Stop Over Committing Yourself
As the meeting wrapped up, the facilitator began to go through the various items that needed to be followed-up from what was discussed. When this occurs, I find that people tend to fall into three different buckets.
Listen here:
- The Hider: this person tries to become invisible to not be assigned anything and get away from the meeting, free of any obligations.
- The Sigher: resigned, these individuals don’t want any additional work but commit because they know their assistance is necessary.
- The Committer: wanting to be seen as a team player and needed, they jump at opportunities to contribute.
At this meeting, a “committer” was enthusiastically signing up for assignments that were critical for the overall success of the project. Participants were happy that they were not getting additional things added to their workload. However, there was a clear vibe on my computer screen that the person enthusiastically adding to their To Do List was in fact over committing.
If you find yourself in situations where you have too much to do and not enough time to get it done, challenge yourself that maybe you are trying to be too much of a “committer” which is causing you to be time challenged. Consider following the OVER principle. Observe your current commitments, verify your priorities, elevate the true time commitment, and restructure your schedule.
Observe
Many of our commitments come because of an instantaneous decision when someone asks us for our time to help solve their problem. To better understand your ability to obligate yourself requires you to constantly observe your own behaviors and how you use your time.
To do this, plan your schedule at least two weeks in advance and track how do you do against your schedule. Watch for those “invisible” time drains like e-mail, impromptu meetings, and social media usage. Pay attention to how you transition between activities to see if you stay focused or get distracted. Know your reoccurring commitments, and the impact of signing up for other obligations.
Getting back to my meeting example, because this group knew each other well enough, others on the call began to challenge the committer about their ability to get everything done. You may not be so lucky in your situation, so constantly observe yourself.
Verify
Any of our time commitments should have some measurement or ability to verify against a plan. That requires an investment of time where you try to predict the future.
To know how to verify, start with getting your top three to five personal and professional goals set for the next 6 to 12 months. Therefore, before any commitment occurs you tie that back to those important goals you have established. You are better able to identify which activities you decide to do and how they contribute to the core responsibilities you have given yourself. This allows you to question any additional promises you put on yourself or others.
Participants in my meeting (me included) begin to nudge the committer about details around how much time they had to devote to what they had signed up for.
Featured Free Resource
Work/Life Balance (WLB) assessment.
The goal of the Work/Life Balance report is to assist you to identify or affirm your position on your professional and personal approach to life.Â
Elevate
I have a rule I apply for myself and my clients that help. If you need to complete something important, calculate out how long it is going to take you. After you have done that, take that figure and add at least 50% more time to it. A task or project that is significant or essential always takes longer than expected.
Too many times, people fail to acknowledge the emotional and mental energy, the impact to personal and professional Relationships, and the hidden costs that do not get factored into the initial obligation to do something.
Folks in the meeting waited patiently for the committer to review their calendar a little bit more to ensure they were prepared and ready for the time it was going to take to complete their assignments.
Restructure
I realize it can be difficult to try to restructure a work schedule on the fly in the meeting. It is the reason why I think so many people become “Hiders”. We all have such full schedules, it requires time to understand what needs to be adjusted before taking on anything additional.
To counteract this, I emphasize the importance of setting flex time into any schedule. In my case, it’s a minimum of 20%. It’s not that I don’t have things planned during this time frame, but I intentionally note that during these buffer periods I am able to quickly restructure when I know a late breaking commitment comes into play.
Over committing is a common occurrence in both business and professional life. We find ourselves having difficulty to use the dreaded “no” word. But, when we observe our own behaviors, verify our ability to promise, elevate the pledge we have given, and restructure our time to deliver –  we make commitments a reality and deliver quality time to others and to ourselves.
The “over-committer” was held in check because the rest of the participants stopped being hiders and stepped up. You may not be so fortunate…be ready, be OVER.
David Buck is the author of the book The Time-Optimized Life, coauthor of The Retirement Collective, owner of Kairos (Time) Management Solutions, LLC. Learn how to apply the concepts of proactive planning and using your time. Take the Time Management Analysis (TMA), the Retirement Time Analysis (RTA), or all the other free resources offered to help bring more quality time into your life.
The post Stop Over Committing Yourself first appeared on Infinity Lifestyle Design.