A Matter of Time
This week in my inbox, I got this fun little "2023 review" email from our applicant tracking software (the software with which we track the progress of the thousands of job seekers we process). The first number I saw was 41,468 applicants. That represents how many resumes my team processed in 2023 on behalf of our clients.
There were other stats, too, but I tried to imagine our 150+ small business clients finding the time to review over 40,000 resumes. That is SO. MUCH. TIME.
As I pondered how much time we spend reviewing resumes, writing job ads, developing phone screen forms, scheduling candidates, typing notes, collaborating with clients, and running references, I celebrated all the time we gave back to our clients—busy business leaders just trying to make it happen day in and day out so they can serve their customers with excellence.
So, from that reflection, here are a few thoughts on time:
What is the highest and best use of my time? What God-given gifts were you put on this world to cultivate and steward? We're all different. It could be selling, leading, reviewing financials, welding, building, designing, or a hundred other things. Are you spending the bulk of your time in the areas where you naturally shine? What responsibilities, projects, or tasks currently on your plate could be delegated to a teammate, outsourced, or streamlined with the right software?
Minutes add up to hours. This was a tough one for me. This little task only takes 10 minutes – it's not worth delegating. Well, let's say that a 10-minute task must be completed 5 times a month…now we're talking about 50 minutes. As your business and your role grow, these little 5 to 10-minute tasks can slowly start eating up more and more time without you ever realizing it. It's worth reassessing every so often: What are the little things that are beginning to add up?
Does my calendar reflect my priorities? If launching a new product line is one of your big goals for the year, would your calendar make it obvious to the rest of us that your new product line is a focal point? Or would it show meetings, calls, and tasks unrelated to a new product launch eating up your time? If your family is a priority, did you enter all of your son's baseball games into your calendar at the start of the season to make sure you don't accidentally schedule a meeting and miss a big game? Take a peek. Does your calendar reflect time spent on the important stuff?
Do I leave myself any margin? I was recently talking with another mom who also runs a business. She shared that, between work and family, she can "just so make it work." But her schedule is so tightly booked that one little thing goes off-kilter, and her plan for the day collapses like a house of cards. One call from the school because one of the kids forgot their basketball uniform for the game, a car in the garage, an appointment running late, a snow delay, and there's instant chaos. She was running her schedule as though everything would go as planned, but things rarely did. She was getting burned out and frustrated. How many of us run like this? (You can't see me, but I'm raising my hand). She shared that she was on a mission to delegate some of her work and cut back her responsibilities to build cushion into her schedule. Room to breathe. Room for error. Margin. Dang, did I find that conversation convicting! Maybe you did, too?
Learning to have a healthy relationship with time is a journey. Sometimes, it feels like one step forward and two steps back, but we all get 24 hours in a day, and with intentionality, we can make the most of it.