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Critical Time Challenges

• Deep work – Mark told the participants of the research by Cal Newport into quality of work and his notion of high quality, uninterrupted thinking which he refers to as ‘deep work’. The fundamental hypothesis behind this is that in an age where we’re all knowledge workers, the quality of our work and career is impacted by the quality of our thinking. Research shows that multitasking and switching between tasks compromises cognitive ability.
• Digital confetti – Mark then told the participants of the work by Ashley Whillans and the notion of digital confetti. A consequence of work technology is that we are always ‘on’ and the promise of work anywhere has become work everywhere. Technology has allowed us to effectively split time into small fragments which Whillans calls digital confetti.
• Combining the notions of deep work and digital confetti shows the time related challenges we face and the impact on the quality of our thinking and work. 

Do more, do less, do different

Mark outlined three solutions to the challenges presented by time scarcity:

1. Do more
2. Do less
3. Do something different

The reality is most people will do a blend of all three. Mark then explained further the options of doing more and doing less to the participants.

Do more – Working harder is not the answer

Mark noted that there is always more you can do and that like climbing up an endless ladder, work will continue to come in. Working harder however, is not always the answer. Morten Hansen carried out research on productivity and effort in terms of hours worked. Hansen studied the performance of 5,000 managers and employees to examine how focus and effort affected their performance. He found that once we get above 50 hours a week on a sustained basis, the incremental productivity from each hour starts to reduce. Once 60 was reached, productivity took a negative hit.

Hansen’s research also showed that those who did less but worked hard on their workload were typically in the top 80+% of performers. Data showed that if you work hard but take on less, you can improve your performance by around 30%, highlighting the importance of focus.

Do less – the importance of saying no 

From Mark’s executive coaching practice, he has seen that getting to less is simple but not easy as people often feel they cannot reduce their workloads. The key barrier to this is comfortability in saying no. Mark asked participants to think about why saying no is difficult. Some of the responses given are demonstrated in the diagram below:

There are lots of reasons why we say yes when we should say no. Mark went on to explain William Ury’s research into ‘the power of a positive no’.

Deliver a positive no

Mark explained how the participants could deliver a more effective and productive ‘no’. Delivering a ‘positive no’ can be:

1. Yes 

Being clear internally about why you are saying no will give you more confidence and authority in saying no. The first yes is about accepting that every time you say yes to something, you’re spending less time on things that are important to you. 

2. No

When put on the spot or ambushed, you’re more likely to give an emotional response. It is best to show respect by listening and acknowledging the other person but also to take some time to assess whether you have requisite quality time to do the task being asked of you. This part should be kept short. If you are saying no, this should be kept short with a firm, neutral tone. Mark highlighted that it is best to being on a positive note if possible e.g. ‘I would love to help you but I’m afraid I don’t have the time to do this job just this moment. I don’t want to do a bad job for you and let you down so I’m going to politely decline.’ 

3. Yes

This second yes is an alternative to the binary yes/no. This could be if you would like to help but cannot in the specific manner that they are asking for e.g. a workshop. A solution would be to suggest an alternative proposal.

Time as a systemic issue

Mark then discussed time using the ‘open systems theory’ and the importance of thinking systemically. This is viewing an organisation as a system with a boundary between the organisation and the external environment. This theory encourages us to think about relationships between parts of an organisation as well as considering the whole system and an organisation’s interactions with the external environment.

Mark highlighted the importance of managing our personal and team boundaries. Critically, people need to understand their own boundaries.

Three key boundaries – Set, Communicate, Protect your red lines

Mark then went on to explain that once people understand their boundaries, they need to set them, communicate them and protect them. Mark highlighted three boundaries that he thought to be important: 

1. Territory – Domains of work

• Team boundaries – be clear of what is your team’s job and what is not. 
  • Vertical boundaries
  • Horizontal boundaries
  • Geographic boundaries 
• Organisation boundaries – setting boundaries in how much time should you spend working on your team eg managing, leading etc. and how much time you should spend facing out into the organisation as a whole as oppose to out to the market place. 
• Physical location – setting boundaries in where you are willing to work, travel, how to deal with global distribution etc.

2. Time – timing of work 

• When will you work? – setting work/life boundaries, what is acceptable to you on a regular basis and what is acceptable on an exceptional basis, how far you are willing to test these etc. 
• Responsiveness? –setting boundaries around not only how long you will work but how quickly you will respond to messages.
• Speed? – setting boundaries in how quickly you turn work around, what is the balance between speed and quality?

3. Task – scope of work

• Expertise – where are the boundaries of your competence? How far will you test these?
• Volume – How much work will you take on at one? How will you articulate or prioritise conflicting demands?
• Change – How much subsequent change to scope are you willing to accept? 

Mark noted that if you are clear on what your boundaries are and communicate them, you will be much more effective in managing your time. 

For more information, check out these useful Practice Notes in ½Û×ÓÊÓƵ Practical Guidance: Being accountable for your time, Time management and Tips for managing change and see our Precedent: Time management for in-house lawyers—time log.

Join us for the next session

Date: Wednesday 22 February 2023

Time: 10:00 – 11:00

Format: Virtual event

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