"I don't have time"

There's a laundry list of phrases that trigger me in #academia and related professions: one of the most frequent ones is "I don't have time" / "They don't have time."

The reason it triggers me so often isn't so much that the statement doesn't reflect a stark reality: today's academic and research world has arguably never been more of a pressure cooker to perform, and with less and less resources to do so.

My problem with the statement is what then usually happens: a deep dive into the metaphorical weeds of why that person doesn't have enough time , when usually it's two larger issues that are at play.

Modern, professional careers never have enough time to do everything - "not enough time" is a truism at this stage. Careers are a constant balancing act of prioritization* 

What "I don't have enough time" often in fact boils down to is one or more of two issues:

1) "I don't perceive enough value or return on investment on that activity in order to prioritise it highly enough to get done", 

and/or

2) "I perceive too many barriers or obstacles in the way in order to be remotely feasible of fitting it into my hectic schedule"

Neither reason 1 or 2 is explicitly about time (of course time is involved): they're about priorities and barriers. Any response by a manager or leader hoping to encourage said individuals into making time for an activity should take into account these very real possibilities, rather than just fixating on the pure time issue.

There needs to be some give and take too: if you manage to show the value proposition (1) and remove some of the barriers (2), the individual may well prioritise the thing you're encouraging them to do. But they have finite time, so this shift in focus may come at the cost of some attention to some other existing activities. It's your job as leader or manager to be ready for and account for this: if at this stage you penalize them for a slight shift in focus, you'll undo all your good work and more...

🖥️ YouTube: https://youtu.be/WPrSZbeRcA4

* at least for those who go about their careers in deliberative ways: some people wing it and appear to go spectacularly well - but perhaps not recommended as an approach for all people 

#timemanagement #leadership #management #workload #working #planning #motivation #priorities #barriers #obstacles #careeradvice