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“Time and Energy are non-redeemable commodities.”

– Simon Sinek. 

While Simon Sinek captures this idea so simply, I found this to be one of the most important lessons I took away from my time working in the Office of the CEO at a Fortune 500 tech company.

Every CEO and senior executive worth their salt that I’ve worked with knows that their time is valuable. It is the one resource that is limited, finite and non-redeemable. That’s why CEOs (or their staff) are so good at saying ‘no.’ In the precious 24 hours that we each have in our day figuring out what to say ‘no’ to can free you up to focus on the people and experiences that are more valuable to you.  

3 Lessons from an Exec. Staffer

1.      Review your calendar looking back three months and looking forward three months. Notice which meetings that give you a sinking feeling.  Those are the ones you want to figure out if you can limit, eliminate, or delegate.

2.      Dedicate your days. When I was working on the travel agendas for the executives I’d support, I learned the importance of dedicating time to certain activities. The benefit of doing this is that it focuses the brain on the type of activity for that day and it starts to create routines that will get you into “work mode” more quickly.

• Pick two days a week to dedicate yourself to the job hunt instead of putting in a random amount of time every day to job hunting. 
• Dedicate the other two days to doing something that will move you closer to your ideal job such as taking a class or volunteering. 

3.      A place for everything.  Similar to dedicating days for certain activities, dedicate space for those activities. As an example, the senior leadership team I supported held their weekly meeting every Friday in the same room at the same time. Doing this I created an environment that was familiar and comfortable. By creating a familiar set and setting you’re training your brain to focus on the task at hand instead of getting distracted with the environment. 

• By the way, this applies to working at home too. If possible, dedicate spaces (a comfy chair, a table/desk, a seat by the window) or rooms in your home to certain activities. Or find your third place – a coffee shop, library, or park will do.

“If you’re not in control of your calendar, you’re not in control.”

-Donald Regan, Fmr. US Treasury Sect.

BONUS: Schedule breaks. I learned this technique as a yoga instructor and refined in my corporate life.  The psychology is the same. If you know that you’ve got a break coming up you’re more likely to focus completely for the time leading up to that break.

Hold for 10 more seconds, you got this.