The Covey Center for Leadership surveyed over 400 executives, business owners, and entrepreneurs and discovered that the average business leader works a 72 hour week. In a joint poll, Gallup and Wells Fargo found that 57% of small business owners work six days a week with over 20% working all seven days.
On the personal side, there are countless studies showing that the average person in the US watches over five hours of television a day and spends around three hours on their smartphone every day as well. Most people complain about time but when you take an in depth look at where time actually goes, the truth might not be as easy for some to accept. Even if you were twice as productive than that average, it’s still approximately four hours a day gone by. Another study which focused on the average workweek showed 1.8 hours lost in handling low value requests from co-workers, 1.8 hours on putting out preventable fires, 3.9 hours escaping through streaming videos or checking social media. Which means approximately 5 hours a day or as much as 200 hours every month is time not well spent. Again, if you were twice as good as the average, that’s still 100 hours a month gone! Consider if you were four times better, that’s still 25 hours.
Believe it or not, most time challenges that occur aren’t about being “too busy” or “not having enough”. It is about how we choose to spend the time we have, what we choose as a priority, or determine as important and urgent enough for our attention. After all, if you cut off your finger, had foot rot, or got bit by a poisonous snake, chances are, you’d have time to go to the hospital without so much as a seconds thought… Of course, you could argue that you don’t watch five hours of TV, or that you limit your phone usage and don’t play candy crush.
You could even justify that your time is maxed out or that there is nothing you can do. Our response to any of this is quite simple; If you believe you can do absolutely nothing about it, then yes, nothing will make a difference. Alternatively, doing a brief time audit and self-analysis could surprise you. The lesson in these averages can transform the way you use your time right now, but only if you are willing to challenge yourself. YES, there are many things we must do but there are also many things we select to do while feeling victimized by our own choices. We cannot simply complain that we don’t have time when our actions communicate the reality. Ask yourself, If I say yes to this, what am I really saying no to?
Time Audit Worksheet
Complete the following table by tracking how you use your time over a 7-day period. Be honest and as specific, and as accurate as possible with yourself. Be as detailed as you wish to be however, be conscious that this activity is designed to discover the current reality of where your time is going. It is not designed to overwhelm you or to add more to the already full plate. Challenge yourself to audit where your time goes. Hold yourself accountable to what you discover and decide how you want to spend your precious moments. You can choose to get up, or hit that snooze button. Challenge yourself to maximize the time you have. You can have excuses, or you can have results, but you can’t have both. The choice is ultimately yours.
For more information, or support on your teams productivity, contact your coach, email info@InvictusLV.com or call 702-527-2186
