A Secret to Cope with Stress…How to Add 26 Days to Your Year

“If only I had more hours in the day.” How many times have you uttered those words? If you’re like most people, you either think it or say it daily. The good news is that we all have more time accessible to us. The bad news is that we often let others steal it from us.

Consider this: International Communications Research in New York surveyed over 1,000 people on how many minutes per day they are interrupted with things they don’t want to do. Over 42 percent of those surveyed admit that they spend 100 minutes or more every day on interruptions. This breaks down to the following:

100 minutes (1-2/3 hours) per day

11-2/3 hours per week

26 days per year

5 weeks of vacation

While you can’t make up for lost time, you can have more time to do what you want to do – starting today! The secret is to use Be Direct with Respect® principles. Here’s how.

• When someone asks, “Can I have five minutes of your time?” the natural response is to say, “Sure,” even though you really don’t have five minutes…and you know those five minutes will grow into 15, 20, or even 30 minutes. A better response is, “Sure, I’d love to help you, but let me call you when I’m done with this project and we can talk then.” Now you’re still engaging the person, but you’re doing it on your terms and your timeline, not theirs.

• When someone tries to start a friendly conversation with you or engage in small talk and you don’t have the time, the usual response is to stop what you’re doing and talk to the person. After all, you don’t want to be rude. A better response is, “I’d love to hear more about your grandkids (or your new project, the new clients, etc.), but right now I have a meeting (or a deadline to meet, a report to finish, a doctor’s appointment, etc.). So let’s talk about this later today when I’m available.” Again, it’s just a matter of redirecting the person to your timeline.

• When you have a planned one hour meeting with someone and the hour is almost up but the other person shows no intention of leaving or ending the conversation, most people would let the meeting run over, which then disrupts their entire day’s schedule. A better approach is, “Our time is just about up. Why don’t we use the remaining few minutes to decide when we’ll meet again to complete this discussion.” At that point the person may suddenly be able to sum up all the key points. And if additional time is needed, now you’re doing it according to your schedule.

Take Back Your Time

By communicating with Direct with Respect® you will be able to stop interruptions at work and home in order to do the necessary tasks. It is an art to tell others that you can’t take care of their needs without sounding like a selfish person. But when you’re direct with respect®, you can do what you need and want to do and get the respect from others at the same time.