Fishing for Excuses?

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We say there isn’t enough time, that we’re too busy. We say it passes too quickly, and wonder if we’ve done enough for the age we are.

But time is a red herring.

It distracts us from the real matter at hand.

I’m all for SMART goals—goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timebound. (Timebound, after all, comes from the idea that a “goal is a wish with a deadline.”)  Time, in that case, is used as an external motivator. It drives forward movement.

But that kind of motivation doesn’t last very long. It can, in fact, work against us. Sometimes SMART isn’t.

Think about it: How often have you missed a deadline you set? How do you feel afterwards? (I’m guessing you’re not exactly raring to go set another deadline.)

For a lot of us, as we get closer to a deadline, we blame time. We start to use a deadline’s nearness as an excuse for why it can’t be done, and we give up entirely. That not only sets up a cycle of more missed deadlines, it reinforces perceptions of ourselves as hopeless procrastinators, at best, and abject failures at worst.

Yet we all have 1440 minutes, and they all pass at the same pace for each of us.

Which means we have to take time out of the equation.

TIME doesn’t make you do something. YOU do.

The question isn’t, “Do I really want (or need) to get this done by a certain date?”

It’s “Do I really want to get this thing done, or not?” And really, “Am I willing to do what it takes to do it?” Your progress, your success, is a product of your actions.

(Yes, the rules are a little different for organizations, where a missed deadline can literally mean the life and death of the business. That’s not what I’m talking about here.)

So why do we blame time? It’s easy. It’s there. Everyone else does. But that’s not good enough. Not if we want to make big changes happen. Big changes happen through small changes—lots and lots of them. And making lots and lots of small changes takes lots and lots of time.

How quickly you make changes doesn’t matter.
Making them, on whatever schedule, does.

The secret to that isn’t time. It’s choice. It’s making the choice that moves you closer to your goals…and accepting that it’s you—not time—making it. It’s asking yourself, whenever there’s an option, “Am I contributing to my goals, or complicating them?” And that has nothing to do with time.

Each of us has a red herring. What’s yours?

image credit: timparkinson

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Tamsen McMahon helps people get from where they are to where they're going. She's also the Vice President of Digital Strategy at Allen & Gerritsen, and a Weight Watchers leader. She writes on individual change at PersonalCartography.com.

  • thatwoman_is

    Nice post. Often I have people tell me I have too much to do. And I don't know why they comment or judge based on their unwillingness to just get things done that contributes to their goals. I will quote you: “Your progress, your success, is a product of your actions.” I don't have too many projects nor do I have too little time. I just like being “active and getting to the end result.”

  • AmberNaslund

    The biggest thing I've wrestled with is not the time factor, because I've long since learned that time is a constant, and how I choose to spend it is the variable.

    What ties me up are:

    1) Deciding WHAT to spend the time doing, and how different distributions impact – for better or worse- my sense of balance and happiness and

    2) Determining the first step of changes that need making, rather than trying to eat the entire elephant out of the gate.

    I've also learned that for me, personal commitments are harder to make because I lack the confidence there that I have in my professional sense. So, for example, finding the determination to permanently change my eating habits isn't a problem of anything but choice, and my own discipline. How to harness that and change my mindset is the key, so my red herring is the notion that something is “too hard” or “too big” for me to tackle. And oddly, I find few of those in my career that I won't face down with ferocious determination, but I sell myself short when it comes to personal goals around fitness, friendships/relationships, and the like.

  • http://twitter.com/megfowler Meg Fowler

    I tend to value others' time above my own — which ends up costing me a whack of time, which then leads to me complaining about a lack of time, and feeling “busy”… when really, I'm just misdirected.

    I am starting to see that putting my tasks/agenda as a priority in the beginning would cease to make time a factor, if that makes any sense — because then I'd just be actually *achieving* things, not bemoaning my inability to do so. And all the time I save not fussing? I can use that to help folks. :)

    If that makes any sense. :)

  • AmberNaslund

    “I tend to value others' time above my own”.

    That's precisely it. So my red herring might also be that I worry how other people will judge the way I prioritize and choose my time, and that if I make my own things important at the level of others', that I'll be perceived as selfish or self absorbed.

  • http://rickcaffeinated.com Rick Stilwell

    I've found that I have better results evaluating time on a day-to-day basis. Menial and intensive tasks need to be shuttled to the morning for that first burst, and then heavy thinking or brainstorming style pieces have to make it to the afternoon (with coffee helping the post-lunch desire for a nap). I think time, in looking at it like Meg put above, it more of a collaborator reminding you what's in the to-do list and emphasizing the “DO” part of that “TO-DO” naming convention.

  • http://twitter.com/tamadear Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Funny: it's only too much to do if we're not getting it all done. ;)

  • http://twitter.com/tamadear Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Funny: it's only too much to do if we're not getting it all done. ;)

  • http://twitter.com/tamadear Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Ah, confidence as the red herring–so similar to fear. The thing to remember is that we're the same person, regardless of context. Who you are professionally IS who you are personally, and vice versa.

  • http://twitter.com/tamadear Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Bemoaning the state of things serves an important psychological purpose–kind of like a release valve. But I say often (and likely too much) that pity parties are like ANY party, there's start and end time. Eventually we have to realize that we've exhausted the utility of wishing things to be otherwise, and then have to actually make that happen.

  • http://twitter.com/tamadear Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    That's actually a very powerful semantic shift, and a useful one: Instead of making a “To Do” list, let's all just start making “Do” lists. That moves things from the theoretical to the actionable. Hmmm. I like it!

  • http://twitter.com/GrandConsulting Grandview Consulting

    Thanks for your consistently thoughtful blog. I agree that SMART over simplifies the issues around what we do with our time. On a personal level, I think guilt sometimes interferes – we (or at least I) sometimes feel guilt about where to invest that time, so end up dithering or not being true to our own preferences.

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  • clintstonebraker

    I hate to admit it, but……my biggest red herring is the desire for approval from others. I am my most productive and at my creative best when I am focused on being true to my inspirations. Seeking guidance and help is one thing, depending on other's approval is completely different.

  • Ash

    well put! I am using the, “How quickly you make changes doesn’t matter. Making them, on whatever schedule, does.” is pretty much the only point I truly try to drive home when it comes to managing expectations, and the root of time management success. thanks!

  • http://www.womanzworld.com/ Natalie Sisson

    Oh I so love this post and I know it will resonate with many others. I recently wrote a blog post called How to Catch the Time Thief and Get More Done.

    It came about because I get very frustrated with hearing people say `Oh I don't/didn't have time to [insert excuse here]. I often bit my tongue so as not to reply
    'Well you have the exact same amount of time as everyone else in this world, you just CHOSE not to do it, didn't prioritise or it's not that important to you to make time for.

    I actually call myself out on this a lot too, which is why your post has been the perfect kick up the bum to get that eBook into action. Thanks!

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