Time for Yourself

Clear out time for yourself, schedule it.  We talk a lot on how being a leader is about your team, but you do need to spend some time on yourself.  It is not 100% team and 0% you.  You need time for yourself.

Just because you are a leader doesn’t mean you don’t have personal goals.  It doesn’t mean you don’t have personal needs.  You do, and to be a great leader you need to practice your skills, learn new ones, and improve lacking skills.

Schedule this time.  It is really important to take this tip seriously and stick to it.  Schedule this time.

Strong leaders tend to give out their time to their folks.  Teammates showing up at your desk, instant messages or emails chiming in, or overhearing a conversation you want to help with, these are all interruptions that eat up time in your day.  We want to help and get back with people quickly so that they may move on with their work, but these interruptions destroy overall efficiency.

Strong leaders work to give their folks independence and confidence to complete their work.  The interruptions occur more often when people are used to asking for help or receiving an email response quickly.  Train your team to work out solutions independently.  Assure them that you are available, but that your availability is not necessarily immediate. You may even need to deliberately delay a response to help your team get more comfortable waiting.  (Always follow up, don’t push out a response and then completely forget about it.)

Schedule time in your day to have your own individual time.  Block it off in your calendar so that no one schedules another meeting during that time.  If you are an early bird, get to the office a little early some days, before everyone else, to have time to yourself.  Prefer to stay late, figure out a time when the office is empty and focus then.  This doesn’t have to be everyday, but once or twice a week, spend an hour or two alone.  Shut off distractions, close down email and messenger apps, turn off your phone, and block out the noise of the office.

Use this time to get caught up on things, and clear out that to-do list.  Don’t let tasks hang around and bog you down.  Use this time to work on a skill or reflect on your leadership and your team.  Clear out your head and complete any thoughts or solve any problems that have been lingering.  By getting yourself more focused, you will be benefiting your team, you will be allowing yourself to be more present when they need you, and you will be able to think and communicate more clearly.

Your time is just as important as your team’s.  Leaders need to spend time on themselves to be there for their teammates.  Help your folks to become more independent as this will free up your time.  Schedule time on your calendar to help focus on your needs.  Even though leadership is all about everyone else, individual, alone time is a necessary element to leading your team.