TIME BULIMIA

Time Management Skills Fail Most People

About a year ago Ellen Goodman, the fabulous writer from the Boston Globe, coined the phrase “time bulimia.” Basically, she wrote about people who believe that they will have more time in the future. So, they schedule appointments, social events or work in the future thinking there will be more time at that point. Of course the problem is that there really isn’t more time in the future. If you are busy today, you’ll be busy next week, next month or next year.
The bulimic part begins when people reach that date and begin to re-arrange their calendars or just cancel events that are causing overload. The dinner with a friend gets pushed back a couple of weeks; a work deadline requires an extension; or a day off gets postponed until the project is closer to completion. The magic of thinking more time will exist in the future never happens and people realize they are just as short in time then as they were in the past.
Time is consumed in major chunks. Twenty-five years ago, experts thought people would have more leisure time because of new technology and higher productivity. What the experts missed that fewer people would be responsible for economic growth and the rest would be working more hours in order to keep up financially. And, prior to 1995, no one saw the Internet as a powerful time consumer that medium has become.
So people “grind it out” daily trying to balance work, social and personal time. Most people are resigned to giving something up, for example fitness or social life. Of course, few people readily admit that too much of their time is consumed by non-productive activities such as TV. Studies that look at TV behavior have already linked higher amount of hours of viewing to lower wages and poor performance in school. TV viewing is a hard habit to break.
One thing that was “nice” about school: as the semester/year ended so did your commitments to that course (or grade). If you didn’t get finished reading the textbook or fully complete all the assignments, it didn’t matter because time had run out and it was over. You took your grade and moved on. Unfortunately, the “real” world isn’t so accommodating. Work just continues.
People need to practice the skills of time management to regain control over their days. (For example, if you are a TV viewer, record your shows on your VCR or Tivo and watch them later. Fast forwarding through commercials and highlights will save you an average of 15 minutes per hour. You still get to enjoy your programs and if you watch 3 hours a day, you just got a refund of 45 minutes or more.) Here are some ideas to help regain some control:
1) Make quality choices; much of our “free” time is consumed by trying to make “perfect choices” instead of “quality choices.” Because our funds are limited, we try to buy things that we think will be the most satisfying, utilitarian and sometimes the most unique. That time spent searching for perfection is both a time-waster and generally leads to long-term disappointment with the choice.
2) Keep a journal and make entries that include how disruptions may have altered your day and what most disappointed you about plans that needed to be re-scheduled or cancelled. Be sure to include how much time was spent that represented a balance between work, family, friends and personal time. Note any surprises and your ideas for tomorrow that may make a difference. Finally, consider a strategy that includes different ways to utilize time.
3) Use benchmarks to gauge how successful you are in achieving goals that you believe are important. Most experts believe the best way to measure progress is incremental and not the entire goal at once. Set up stages for measuring your progress and determine how close you are by your benchmarks. This is nothing fancy and doesn’t require software or a personal coach, just some planning on your part. And the more you practice this skill the better you will become in gauging benchmarks and degrees of success.
4) Limit your interruptions as they have multiple implications on your time. First, the interruption stops progress on your tasks. Second, there’s the time lost as you attend to the interruption. And third, there’s the time needed to re-capture the momentum to get back to the tasks abandoned earlier. Many times, those tasks get postponed or become a burden for another day. Take a hint from college professors: schedule office hours; also, tell your family how much time you need before you are ready to give them undivided attention.
5) Learn to say “No.” Take on tasks that you really believe fit your time frames and your personal level of knowledge and talents. If you are short on time, now’s not a good time to learn to play golf for the company fund raiser next month. Offer to do some behind the scenes work instead. Taking on assignments that require a high amount of preparation and time should be avoided (unless they are the difference between employment and not being employed; then those assignments become priorities).
6) Finally, learn how to delegate. Delegation is not telling someone to do something. There should be procedures or guidelines in place that provide direction for the person doing the task. Also, make sure that the person chosen for the task can actually do the task. There’s no time savings if you need to stop what you are doing to coach a person doing the task. And if it is done incorrectly, either you have to fix it or take the blame for a poor job. Either way, you lost time.
Time bulimia is not necessary even in our harried lives. Pick out a few activities that you enjoy and limit adding new activities. At your workplace, seek teamwork and look for ways to create synergy with others.

Technical skill is mastery of complexity while creativity is mastery of simplicity.

