I recently spoke with an organization that has booked out an entire year of speakers focusing on time management. I had two thoughts: One, people are still struggling with time management in a huge way. Why book a year of seminars on it in one city if folks weren’t asking for help? And two: what if they are addressing the symptom only, and not the root cause? Maybe that’s why folks need more and more classes-because the ‘experts’ are focusing on the wrong thing.
Here’s what I propose:
Stop trying to manage time, and instead learn to manage your energy.
First, let’s look at what the biggest time-sucks are at work (in no particular order):
- Interpersonal drama
- Poor leadership
- Miscommunication
- Having the “right” person in the “wrong” position (and vice-versa)
- Mental, physical, and emotional drain (stress)
- Disengagement
- Employee & Leadership turnover
- Poor decision-making
All of these things, at their root, are an energy mis-management issue.
Everything is energy. We are too. We communicate energetically first and foremost: we each have an innate awareness of energy around us at all times and what feels congruent, and what doesn’t.
The problem: We tend to override this awareness with our ‘logical’ mind and make decisions based on:
- what everyone else is doing (or what the experts or competitors say or do – even if it’s not a fit for us or our organization)
- what’s ‘fair’ (as in promoting someone because they are next in line vs whether or not they actually are a good fit for the position)
- what makes ‘sense’ logically (but not necessarily practically or even timely)
- what we are afraid of (like not being able to justify our actions to stock holders, or not looking good to the boss)
- proving our ‘worth’ & value to others (including colleagues & customers.)
All of these mental gyrations and the eight I mention above do more than suck time, they suck energy. They create “white noise” in the field between us and others, and in our own body – sucking up valuable energy & time as we try to sift through all the static to get at what’s real, true, and the next best step to take action on. They suck energy & resources from each individual person, and collectively in the organization.
What’s the solution? Manage your energy instead. How? Through understanding your unique energetic design & the designs of your team members so that everyone’s natural genius is flowing and working synergistically in the organization.
When you understand the following important aspects of your energetic design* and how they impact your productivity, profitability, and intra-/interpersonal sense of peace you can begin to master energy management and therefore manage time more effectively.
- Career Type: How you best work & express yourself in the world. How does your energy flow, and what stops your natural flow?
- Personal Interaction: How you best interact with others.
- Decision-making Strategy: How you best make decisions.
- Life Themes: Guideposts that let you know when your energy is incongruent or influencing others and creating chaos, or when you are in the flow.
- Assimilation: How do you process information? Do you have clarity quickly and independent of others, or more slowly and with the help of others?
- Environmental Style: In what environment do you operate best? Are you a ‘Lone Ranger’ type, or can you work in partnerships, small groups or even large groups – or do you tend to get lost in those?
Every single one of these aspects is based in an energetic pattern that is given to you at birth. It’s not generic and based on subjective questions that determine how you are “most of the time” assuming you can even accurately answer that question. They are as unique and individual as you and everyone else on your team.
Understand these basic energy flows for yourself and others around you, and you’ll minimize drama and interpersonal conflict, feel less physical, mental & emotional stress, know exactly where you and others belong at work, and hire people because they actually fit the position you need filled, not just because they are ‘next in line’ for a promotion. Your natural leaders will be clear, and they’ll know exactly how to lead their team.
Most of all, you’ll know how your energy best flows and how to make decisions that are not only in alignment for you and your energy, but for the project you’re leading and because you’ll be in flow – time will work for you, instead of against you.
We each have the same amount of time in a day – we all know this. But how our energy flows is different. Understand this, and you’ll not just manage time – you’ll master it.
*These are 6 out of 18 Aspects that are part of your Career Design Overview from BG5 Business Institute, International Human Design School & Jovian Archive Media. Kris is a Human Design consultant and in the Business Certification Program Through BG5.
