5 Time Management Tips We Can Learn from "Jaws"

I attended a screening of Jaws with a theater full of other crazy aficionados of the 1975 classic. Throughout the movie, I realized there are plenty of take-aways to help us with our time management skills. Get out your popcorn, dim the lights, and board the Orca to set sail to Amity Island to learn a few nifty tips for personal productivity.

#1 - Prepare Constantly - When the town of Amity realizes it has a big problem, Quint (top shark fisherman on the island), makes a memorable sales presentation. He explains why he is most suited to the task in a very convincing way and makes a hefty offer of $10,000 plus a case of apricot brandy to catch the unwelcome visitor. His demeanor is calm and confident. If you write your battle plan the night before or have a routine each morning before work, you will find opportunities falling into your lap over time. When you prepare, you see life differently. For example, after reading all of Grant Cardone’s books on selling, I look at customer service in a new light and notice lost selling and service opportunities each day. 

#2 - Maintain Focus Through the Noise - Amity Island’s mayor chooses not to hire Quint and instead allows low skill locals to compete for the $3,000 bounty offered by a victim’s mother. Insanity ensues as dozens of hapless amateurs head out to sea. There’s a scene where Quint is sailing by the bedlam with a great big grin and tips his hat. It’s obvious he knows the lesser fishermen won’t catch the Great White. He is aware of the depth of the challenge and knows they can’t meet it. The daily, weekly, and monthly routines you develop, as a result of, refining your goals, will give you that extra proficiency.

#3 - You Can’t Stay Underwater with Three Barrels - In the final act of the movie, Quint, Mr. Hooper, and Chief Brody are in a battle with the killer shark far out to sea. Each time the shark gets near the boat, the fishermen attach another yellow barrel to it - making it increasingly difficult for the fish to remain underwater. How many barrels are you bringing with you at all times? 

One strategy to release a few of those extra barrels is to become more aware of switching life roles. You can’t do multiple tasks simultaneously nor can you be in-the-moment for more than one role. Here’s a handy exercise: jot down every moment of transition between roles in a typical day or week. For example, when I dropped my kids off at daycare, I’d transition from my Dad role to my entrepreneurial role with a touch of my mp3 player (changing from The Wiggles children’s album to an audio book on work life balance by Greg McKeown titled Essentialism. Naturally, this transition doesn’t mean I’m not a Dad anymore until I see the kids after work, but it serves as a clear moment of change in roles. 

#4 - Capture the Essence - John Williams is the master of film scoring. In a behind-the-scenes feature, he described his initial viewing of Jaws as a swashbuckling pirate movie! And some of his action music in the final act express it. Water is splashing, boats are getting yanked about, and it’s very playful. By composing mini-mission statements for your roles, you will capture the essence of each role so you can connect with it each day. 

#5 - Cultivate Quiet Intensity - For most Jaws maniacs, Quint’s speech about his experience being on the Navy’s U.S.S. Indianapolis ship that sunk and many of its sailors were claimed by the circling sharks is the most memorable speech of the film. He delivers his gripping story in a very subdued manner but the intensity of the story is quite jarring and unnerving. What are the moments of your day when you make powerful insights? Can you multiply them? Try journal writing or intention writing to amplify these moments of quiet intensity.  

#5 - You’re Gonna Need a Better Time Management System - The most memorable line of the film is actually ad libbed by Roy Scheider who says in a half-daze after seeing the beast for the first time up close, “You’re gonna need bigger boat.” Same thing goes for your time management system. You need a system that can capture your best ideas, hold you accountable, clarify your goals, cultivate your innate creativity, manage large scale projects, and provide you with a method that can be shared with teammates. What’s the biggest time management challenge that’s taking a bite out of your quality time? 

What's Your Inner World Like and How Does it Determine Your Happiness?

Meditation is the perfect way to connect with your inner world. I know that sounds like hippie stuff but our connection to our inner world dictates our happiness and overall well-being throughout the day. During my morning meditation today, I realized the calm state I was searching for through my aural mantra was like I unplugged my brain and inserted a completely different one. It was as if I had ten brains on a shelf and I plugged in the one all the way on the left. Think of a bunch of operating systems: 1.0, 2.0, all the way up to 10.0. The brain I needed was not even really the 1.0 version. I needed the .0001 version - that’s the calm mind. As I was meditating, I made it so I couldn’t even generate thoughts. I was in feeling mostly. I was pursuing the pre-thought mind and in that’s where you get the most rest for your mind.

