How to spend your day, today
- Thu, May 31 2012
- Filed under: Nonprofit leadership
I believe there is time for every one of your dreams. That big project, that bold test, that long-tabled idea—there is time for each if you consciously pick them over the endless office filler of email, politics and drama.
Check out this pie from Scott Belsky and Behance - it reinforces to me a very important concept. We have far more control over how we spend our time than we actually exercise. Do your pie wedges look like this? Knowing life is short, how should they look instead?
I know my life is better when I slash the insecurity and pare back the reactionary work. On the days I fail to do that, I’m grouchy and unfulfilled. But if I’m honest, I have to say it’s my own fault. I choose how to spend my day. I could choose better.
Here are the definitions of the pie wedges from Scott Belsky.
1. Reactionary Work - responding to messages and requests - emails, text messages, Facebook messages, tweets, voicemails, and the list goes on. You are constantly reacting to what comes into you rather than being proactive in what matters most to you. Reactionary Work is necessary, but you can’t let it consume you.
2. Planning Work - the time spent, scheduling and prioritizing your time, developing your systems for running meetings, and refining your systems for working. By planning, you are deciding how your energy should be allocated, and you are designing your method for getting stuff done. It allows you to meet your goals.
3. Procedural Work - the administrative/maintenance stuff that we do just to keep afloat: making sure that the bills are paid or preparing tax returns, updating a deck for a business presentation, or tracking old outbound emails to confirm that they were addressed/solved. Procedural Work is important, but we must remember to remain flexible in our approach to it. Procedures backfire when they become antiquated and remain only out of habit, not necessity.
4. Insecurity Work - obsessively looking at certain statistics related to your company, or repeatedly checking what people are saying about you or your product online, etc. Insecurity Work doesn’t move the ball forward in any way - aside from briefly reassuring us that everything is OK - and we’re often unconscious that we’re even doing it.
5. Problem-Solving Work - This is the work that requires our full brainpower and focus, whether it be designing a new interface, developing a new business plan, writing a thoughtful blog post, or brainstorming the features of a new product. Whether you’re working solo or as a team, you’re leveraging raw creativity to find answers.
Thanks Scott for the great thinking.
So what’s your plan for today? How much will go to #5?
I’m going to try to make it more.
Comments
“We have far more control over how we spend our time than we actually exercise.”
This is a very good, and very powerful point. We have far more time than we realize.
Thanks, Katya!
I am having problem focusing, I know this will help. Thank you very much. I am getting consumed and I am very exaisted and every effort we put in our projects it seems like we are still at same place?
What category does commenting on blogs come under? I just answered my own question. 
This will help make my day worth spending for!
thanks Katya! from Philippines
I like Tim Ferris’ concept - you probably have time for two big things each day. Decide what two big hairy projects you’re going to work on and stay focused!
I think it was Peter Drucker who suggested that you identify your top priorities, then set a chunk of time to work on one of them each day. I’ve been dong that for years and it helps me be more proactive as well as effective at problem solng.
I think you hit the nail on the head, Katya. That graph does too. I know I spend wayyy too much time being reactionary instead of being proactive to put systems and processes in place to address problems before they arise. I’m working on it though!