It’s a busy life, one full of urgent demands and competing priorities.  As it unfolds around us like a motion picture within which we are real-life actors, those relentless activities will fill up all available Head Space, but only if we allow that to happen.  Contrary to how it feels at times, we have the ability to choose, to prioritize and to control how time is utilized.

Creating Head Space is not a matter of time management; it’s priority management.

At the center of our active mind is the reality that the urgent is highly adept at squeezing out the truly important; like the tide, it keeps coming at us in waves.  If you are a leader of others, in addition to yourself, speed accelerates and creates an ever-greater sense of urgency.  So what can be done about throttling this, if we so choose?

I’ve discovered that there are three big questions (and some related sub-questions) worth asking, if we are willing to answer honestly and then tie actions to those answers:

• Why am I the one performing this time-consuming thing?
  • Am I the team member best equipped for this task?
  • Is it possible that I am the only one who can or should perform it?
  • Is there a mission-critical reason that this must be done right now?  (There may be, but many times the urgency is not as great as we prefer to believe.)
• How can I adjust what happens when?
  • Is there a better way to approach truly strategic work, the things that will move our business and our lives to a better place?
  • Will time-blocking enable me to create sharp focus that effectively utilizes head space and computing power, instead of filling it with clutter that otherwise will consume every nook and cranny?
  • Will I commit to protecting the head space needed to accomplish important work?
• What are my biggest priorities, the Big Rocks that I want to move?
  • Am I willing to pause, to think deeply and search for the path I want to follow?
  • Can I outline and then plan the activities which will move me forward?
  • Will I commit to the required actions and ongoing debriefs, while holding myself and others accountable for the outcomes we believe are important.

Reclaiming Head Space can feel a bit like clearing overgrown property.  It’s difficult work early on but the benefits soon become visible; eventually the horizon comes into view.  The only way that happens, however, is when you make a uniquely personal Decision to Act!

Tempus Maximize!