During a play in New York City about gang violence, a cell phone rang in the audience.  Thoughtlessly, the man answered it.  He was hunched over talking when one of the actors walked over, pointed the prop gun at him and said, “Give me the phone!”  Sheepishly the man handed it over.  The audience erupted in applause. 

What is so important about having our phone at our fingertips all the time?  Not only can this obsession prevent us from giving our full attention to the world around us, it also interrupts our train of thought, halts productivity and disturbs others.  Just as bad, is walking around with a Bluetooth in our ear – its’ blinking blue lights signal you are oh-so-important.  NOT!

Technology is a meant to be a tool that enables us to be more efficient.  But that same technology becomes an obstacle when we over-use it.

A busy executive with 40 speed dials programmed into his phone was so proud of being able to reach everyone important with just three taps.  Problem was, he couldn’t remember all the combinations and who belonged to each, so he carried a chart around.  Wasted time.

According to Forbes, a billion hours are spent on YouTube every day and 400 hours of content is uploaded every minute!  Some are the most inane videos imaginable, but there are also useful training videos.  Use it as a tool to be productive, not an obstacle that is filling your mind and time with fluff.

If routine tasks are preventing you from concentrating on your priorities, hire someone to take care of them.  Your time is important.  Spend it working on what will make you most productive and align with your values.

Doctors try not to book back-to-back appointments, avoiding the domino effect caused by a patient requiring additional care.  Do you build downtime into your schedule?  Time to refresh and take care of the unexpected?

Finally, stop saying yes – to unnecessary meetings and to organizations that do not align with your values or your priorities.

Time is finite.  Yet many of us naively expect Father Time to give us the ability to produce more, accomplish more, be more. Step back; consider what is the best use of your time.  Time spent like that is never wasted.