--- E. C. Zeeman

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

WOMEN DOMINATE CAMPUS; 2006 CEO EXODUS

Women Dominating College Graduation Rates

The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do. --- B.F. Skinner
At the time Skinner made that observation his use of the word “men” was generic for both sexes. Today, it literally means men. Women now comprise two-thirds of all college graduates. Girls dominate standardized test results such as reading comprehension and math proficiency. And at the University of California higher education system, professional preparation has seen a drop in male enrollments since 1976. For example, medicine dropped from 78 to 47 percent, law from 64 to 44 percent and veterinary medicine from 72 to 23 percent.
Experts have many reasons why women are doing so much better than men in school at any age. I believe that the expectations placed on women and girls are higher by both parents and teachers than the expectations for boys and men. Beyond sports, I don’t think many parents expect much from their sons beyond sports and related male behaviors. (I know; a broad generalization but how else do you explain a 33 percent college graduation rate?).
Another consideration is the abrupt overhaul of the US economy. Boys would graduate from high school and find high paying manufacturing or agricultural jobs that would provide long term financial security. Today, over 90 percent of the available jobs are in the service industry and many of those jobs require a college degree. Plus, the prospect of long term employment has nearly evaporated. It may take another generation or two before boys and their parents realize the importance of education and apply discipline and focus to the same degree as girls.
From a sociological standpoint, are women ready to assume the role of head of household or the primary provider? There has been some indications that women actually discriminate against men who do not produce at least as much income as they can. Women may “pick up” a good looking and fit male who is under-employed but they have no intentions of a long term relationship. An interesting role reversal for dating that will have more men experiencing the “cruelties of romance.” This is an area of social reform for educators to watch and discuss.
In summary, change in the domination of graduation rates for women over men will occur when parents get involved. This is not to say that women will be less successful. Men will eventually catch up and attempt to create a balance.

Did you know that the ratio of twin deliveries (per 100 births) has increased from 29 to 32 percent since 1999? You are not seeing double because of bad vision; there are more twins!

CEOs Abandoning Companies

Either these people are getting paid too much or the job is getting too tough. Regardless of the reason, CEOs are departing companies at a record shattering pace and could exceed 1500 leaving before the end of the year (over 1300 quit in 2005). On average, 6 CEOs quit every day despite the pay, perks and benefits.
Since 1990, the average salary for employees in the US when adjusted for inflation is $27,000. During the same time frame, CEOs’ average pay has risen from $2.8 million to over $11 million. The CEOs of the top 350 major US companies are paid $4.1 billion, an increase of 23 percent since 2004. Salary, perks and benefits tower over the average employee and the discrepancies are more than in every other industrialized nation.
The real problem for companies is finding quality leaders. Many CEOs are hired because of some instance of his or her past history that leads the search committee to believe the person is magical and can turn around a company. Unfortunately, these retreads cannot reproduce the magic. Instead of using his or her experience to develop a group of internal managers to be leaders, they tend to run a company further into financial trouble.
This persona of a hero riding into town to save the day can be called the John Wayne Syndrome. No offense to the actor who dominated the movie industry for so many years; it’s more of a reference to the characters of his movies. The townspeople would live in fear of the local bad guy until the “big guy” rides into town, engages in a few skirmishes and finally wins in the big showdown. Who doesn’t like the traditional good over evil story?
But business isn’t about good and evil; it’s about people and products. Until companies make the commitment to leadership and excellence, they’ll still be out there looking for the “white hat cowboy.”

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

NO JOBS FOR OLDER MEN

Healthcare Costs Affects Hiring of Men

Some interesting numbers released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows how companies are staying away from hiring men during the years they are most likely to have heart attacks, stroke or cancer: ages 55 to 64. Women, during the same years of age, are more likely to be hired and that number has been steadily rising since 1980.
For example, in 1980, men ages 55 to 59 found 82 percent working while women, same age, were 49 percent. By 2005, the numbers were 78 and 66 percent respectively. More dramatic were the numbers from ages 60 to 64. In 1980, 61 percent of men and 33 percent of women were working. By 2005, the numbers were 58 and 46 respectively.
In essence, companies are “betting” that women are a cheaper workforce, that is less likely to have costly medical needs, lost work time and productivity and possibly less cost in wages.. Companies are forcing men into early retirement and putting women in the uncomfortable role of primary wage earner and “head of household.”
But, the story doesn’t end at this point because the trends reverse after age 65. First, men and women are now eligible for Medicare and other government subsidies such as a prescription plan and social security. Hence, the onus of medical coverage and higher pay is off the businesses’ “back.” Men in the workforce have increased from 19 to 20 percent since 1980 (while not a staggering increase consider that 1 in 5 men supposedly retired are now working). Women workforce participation has also increased since 1980 from 8 to 12 percent, most likely a reflection of families dealing with one income and mounting debt from the previous 10 years.
With pension plans being eliminated and people in general not saving enough to see them through retirement (now 15 years or more), older men and women will continue to work, possibly into their 70’s. This will have a ripple effect on the workforce as teens and other younger workers will not find summer or part-time jobs in service industries as has been commonplace over the years. The fast food clerk will be “seniors” more like grandma or grandpa instead of high schoolers John or Sue.
Finally, companies that shy away from hiring older employees are losing a valuable resource and they should be pressuring the US Congress to address the idea of universal healthcare. Taking 25 percent of the most experienced available workforce out of circulation simply because they may be a higher health risk is not good business.

