, but some where in the process things go off track. It takes time and effort to dig deep and find the underlying dream. This is critical to the project being a win-win.

It’s like finding out what a child wants for Christmas. Sure, we can go get them a gift and it might be something they like but, the odds aren’t very good. Or, we can have them fill out a Christmas list. If we don’t understand something on the list, we can ask and get some clarity before the process starts or money is spent.

Have the customer fill out a “Christmas List” for their project before moving forward.

To the point of having a list filled out…I need a list filled out to help determine the best direction for Solution Building going forward. I have a lot of ideas, but your input will help me know what would be the most beneficial to helping you build your dreams.

Please share your thoughts, questions, ideas or dreams in the comments below. This will help me know what gifts I can give you.

If you would prefer you can give me your list by taking this short 8 question survey.