When I’m on a hunt, I measure time from before the sun rises to the last 30 minutes of daylight. Time can be very elastic when I’m in the blind, the minutes watching a buck as he crosses my sights stretch and play out in slow motion. The hours sitting with friends fly by (especially now that we have heaters in the blind!) and some hunts feel like the day is a lifetime unfolding before me.
My day-to-day management of time is far more complicated, as I have to accommodate more factors that just deer and weather and allotment of snacks. But if I’ve learned anything from hunting it’s this: the better I manage my time and energy, the more successful hunt I will have.
I meet with my executive team every Tuesday. This is typically a very condensed, every-minute-matters meeting. But on a recent Tuesday, we were all distracted: by office decorating decisions, by holiday party details, by “I want this and so-and-so wants that.” This went on for eight minutes or so before I realized that our Desired Outcome for this meeting was slowly slipping away as shiny objects distracted us. The minute we latched back on to the DO, the team focused on our agenda, and got to work on the core metrics model that is going to drive our company.
Guarding your time requires that you rise above your ego and get clear about the purpose of your hunt. You can target your actions on hitting those DOs, rather than getting caught up in useless time wasters with no real return. If you are hunting whitetails, for example, you’ve got one great morning sit – those first few hours when the deer are up and active. If daylight hits and you aren’t ready, you may as well stay home. When you are clear and honest about what you really want to get out of your time and energy, managing the things you can control becomes a priority.
Here are my “Last 30 minutes of daylight” on time management:
• Stay focused on your DO.
• Don’t get distracted by email, gossip or other shiny objects.
• Be honest about why you’re doing what you are doing.
• Know how to say “no” – to yourself and others.
• Let everyone know when you are unavailable and then be unavailable. (Easier said than done, I know. I am the absolute worst at this one and it drives everyone crazy.)
Your time is a non-renewable resource and the only way to make more is to use the time you have wisely. Invest your most precious resource in the things that matter the most to you: family, community, relationships, love, health…your list will be different than mine, but knowing what matters makes it easier to drop the things that don’t. Make a list; set your priorities and keep your eyes on the prize and you will find you have more time to hunt.