Imagine stripping all the upgrades and apps to your brain. Your mind is your computer and you need to have the skill to hop back to the brand new computer - factory version. It’s turned on - it’s powered up completely. It has full power and a surge of currency is running through it - yet no power is able to be used for thinking. That’s where you want to get in meditation. It’s like trying on a bunch of different sunglasses or virtual reality goggles. Try it! Sit comfortably - preferably with your dog snoring nearby - and ask Siri to set a 20-minute timer. Focus on an aural mantra that has no meaning to you - perhaps “ahhh” - and allow yourself to experience your pre-1.0 operating system mind. You’re fully powered up but it’s running no programs. In fact, it doesn’t even have the ability to do so! Oh, and breathe! Tell me how it went!

Achieve More by Doing Less

Consciously trying to try less hard has been a theme for me lately. I’ve been consistently meditating for 20 minutes a day but I’m working to expand it to twice per day. Once I focus on my aural mantra, I become very calm and focused on - well, nothing. And this is good. But then the thoughts creep in to my mind. I know to gently acknowledge the thoughts as they arise and then return to the mantra to re-focus. I find myself trying to increase the stretches of time that I am very calm. I’ve had similar experiences in the past. I spent most of my high school and college years trying to become a better drummer - more specifically - a snare drummer in a drum corps. I was taught to strive for a full quality of sound (ie/ create a great sound yet remain relaxed). The less I worked, the fuller the sound I created. The same happened for driving a golf ball further. When I tightened up my muscles, I hit the ball a shorter distance. When I worked on my technique to allowed the ball or drum to vibrate naturally, I got the best results. The first step is to become aware that you’re not as relaxed as you could be. The tricky part is surrendering control. I often think if I muscle it out, I’ll get the best result - but it never works. At once you expend the maximum energy while remaining as effortless as possible. When have you achieved more with less effort?

Business Journal or Blog?

I need to have start writing more like a journal in some of my blog posts. I’ve been wanting to write a journal related to my vision for my business, Master Your Roles.  However, I shied away from it because I felt I should write a typical blog. I agree that typical keyword-rich blog posts are important to build credibility and provide helpful information. But I found there was something missing. There are thoughts I want to share that don’t fit in a 7 Steps to better Time Management format. And let’s face it - that gets boring. I’ve always felt a compulsion to move in a different direction from the masses. 

My business journal will be very stream-of-consciousness. I will probably flit from subject to subject. I will share my process of building my business. And I believe that it will be helpful to you and perhaps even inspirational. If not, it’ll still be very important to me. Master Your Roles is the fourth business I’ve started. The others were: Robo-Percussion Music (methods and music for young drummers), Drumming Together (drum circles and wellness using music), and Scott Snow Music Therapy Services (providing music therapy to kids and adults with disabilities). Of all my businesses, Master Your Roles is the one I’m most passionate about - perhaps passionate is too weak a word - it’s my purpose! I’m sure of it. I think about it all the time. However, it’s also the business that has been the most difficult to earn paying clients. I’m having a tough time deciding on a target market - a tip all business coaches say is crucial. I agree! I recall a comment Mark Cuban made to a guest on Shark Tank. He told a prospective entrepreneur that he was “too close to his business.” And I think that speaks to me and my journey. 

With Robo-Percussion Music, I ran a table at music education conferences and got orders immediately. I even had a premiere of one of my compositions at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago, the biggest gathering of music educators in the country. Next, I shifted to facilitating drum circles and started getting calls the day after placing an ad in a parenting magazine. I quickly reached the point where I didn’t want to answer the phone! I didn’t want the gigs. For the next 13 years, I worked in private practice as a music therapist. I’ve kept some clients for over a decade! And now I found my true calling. It’s amazing. I dream about workshops. I get random solutions to parts of my book to make it better. I literally have a four-foot high stack of notebooks filled with ideas. The challenge of my lifetime is to turn my purpose into a thriving business. And now you’re all caught up. So, welcome to my business journal. It will be more personal than the blog - which I will continue writing. I hope you resonate with my business journal and, as always, I welcome your comments and participation.   

You've Got a Golden Ticket: How Journaling Can Increase Your Creativity

Journaling is one of the greatest habits you can have. It ignites your creativity and gives you time to reflect on your life. Journaling has many benefits. For example, it can:

·      inspire you to become more mindful

·      increase your emotional intelligence

·      clarify your thinking

·      encourage you to develop an attitude of positive expectation

·      improve your writing skills

·      help you slow down so you can reflect on your life

·      document your life experiences for future reflection

·      enhance decision-making

·      connect you with your inner world

·      boost problem-solving skills

With a journal, you capture life’s special moments: good and bad. Life’s special moments aren’t just big events - tiny things can be just as meaningful. Research shows that great leaders take the time to reflect.  The Harvard Business Review published an article relating the vital role of journaling and reflection to effective leadership. The first step is to simply pay attention to what you’re thinking about throughout the day. Become more aware of moments that standout in a typical day. As soon as something meaningful happens, jot it down so you can recall it later that night. These are your creative snippets and they don’t have to be grammatically correct – scribble just enough words to capture the essence of what you want to journal about.

“Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket” is an example of a memorable creative snippet I wrote about in my journal when I first started my business. I saw a Wonka bar at the store and it reminded of how much I loved the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as a kid. It’s always been a symbol of unlimited creativity for me. Willy Wonka was unique and he appeared to have no competition. So, I bought the chocolate bar and hung the golden ticket wrapper on my office wall. It gave me the positive vibe I needed to get going with my new business venture. I looked at that golden ticket and felt like I couldn’t fail! And that’s what I wrote about in my journal.

Here are some more examples of creative snippets:

·      Overheard 6-year old say “Grandpa…you’re my favorite

   old man”

·      Had the worst meal of my life

·      Finally saw the 1960’s Batman episode featuring the Joker and Batman surfing

·      Inspiring phone call with Susan, my business mentor

 As you make daily journaling a habit, you’ll find yourself seeking out new experiences simply for the sake of having something unique to write about! Order that octopus soup. Remove all the cushions in the living room and make a massive fort with your nephews. Open the sunroof and turn up your favorite song on the way home from work. Give someone a fifty-dollar bill as a tip for no reason other than how it will make you feel – and then write about your experience!Your journal is the perfect place to celebrate your baby steps of progress. If you’re launching a business, write about buying a package of index cards that you’ll use to cover your office wall with intentions for your business. Your journal is the perfect place to celebrate the tiniest of baby steps of progress you are making in your life. If you are launching a new business, write about buying a business card holder for the desk that you don’t even have yet!

Keeping a daily journal is an effective way to spark your creativity and help you think like an innovator and visionary.

Personal Productivity Primer: Choose a Bad-Ass Motto for the Week

I picked up this Yoda board at the dollar store. It’s one of the most helpful tools in my personal productivity arsenal. My current motto is “It’s Not That ____ Hard.” Pick a phrase that triggers you into a strong state. Here are some past examples:

• No More Boo-Boo Face

• Razzle Dazzle Em’

• Deep Diving All the Time

• 10x inspiration flash once per hour

• Diaz Brothers!

• Build Upon Bright Spots

• I BELIEVE

• Start Streakin’ (get a streak going for goals and habits)

• Tally the Joy

• Wahh! (comic Artie Lange’s expression)

• Follow the System

• Dough Boy to Gracie

What’s your current motto that inspires you?

If you want to have effective personal productivity, you must be able to change your emotional state and level of motivation throughout the day. Use this time management skill to achieve more and get more things done each day.

Work Life Balance Tip: Transition Between Roles Decisively

Some think the All the Hats We Wear system (HATS) is too broad. They say, “All my roles - that’s everything. It’s too vague!“ Although HATS takes into account all areas of your busy life, it focuses you to a single point. The HATS system helps you begin from the moment of decision between all roles. Imagine a pie diagram with 16 sections. Place a dot in the center. That’s where you reset naturally with this time management system. You can spend time in any of your roles. You can be fully immersed in any role yet switch to another at the drop of a hat. Our ability to effectively transition between roles creates our level of fulfillment. Download the helpful Time Tracker self-assessment tool to see which roles you’re spending the most time in.

HATS is a powerful system for managing your busy life because it makes it easy to transition effectively between roles. It’s a beautiful approach to work life balance!

Our ability to effectively transition between roles creates our level of fulfillment.

How to Be More Organized: Act As If!

The most efficient way to find a solution to a problem is to act as if. Act as if your first idea is going to be the absolute solution. This becomes a rigorous stress test and you’ll find out your idea’s short-comings quickly. An example is the color-coded notebook system I came up with recently. I had a problem: too many damned ideas! I didn’t have a place for everything. And I was wasting way too much time sifting through a large notebook to review and store all the material. Now I have a simple solution. I color the bottom of my multiple one-subject notebooks: green = audio journal snippets, red = my word salad fiction project (to improve my writing skills), colorless = daily reminders, black = new vocal and language, 5-subject = brainstorming and misc, legal pad = snippets for my blog.

