Have you ever met a Call Center Manager who said they were bored? A manager that had nothing really important to do? Yeah, neither have I!
In fact, most Call Center leaders are a bit crazed as they try to keep all the balls in the air and just get done what MUST be done every day.
To keep those balls in the air we start with a daily To Do List, where we rank each item based on the balance between IMPORTANCE (how much does this matter) and URGENCY (how soon does this matter). From there we attack the day and get as much done as possible. Then we start over with a new list the next morning. It often feels overwhelming as we never really complete the list. Finding time to work on our dream initiatives never seems to happen.
The bad news is that there is nothing about working through this daily priority list that helps you find more time. If the list is longer than the time it takes to complete it, you will always feel behind and sometime even feel overwhelmed.
So Change the Rules: Using the SIGNIFICANCE Factor
Rory Vaden, in his book Procrastinate on Purpose, introduces a new factor into this daily balancing act that he calls SIGNIFICANCE. He says that the traditional ranking of our To Do List asks the question “What’s the most important thing I can do today?” When you add significance into the ranking formula the key question becomes “What can I do today that will create more time tomorrow?” Your goal should be to spend time on activities that have the potential of freeing up future time. Time you could spend on the things you really want to do!
So what does this mean in the real life of a call center manager? Here’s an example: Say you spend 10 minutes every morning creating a daily productivity summary report for your boss. (It’s important as your boss doesn’t want to spend time reading the full reports as he understands the Significance factor.) You’ve considered training someone else to do the work, but that would take a couple hours, which you just don’t have.
Now add the SIGNIFICANCE factor into your idea of training someone else to do this task. The SIGNIFICANCE turns out to be pretty high! Here’s why: 10 minutes a day, five days a week, 52 weeks a year totals 2600 minutes a year. That’s over 43 hours! Once you subtract two to three hours of training time, you net an extra week of time in your year. What could you accomplish with an extra week in your life?
In fact, most Call Center leaders are a bit crazed as they try to keep all the balls in the air and just get done what MUST be done every day.
To keep those balls in the air we start with a daily To Do List, where we rank each item based on the balance between IMPORTANCE (how much does this matter) and URGENCY (how soon does this matter). From there we attack the day and get as much done as possible. Then we start over with a new list the next morning. It often feels overwhelming as we never really complete the list. Finding time to work on our dream initiatives never seems to happen.
The bad news is that there is nothing about working through this daily priority list that helps you find more time. If the list is longer than the time it takes to complete it, you will always feel behind and sometime even feel overwhelmed.
So Change the Rules: Using the SIGNIFICANCE Factor
Rory Vaden, in his book Procrastinate on Purpose, introduces a new factor into this daily balancing act that he calls SIGNIFICANCE. He says that the traditional ranking of our To Do List asks the question “What’s the most important thing I can do today?” When you add significance into the ranking formula the key question becomes “What can I do today that will create more time tomorrow?” Your goal should be to spend time on activities that have the potential of freeing up future time. Time you could spend on the things you really want to do!
So what does this mean in the real life of a call center manager? Here’s an example: Say you spend 10 minutes every morning creating a daily productivity summary report for your boss. (It’s important as your boss doesn’t want to spend time reading the full reports as he understands the Significance factor.) You’ve considered training someone else to do the work, but that would take a couple hours, which you just don’t have.
Now add the SIGNIFICANCE factor into your idea of training someone else to do this task. The SIGNIFICANCE turns out to be pretty high! Here’s why: 10 minutes a day, five days a week, 52 weeks a year totals 2600 minutes a year. That’s over 43 hours! Once you subtract two to three hours of training time, you net an extra week of time in your year. What could you accomplish with an extra week in your life?
