Time Finding Tips - 5 Essentials to Redefine Time Conflicts and Boost Everyone's Productivity

Time management tips are most effective when you share a strong, coordinated team ethic, whether at work or at home. Fostering cooperation can be challenging under any circumstance! You might find it especially difficult when others relate to time quite differently than you. Perhaps each of you defines your values around punctuality, planning, and procrastination in ways that appear completely incompatible.

However difficult this seems, approaching these differences proactively can enhance cooperation in ways that may surprise you.

First, abandon any assumption that there is a "right time style" and a "wrong time style". Yours is, of course, the correct one. But astonishingly, others seem to feel the same way about theirs. So your best strategy is to capitalize on the conflicts by exploiting the diversity.

What potentials do differing time styles with others present? You can view contrasting time styles as the opportunities they truly are:

5 Golden Opportunities that Time Conflicts Offer to You:

Conflict Opportunity #1: Clarify what's of prime importance to you.

Pare it down and negotiate for it. The strength you build makes you more resilient and decisive. The more focused you become, the more you impel others to clarify their goals, as well. This leads to better understanding of one another and enhances your capacity to identify areas of mutual self-interest.

For example, if your colleague is only willing to devote extra hours to develop a presentation if it provides recognition of her talents, and your goal is to delegate more responsibility, you may discover that realigning your working relationship transforms a power-struggle into a productive alliance.

Conflict Opportunity #2: Attune yourself to others' varying approaches to time.

Genuinely accepting individual differences in time styles carries 5 significant benefits:

* Truly accepting that others won't change for you spares you the frustration of repetitive and fruitless efforts to control them. You can direct your efforts to more rewarding pursuits.

* When people notice you are not trying to change them, they feel more relaxed and receptive. You in turn can find out more about what shapes their attitudes about time.

* When your colleagues feel your respect and interest, they are increasingly likely to negotiate successfully with you. If you, in turn, share what has contributed to your own time philosophy, they learn more about the contexts in which your approach works especially well.

* Effective compromising increases flexibility and clarifies lines of power and responsibility. Different time styles often reflect different priorities. Explore how this can work to your mutual advantage. For example, one of you might accept added responsibility if you can make your own hours. The other might hold down the fort 9:00 - 5:00 in return for not taking work home.

* The more clearly you identify the payoffs to others' time approaches in certain circumstances, the more flexibility you can build into your own style to meet new challenges.

Conflict Opportunity #3: Commit to creativity.
Thinking outside the box carries negotiations beyond rigid power struggles. For every problem, there is a resolution that honors the integrity and needs of each person. Diversity of approach genuinely opens new options, so appreciate this benefit.

Conflict Opportunity #4: Present the challenge in terms of shared goals.
The more you have followed the guidelines above, the clearer your understanding of where your interests overlap. Keep the focus on the rewards you and your colleagues will enjoy. This stimulates cooperation.

Conflict Opportunity #5: Invite others to contribute ideas.
The more invested everyone is in the problem-solving process, the more dedicated they will be to making it work. And the more directly engaged each group member is, the stronger the results within the time frame you share.

Negotiating different approaches to time use will challenge each of you to grow. Rather than framing needed changes as a sacrifice, consider the benefits of identifying and honoring the baseline needs of everyone. You will develop vitality and confidence to encounter challenging conditions in ways that improve morale, promote effectiveness and save you time.

What is your next step to creatively negotiate for more productivity and more time?

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