I went through 30-40 business names before I settled on Master Your Roles. With each I acted as if that was my name. I had business cards printed and everything. When I come up with an idea that I think is good, I post a picture of it on the dashboard of my car and look at it throughout my day. I’m testing it. The craft velociraptors in Jurassic Park did the same thing. They were always testing the security fence for weaknesses. Be like a velociraptor! I’m in the process of changing from Think Like a Musician to Master Your Roles. At a networking event, I handed my Think Like a Musician card to someone and he said, “Ohh… Think Like a Mexican - what’s that?” I just laughed and immediately decided to revise that scribbly font that wasn’t doing the job of clearly communicating my brand.

 I always liked the expression “burn the ships.” Explorer Cortes instructed his soldiers to burn their ships once the arrived because he was fully committed to his mission and conquest. My point here is expose your idea with rigor to the real world. Of course, the second part is you need to be willing to give up on parts of your idea in pursuit of a better solution. If you take this approach, you will arrive at a place where you can’t make any improvements. Congratulations - you have arrived. Now apply it to another area of your life. Act as if helped me make break-throughs in three areas of my life in the last few weeks: organized my trunk, colored notebooks, and scrapbooking the news (for blogging material). Try it!

Act as if is a time management and personal productivity strategy for solving creative problems. 

How to Be Sneaky with Your Personal Productivity

Personal Productivity Hacks Your Can Use Today

When you embrace the cracks of the day, you’ll become enormously more productive. Here are 3 strategies for utilizing the wonderful nooks and crannies of your day.

Hop in, the Water’s Fine

Nothing gets done on the hour or even the half hour. Start actions at random times. For example, I started my meditation at 7:06am today. I enjoy meditating but I also want to get into it and be done with it. I use a meditation app and once I sit in my cozy chair, I want to hit that start button as soon as possible. The sooner I hit the start button, the sooner I’m finished. Imagine hopping on to a ski lift. Getting onto the chair is the toughest part and then you’re coasting - you don’t need motivation anymore. And the sooner you hop on, the sooner you hop off. The same goes for exercise or gulping down that first tall glass of water in the morning.

Refer to Your Week-at-a-Glance (WAG) Sheet

You should be forever scribbling actions and reminders on your active WAG - for next week. When you have the prompts and reminders near you, it’s a cinch to complete those actions when time opens up. Your WAG sheet will be made up of 3 parts: daily, weekly, and projects. The daily page lists the habits you’re working to implement and has space to list your priority for each day. Your weekly sheet is an index of to-do items and has space for your top priorities for the week. The project page will list your current projects and which of the 7 stages each is currently in. Another huge benefit to having a WAG sheet is that you will constantly revisit and hover over the most important metrics of your life. Download your Week-at-a-Glance document.

Tap In To the Power of Tiny Steps Done Every Day

I adore backgammon. In fact, my kids are sick of playing against me. Once I bet my son in 1:1 basketball. If he won he got $5 but if I won he had to play me in backgammon. He played like he was in the NBA finals! I need some backgammon friends. Now I get immense joy going through a backgammon course by world champion Tim Holland. He gives you games to play in a step-wise progression. I do a few moves each day. It takes 3 minutes and I’m learning a whole new level of the game. Start timing actions you take. I’ve been trying to get into a habit of doing push-ups and sit-ups in the morning and then at night. I timed myself and realized it only took me 16 seconds to do 10 push-ups. That I can do! If I can watch a 3-hour football game on tv, I can certainly get down and do 16 seconds of exercise.

Use these 3 time management strategies to increase your personal productivity and you’ll enjoy more fulfillment and put your priorities first!

Ever Try Meditating for 20 Minutes?

I’ve been meditating most mornings for a few months now. Today was different. For some reason, I made a connection between Brazilian jiu-jitsu and meditation. One thing I learned while training in BJJ is to be able to have a good frame. The goal of framing is to create space between you and your opponent. You often use the mechanics and anatomy of your body to prevent the other person from getting close so they can get you into submissions.

While meditating today, I felt the need to maintain a mental frame as the session went along. I realized by preserving the needed mental space for my meditation focus, I reaped the rewards. When I allowed that sacred “space” to collapse, I found myself thinking and not resting my mind.

Another benefit from meditation is that it helps to decrease negative emotions that are coupled with time. Let’s say another car pulls out in front of you and takes forever to get moving. Our usual response is stress and possibly anger. However, when you practice meditation you realize you can experience the passing of time without negative emotion - even contentment. Just when you need to apply patience you recognize the feeling of accepting the passing of time. You say to yourself, ah a bit of waiting - I know how that feels.

Share your experience with meditation!