The most valuable time management tool I know is this: Be present!
“80 percent of success is turning up”- Woody Allen.
In my early days as a young Naval Officer, we continually had this phrase drilled into us:
“You must be there in the right place, at the right time, in the right kit.”
It has followed me, in my mind, throughout the whole of my business life. And it has served me well.
The first step in making the most of every day is to “turn up”.
And when it comes to “turning up” each day, similarly I don’t just mean being there… but actually being there in fully focused mode
– with the right attitude: to the business of the day, to your colleagues, to your clients
– committed to achieving results; with the focus on productivity, not just going through the motions.
In other words, being truly present.
Have you noticed how most people are continually ‘somewhere else’. At the office they are wishing they were at home with their family/partner; and when at home with the family/partner, they are thinking about all the things that need to be done back at the office.
This absence becomes the habit, the default mode of thinking, and manifests in many ways… they are always running late (and there’s always an external reason), they always have to be somewhere else, unable to stay to the end of whatever is happening – a meeting, conference, and so on. They have to cut short calls, zoom meetings, and events, and cut corners so they can quickly shift to somewhere else. And they are exhausted by it all! The adrenalin climbs, and with it the problem too.
I’m sure I am preaching to the converted here. Yet how often do people arrive at the office thinking, and sometimes saying out loud, “I hate Mondays”, or “I wish it was Friday”. Even in jest such phrases trigger a whole mindset of wishing to be elsewhere doing something else.
And each day, the lack of real presence is evident as the quagmire of reactivity is all around, driven by gadgetry, notifications, alerts and alarms, begging for our attention to the next thing.
Let’s switch on the necktop computer before we switch on the laptop. Yes, the most powerful gadget in your armoury. Time to engage the brain and work out what is to be done for the day. The VisualisACTION techniques certainly help as they create the proactive achievement, present mindset.
Take a moment at the start of each day to realise the value of having the whole day stretching in front of you. Create this extra space at the start of the day to send a signal that you are in control. If you rush in and immediately fire up the inbox, you are straight into reactive mode. Most people are merely Inbox Jockeys.
Instead, we want to be proactive, and our mindset must match that.
This can only be achieved if we are Present.
And it’s by doing this that our true Presence increases.
And it’s through our Presence that we enjoy happiness, impact, and fulfilment.
