How Would You Respond To This?
August 1st, 2008 · by The Time Diva · Filed Under: Entrepreneur Time Management
The other day I made this comment on Twitter: "Why can’t product creation be like microwave popcorn… done in 2 minutes." Apparently many others were feeling the same pain.
How would you respond? Entrepreneurs are rarely lost for product ideas…. no wonder turning all our ideas into products in 2 minutes appealed to many people.
@AmyMiyamoto made this comment: "Yes,yes, I totally concur.. wouldn’t that be just a grand windfall? Just think of how many you could produce in a day?! ;)"
Nothing wrong with Amy’s comment. She responded the way most people do when given the opportunity to reduce the time do something. It’s not her fault. We’re conditioned to think this way when some new technology comes along promising to increase productivity and efficiency and free up our time.
I proposed Amy look at it slightly different… to Think Outside the Clock… Instead of looking at how many products she could produce in a day… but rather how much time it would free up for her to enjoy or do other things in life.
Amy replied " it’s an excellent way to look at it."
Technology originally was suppose free people from the pressure of the clock to perform at breakneck speeds. Increase the leisure time to enjoy time with friends and family, doing things you enjoy and even working fewer hours. Yet some how technology didn’t deliver the promise of more leisure time but instead often keeps you working at frantic pace.
Don’t blame technology… Blame Time Management mentality. It’s the mentality of doing more and more and cramming as much as possible into your day.
There is still nothing wrong with Amy’s response. With a different mindset about time, Amy can consciously choice how to use the "Microwave Product" Technology. She can crank out many products in a day or finish a product in 2 minutes and enjoy the rest of the day.
If you want to discover the "Thinking Outside the Clock" mindset, try our free online class "10 Time Strategies to Gain More Time and Profits at moretimenow.com
PS.
Amy’s a pretty cool tweeter, so if your on twitter, start following her. http://twitter.com/amymiyamoto
6 Responses to “How Would You Respond To This?”
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 Ann Rusnak - The Time Diva Entrepreneur Time Strategist |
Ann Rusnak, an Entrepreneurial Strategist with over 15 years of business experience guides frustrated and overwhelme enterpreneurs to gain more control over their day. Ready to take back control of your day? Sign up for her complimentary Video Course " Gain Control Over Your Day and Profits" http://Just15Minutes.com |
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August 1st, 2008 at 4:14 am
Very smart idea! Love the way you choose to look at the alternative ‘time it frees up.’ Stumbled!
Best wishes, Barbara
August 1st, 2008 at 4:52 am
Hey Ann
I love this post. It hits where it hurts for me right now… we’re creative people and have no problem at all developing new products. The tricky part is to actually stop developing them!
We’re on a 3 month adventure house-swapping in France (and some in Spain) and part of that adventure is a deliberate attempt to maximise our free time and enjoy our lives here and now 110%.
Our business is hugely important, of course it is - but we know it can’t be our defining purpose. It must instead be the vehicle that lets us be creative, entrepreneurial and most of it all it should support our other life choices - without impacting on our family life quite so much as it has been.
Technology is such a powerful enabler - how easy is it to switch on the laptop, or check our BlackBerry’s? But it can also be an inhibitor - and we’re feeling that right now with very poor and unreliable Internet access. That in itself is slowing me down. But I feel there’s a powerful force in play here - and I know there are so many other wonderful things to do rather than be glued to the laptop that I simply must stop developing products and let the ones we already have in place work for us so we can properly engage in the ‘real world’.
But hey - that Twitter bug is very addictive - and when they make online activities such fun, it’s hard to resist, no?
August 1st, 2008 at 6:12 am
[...] Just 15 Minutes - How would you respond to this? [...]
August 1st, 2008 at 6:15 am
Ok, I admit it - when I first saw the question, I went right to Amy’s response. I thought - WOW! Think of all the ideas I could get out of my head and implement.
Upon further reading though - Ann, I like your answer. Nothing against Amy (who definitely IS a pretty cool tweeter…).
But wow - you kinda blew me away with that response Ann. I mean, now, I’m thinking about my day, and my projects and wondering, Ok, how can I use technology to SHORTEN my work day instead of making it possible to work A LOT more than I should sometimes…
August 1st, 2008 at 4:53 pm
@Barbara glad u enjoyed it and thanks for the stumble and mention on your site.
@Jenn Givler Yes Amy is a cool tweeter. Amy didn’t give a wrong response… she responded with employee time management mentality. School etc. prepares us 2 b employees and not business owners. Even I fell into that trap and end up in the emergency room. Congrats on your Thinking Outside the Clock mind shift. You can expand that insight further with the free time class.
@peoplemapsjulie Good for you Julie on attempting to maximize your free time during your house swapping adventure. It is important to disconnect from the puter, cellphone… and dare I say it… twitter!!!! disconnecting during your free time gives a brain a big power boost.
August 1st, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Hi Ann,
I am honored to be the insiration for this post, even though it requires me to expose my previous perception of “employee time management mentality”. Not fun to admit, yet as a result of your discussion in this post, I have already had a significant shift in my relationship to time. If my goal is truly time “freedom”, then the perspective you shared allows me to see how time can serve me instead of me being a servant to the clock. So I say bravo to you for sharing this profoundly important perspective with the blogoshere. I look forward to learning more ways to “Think Outside the Clock”!
Thanks again,
Amy (@AmyMiyamoto)