Canadian workers dedicate an average of 11 minutes to a project before being distracted, and it takes them 25 minutes to get re-focused (if they ever get back to it).

A manager loses one hour per day to disorder, costing the business up to $8,125 per year if earning $65,000.

How do we recapture our time and our life? We live in a world where the traditional 9-to-5 workday is ancient history. In our last article, we contended that “we have all the time there is”—and we do. Once we apply simple time-utilization techniques, we can recover as much as three hours a day of productive time.

Then what?

Adjust your relationship to time by investing your time rather than spending it to do stuff. When something is “spent,” it’s gone forever. Investors expect a return. We truly are investing the time of our life. It’s important we invest our time on things that truly matter to us.

As Charles “T” Tremendous Jones says, “It’s better to want things we don’t have, than to have things we don’t want.”

‘Don’t shoot the messenger’

Employees value unfiltered, concrete feedback.

We suggest executives ask their subordinates, “What do I do that wastes your time and prevents you from executing your responsibilities?”

Tough question. When asked, most employees rate “My Boss” as their biggest time interrupter (waster).

Follow that question with, “What can I do to help you use your time better to achieve our desired results?”

At first, you may receive tentative responses, but when you act on their answers, suspicion will dissipate.

One organization arranges an annual “barrier” day on which executives listen to feedback on what they have done throughout the year to impede employees’ progress. Hard to hear, but invaluable, since their desired outcome is gaining a competitive edge.

Another company created “Messenger” hats. Employees wore this hat when they had “bad” news to communicate. Everyone reported that the hat always caused the conversation to begin with a laugh.

It took no more than two weeks of hat-wearing to entrench the idea that employees value unfiltered, concrete feedback. “Don’t shoot the messenger” became a part of the company’s business strategy.

Focus on Results

Keep yourself and others focused on results, rather than time expended.

Do everything you can to keep yourself and others focused on results, rather than time expended.

To be productive, individuals must know what, specifically, is expected of them, how well they are expected to perform, what resources are available to assist them, and how well they are actually performing.

People value specific, helpful feedback and often become cynical when given platitudes or trite feedback.

Executives ask, “Where do I find the time for all these conversations?” It may be as simple as becoming more connected to where your time goes.

Some executives and managers tend to take an overly optimistic view of time and how long a task requires. They also tend to chase events that pop up much like an untrained dog chasing every rabbit that darts across its path.

We’re not trained animals, but we do have ingrained habits that no longer serve us well. Actions directed at specific outcomes are far more productive than random acts.

Replace ‘To Do’ With ‘To Accomplish’ List

Don’t confuse activities with results.

There is a big difference between dreaming your life away and actually living a healthy, productive life, yet most people spray their activities like a WWII ack-ack gunner. Today’s business climate requires a heat-seeking missile of clearly defined outcomes and specific actions designed to advance towards a desired end result.

Don’t confuse activities with results. Traditional “to-do” lists often work against us. We could change the face of bull-fighting forever if we could get a message to the bull that the issue is not the moving red object, it’s the tall stationary object.

Stay focused on results by replacing your “To Do” list with a “To Accomplish” list.

At the end of each day, don’t whine about what you didn’t get done; congratulate yourself and others on what we accomplished and set clear outcomes for tomorrow.

There are those who contend that daily activities “interfere” with long-term goals. This is a sign of ineffective management, not poor employee time-management.

We are not in training for tomorrow. After all, whoever promised us tomorrow? We have no practice time, no time-outs, and no replays.

Without being gruesome, why not ask ourselves, “If I were to die today, would I be pleased with the way I invested my time?”

I hope your answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

Dave Mather is a corporate specialist with the Dale Carnegie Business Group.

Dave on LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/davematherdalecarnegie