TIDBITS: The percentage of US garages that can hold 3 or more cars rose to 18 percent in 2001 from 11 percent in 1992. Did someone say “energy crisis?”
Next, according to a story in USA Today, tobacco use will contribute to the deaths of 1 billion people worldwide by 2100. That’s not since 1900; that will be 21st century deaths! Tobacco accounts for 1 in 5 cancer deaths and when you include cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, the yearly death toll is nearly 5 million worldwide. It is estimated that 1.25 billion people smoke cigarettes and more than half will die from the habit.
On the other hand, these smokers may be thinking global warming is going to kill most of the world’s population in 5 years, so why not light up and enjoy? Of course, if the global warming scientists are wrong or miscalculated, does anyone have the phone number for the nearest quit smoking clinic?
Finally, a new volume of letters recently released and written by Albert Einstein reveals many extra-marital affairs. No wonder he was so intrigued by relativity!

If you can imagine the future, you can invent the future. – Toshiba Advertisement

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

QUALITY THINKING

Focus~~Discipline~~Responsibility

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

The purpose of quality thinking is not to be right but to be effective.

Critical Thinking Factors
1) Critical thinking is positive and action oriented
2) Critical thinking is proactive, not reactive
3) Critical thinking is a practiced skill, just as any physical skill needed for athletics
4) Critical thinking can be measured and evaluated
5) Critical thinking is the ability to take the abstract and make it simple for others to understand
6) Critical thinking is not a series of sound bites or clichés
Problem-Solving Factors
1) Properly define the problem and identify the core issue
2) Are quality and talented people in place to work on the problem?
3) Have the roles for these key players been identified and accepted?
4) Are there sufficient resources (people, money and time) to solve the problem?
5) Does the organization understand what will be delivered when the problem is solved?
6) Does the organization have the patience to wait for the problem to be solved?
7) If there is a timeline, has a starting point been identified? Likewise, is there an identified completion date?

Success consists of going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.

Winston Churchill

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

MUSINGS

A Few Random Thoughts

I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost
Sadly, one of those comments that circulates around people with leadership aspirations is, “you won’t find much traffic on the road less traveled.” Today, not many people want to take chances as the stakes seem too high and if you are not successful, recovery may be long, if at all. Even in large businesses, you will find the company culture now leans toward following the well-worn path, even if means failure at some point. In the US, the pioneer spirit is fast becoming part of folk-lore.

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. Samuel Johnson
This is usually called “permanent potential.” Much like the above comments, people are paralyzed by the thought they may doing something wrong and someone will hold them accountable. Instead, it is easier to continue “studying” the issue or problem and “take your time.” With any luck, people will forget about the issue or be distracted by the next need. Business literature is filled with examples of people becoming frustrated with their companies and moving their ideas into an entrepreneurship arena. Here, they make their product or develop their idea and can become very successful. Does the company Microsoft sound familiar? It should have been part of IBM.

“Schadenfreude”
Isn’t it amazing that someone (a German in this case) felt it necessary to invent a word for those people who take delight in the misfortune of others? I guess that explains why celebrity magazines, snoop rags and 24-hour news channels are so popular. People will buy, read or listen to the woes of others, probably so their lives don’t seem so bad. Lewis Black, an acerbic and intelligent comedian, has commented on how Christians continue to focus of the “old testament” of the Bible instead of the “new testament” that deals with the teachings of Jesus Christ. The “old testament” is definitely more bawdy and violent with such recommendations as do unto others or an eye for an eye. The “new testament” is about peace and love, at least until the end when all hell is supposed to break loose. In the “new testament” there would not be any room for a word like “Schadenfreude.” There is only one commandment: unconditional love. Imagine a world where all people embraced the idea of unconditional love instead of control or revenge. People could overcome nearly every social problem if it wasn’t for one “old testament” notion: greed.

Who would have guessed?
According to the New York Times, about 5000 pre-school children are expelled each year because of behavior problems. Education experts say many 4-year olds simply aren’t ready for the alphabet drills, quiet desk work and other academic skills now stressed at many pre-schools. Duh! Let these kids play; they have a lifetime ahead that forces them to conform.

Finally, I received a small booklet in the mail recently from the makers of an asthma medication that I use daily. I guess they wanted me to feel better about the fact I have asthma, so they listed famous people throughout history with asthma. The list was very impressive but as I read the individual’s birth and death dates, I realized that not many of these people lived past 60! Maybe I should forget about blogging and enjoy the few years I have left.

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com
GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC