Weeknotes 3 - The Epitome of Now

Matt says this is the time that most people give up.  You know, after a few Weeknotes you wonder what more you can say.  Well, for me, loads.  My issue will always be squeezing it all in. 

Managing time has been my theme for the week.  I spent quite a while on a new business proposal for a client I really want to work with.  It’s a risk and always in the back of my head are what an old boss of mine said ‘it’s expensive to come in second’.  I don’t want to add up all the hours I’ve spent on new business that I didn’t win.  I’ve gotten better over the years at assessing if Wordville stands a chance and so only investing the time and effort when it’s worthwhile.  Meeting the people helps.  You can see pretty quickly if they are the kind of people you want to work with (they’re having exactly the same thoughts I know).  Now, if I quit a new business pitch, it’s usually after the first meeting.  A kind of speed dating for business growth.

This week, one of our clients has written about how a CEO can combat stress and it seems that a lot has to do with time management and prioritising successfully.  I went to a Time Management course a decade or so ago and I remember two things from that training.  Firstly, that eight of the ten people attending the course were late (funny that) and, secondly, that you can’t control time only the activities you fill it with. 

I’m addicted to the Pomodoro Technique, as everyone in the office who has to suffer my ticking kitchen timer knows.  I can pack a whole lot in when I’m swapping activities every 25 minutes, rather than every other minute.  And I really like the ticking now – it’s like a happy little sidekick that is working as hard as I am.

I can’t promise to always be on top of things.  In fact, I only listened to the WB40podcast five days after it came out.  The podcast is hosted by Matt Ballantine (my unintentional transparency coach) and Chris Weston.  This week, Chris started the 55^th episode with a discussion about how time had flown since starting their podcasting.  “We are right in the moment … in the epitome of what I’d call now.”  I love that line.

So, with Pomodoro kitchen timer ticking, proposal being proofread, reports to write and a quick trip to the vets scheduled because the dog has hurt his nose, here am I, writing Week Notes - in the epitome of now.