Author: Francis Wade

It’s rare to have a time management client who possesses high developed scheduling skills.

More often than not, clients come to use with lots of lists, but haven’t learned how to use their calendars to accomplish big goals. This video that is a response to the popular Randy Pausch lecture on YouTube talks about the need to learn this important skill. It’s one important way to get better at time management.

People who pick up a book or program in time management are often quick to claim it as their guiding light. They’ll tell you that “they are following the ACME System of Time Management by W.E. Coyote” with a sense of pride.

As a trainer, what you know is that they are actually fooling themselves.

Watch the video below to find out why they need to own their time management system, then come back to continue reading.

As a trainer, it’s tough to help them see the light, especially when they attribute superhuman tendencies to the author/creator of the approach they “use.”

But you should persevere, so that when the guru finally runs out of steam, they don’t simply go looking for a new one. Instead, they should return their attention to their current habits, practices and rituals and start their new journey of improvement with an new understanding of how they work.

Below the video on YouTube, I added the following description.

My research website for Time Management 2.0, 2Time Labs, recently received  an honor – it was nominated as one of the top Project Management websites in the category of time management.

It strengthened my desire to do further research in the area of project management as a way of rooting out one of the causes of project failure: poor individual time management skills by team members.

What I’m interested in knowing is whether or not there is anyone who specializes in working on the time management skills of individual project team members. I’d love to learn a thing or two from consultants or coaches who work with teams in this specialty.

Use this link to send me a message: http://ReplytoFrancis.info

This is a touchy topic among content creators and time management consultants and trainers. What content can you safely use with your clients without violating copyright? Here’s my take… What content should I use?

In the good old days, clients were happy with a few tips, tricks and shortcuts in time management. It wasn’t hard to make them happy. Now, things have changed. Watch this video to find out more.

Most time management coaches, trainers, consultants and professional organizers have an interest in increasing the number of clients they have. In this video, I look at ways they can get more leads, and be more efficient in their delivery of service.

There are a lot of time management programs and books that will argue that their solution will fit every single person on the planet.

Actually, that’s not quite true… some will tell you that you are free to keep some parts and throw away others. But as you turn the last page or walk out of the training you realize… they never told you what to keep… or what you can discard.

That’s like telling you that you are free to jail-break your iPhone, but you’ll get no help whatsoever from the manufacturer… AND you’ll void your warranty… good luck!

Obviously, Apple doesn’t want you to customize anything inside the case, and that’s why they provide no assistance. The same applies to most books and programs in time management. They expect you to implement everything, and to do so right away.

As an adviser in time management you have a problem. How do you resolve it? Watch this video as I discuss the problem.

Recently, a training designer from an engineering company contacted me to ask: “Do you have any tips for designing a time management training session?” I gave her a few, and pointed her in the direction of the 2Time Labs website, but with it’s 500+ posts, it was bit like outing a match with a fire-hose. She didn’t have 5 years to put the intervention together, she had 5 days.

Since then, I have decided that I should be more helpful, condensing some of my answers into a single post that can help anyone in a similar position, particularly if they haven’t written a book or published 500 articles.

Learning Outcomes (the company’s)
Before you start your research it’s a good idea to figure out what success looks like to your “client.” Companies don’t ask for stuff, individuals do, and if your boss is the one holding your feet to the fire find out what goals he/she has in mind. Then, work to meet the expectations, and if necessary, to lower them. Use updated, recent data to show them that magical cures are unlikely.

One thing they may not say, but believe me… It’s there: “Please don’t embarrass me with a session that wastes people time with stuff they already know that generates a bunch of complaints that make me look bad.” This unspoken outcome your boss has buried in his/her subconscious is often the most important. Move it to the top of your list.

Here are some of the things they might actually tell you they want, if you ask the right questions.

1. “Something Short”
If your company expects a one hour session over lunch, plan to deliver a pithy combination of tips, tricks and shortcuts. If you can do a short survey before, figure out what people know, and put in some stuff that captures the imagination by focusing on what might be new. Focus on contemporary topics like life balance and smartphone abuse that have generated a surprising number of interesting statistics. Lead your audience to use this teaser as motivation to get more training. Don’t expect to change more than the occasional participant’s behavior.

2. “Take an Easy Shortcut – Copy a Solution from a Program/ Book”
In this case you are literally copying the content from a published book, or even an existing program. Gaining the appropriate permission from the owners is a must; you don’t want to violate copyright law.

What you can expect from this approach is a single set of behaviors defined in great detail – down to the name of the folders to keep. They are easy to put in a  lecture format, because all you’re doing is telling people what they should be doing in excruciating, unalterable detail.

If you get lucky, you’ll find that your employees already are using similar behaviors, making the learning curve a short one. In most cases, however, expect them to have an uphill battle to change their behaviors… But in every case, you can improve the odds of success with some after-program support.

Take this shortcut if you must, but fully expect a high number of outright failures.

3. Do the Right Thing: Redefine Success

With enough time to prepare, plus at least an  8 hour training day accompanied with  mid-term post-training support, you can put a big dent in your learner’s performance. Just don’t expect them all to be looking and acting the same at the end, like a host of happy Oompa Loompas.

Instead, hold as your intended outcome a future in which each person is continually upgrading their individual methods at a realistic speed. To achieve this, your training needs to start in a different place.

Assume that you’re going to start with a mix of skill levels and  you need to engage beginners as well as experts in worthwhile learning activity. Start by giving each person a self-assessment (while showing them how to repeat this task in the future.)

Then, help them determine whether or not they need an immediate upgrade based on their current workload. Trust them to know whether the stuff falling through the cracks is episodic, or symptomatic.

With a decent diagnostic tool, and the teaching that’s required to use it well, they should be able to see the performance gaps  themselves. When they instinctively rush to close them with unrealistic promises, show them how to make a change plan that’s built on baby-steps rather than divine intervention.

While you’re at it, reveal the secret  of how to “Change Anything” using a holistic habit-change plan. Teach them how to make sure they succeed with the right support.

At the end of your training day, don’t expect instant changes. Instead, have each person leave with a plan to grow their capacity over time to a level that they desire, with a high degree of motivation.

It’s likely that they will make some immediate changes, but don’t expect them to all make the same ones. Offer the kind of post-class support that bears fruit in months rather than days, and convince your boss that true and permanent behavior change is more desirable than a bag of fun-filled tips and tricks.

He/she may notice that you get lower scores on the post-class smiley-sheets, but you should feel confident that you did the right thing. So did your company when it made the decision to put you on this very challenging assignment.

If you happen to be the person programming the training (as opposed to the one actually delivering it in a classroom) you may want to read my article How to Program a Time-Based Productivity Intervention.

N.B. For more detailed information on the approach I have laid out above, get a copy of my book: Perfect Time-Based Productivity which outlines the steps you can follow, plus the forms you can use in your training. Also, if you would like to purchase a copy of my personal training materials (slides, videos, simulations) plus gain access to live class recordings, contact me at http://ReplytoFrancis.info