I read an article by Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, discussing the importance of scheduling nothing. It was quite thought provoking. Below is some the text of his article. The full article can be read here: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130403215758-22330283-the-importance-of-scheduling-nothing
In aggregate, I schedule between 90 minutes and two hours of these buffers every day (broken down into 30- to 90-minute blocks). It’s a system I developed over the last several years in response to a schedule that was becoming so jammed with back-to-back meetings that I had little time left to process what was going on around me or just think. At first, these buffers felt like indulgences. I could have been using the time to catch up on meetings I had pushed out or said “no” to. But over time I realized not only were these breaks important, they were absolutely necessary in order for me to do my job. Here’s why:
As an organization scales, the role of its leadership needs to evolve and scale along with it. What both of these transitions require is time, and lots of it. Endlessly scheduling meeting on top of meeting and your time to get these things right evaporates. Take coaching, for example. It’s often quicker for senior leaders to solve people’s problems for them. As the organization gets larger, so too will the frequency of those issues, yet there remains only one of you. Unless you can coach others to address challenges directly, you will quickly find yourself in a position where that’s all you’re doing (adding even more meetings to your day). That’s no way to run a team or a company. The only way to sustainably make that investment in people is by not jumping from one meeting to the next but rather carving out the time to properly coach those who stand to benefit from it the most.
The same can be said of the transition from tactical execution to thinking strategically. There will always be a need to get things done and knock another To Do item off the list. However, as the company grows larger, you will require more time than ever before to just think. That thinking, if done properly, requires uninterrupted focus. And that time will only be available if you carve it out for yourself. Conversely, if you don’t take the time to think proactively you will increasingly find yourself reacting to your environment rather than influencing it.
The solution, as simple as it sounds, is to periodically schedule nothing. Use that buffer time to think big, catch up on the latest industry news, get out from under that pile of unread emails, or just take a walk. What ever you do, just make sure you make that time for yourself — everyday and in a systematic way — and don’t leave unscheduled moments to chance. The buffer is the best investment you can make in yourself and the single most important productivity tool I use.
So what do you think about his article? I think I need to make a better effort of scheduling the buffers into my calendar. I always have things that need to be done and I feel the need to check them off the list. Perhaps a break will do me good!
Candy
