Do you own a water filter pitcher?
Every few weeks, my pitcher starts to turn green at the bottom. At the first sign of seeing this, it’s an alert that I need to clean out the contaminants in the filter to purify my water to its cleanest form.
Our to-do lists also turn green!
Our limited time builds up with contaminants of unwanted, undesirable, and unattractive things that need to be filtered.
Our tasks every single day should be in it’s purest form – our unique designed purpose.
With many priorities in our lives, we need a healthy filtration system to remove bacteria and get to the purity of our to-do’s.
As I have heard many other time management experts oversimplify the “Automate-Delegate-Eliminate” model, it just didn’t seem to work for everyone.
People and organizations are complicated and there are so many other nuances that need additional techniques.
Having many priorities takes a bit more patience and intentionality to insure every detail is handled with care. We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater…right?
So I got busy cleaning. My hands got dirty! The outcome is not only a model but a mandate. I’m waving the white flag for everyone to be less busy but more impactful.
We should have the MANDATE TO BE LESS BUSY!
Busyness is an idol that pushes out healthy choices and attracts an unhealthy lifestyle. Unchecked busyness will build up, creating a life of chaos that kills relationships, communities, families, and health.
Being overly busy keeps us from going deeper with aspects of our lives that require nurturing, stewardship, and attention…like our families, faith, and friendships.
What is needed is permission to be less busy and a framework that helps filter out unnecessary tasks and activities.
The MANDATE Model may be the solution to your chaos and an opportunity to live a deeper life.
This busyness filtration system is meant to work almost immediately and can be used by full-time employees and freelancers. It can and should be used by organizations as well to do strategic planning and department efficiency planning.
The MANDATE Model
Meditate
Automate
Negotiate
Delegate
Advocate
Truncate
Elevate and Eliminate
Meditate
God cares for all the details of our lives. We are to give our lists to him and take the time to reflect on what to put our energy towards. This initial step is to pray, meditate, and contemplate before doing anything. Do this daily and it will be hard to go the wrong way.
Advocate
Advocate is the technique for seeking help. When we are not in the position to eliminate, delegate, or automate, this is where we should be vocal diplomatically in asking for help. For the self-employed, this is asking your spouse and/or your kids to support you either by giving you distraction-free time/space to work or having them support a mission-critical task like editing.
Negotiate
Sometimes, advocating for help may fall on deaf ears. If you find yourself in this position, diplomatically share all that has been assigned and ask your manager which of the tasks takes priority, and then negotiate a timeline for delivery that works best for the good of the organization.
Delegate
This requires relinquishing control and trust…not micromanaging. Think creatively outside the box on either hiring, sourcing an intern, or finding tangible busy work that a child can take on. This works not only for work but also for chores in the home.
Automate
Anything that you do routinely on a daily or weekly basis can be automated. Where some people get this wrong is thinking that automation means technology. Automate means whatever task is a necessary means to your job, it has a set day, time, location, and outcome. Automate means to make that job easier. It may be utilizing digital tools that send out prewritten newsletters, emails, or social posts to your constituents. You can automate yourself by batching your work… choosing certain hours or days each week to work on specific tasks. I go deeper into the automatic life in my “Work-Life Sandwich” article.
Truncate
This method, similar to negotiating, is also in place for when elimination is not possible. This method is good for every organization’s top time suck…MEETINGS. Take the time to evaluate your meeting calendar and start shortening, condensing, and merging meetings. Look to move all your meetings and calls to one or two specific time blocks in the week. Doing this does wonder for the ability to focus.
Eliminate and Elevate
This is my favorite as this builds necessary space physically and mentally. Both eliminate and elevate is to RELEASE it! Don’t be afraid to say no and remove unnecessary conversations, tasks, and meetings that don’t align with your daily professional or personal mission. Elimination may also take the form of eliminating distractions and going on airplane mode while you work.
When all else fails and you’re drowning in despair, elevate your concerns to HR. If you are independent, then your elevation method may be best for a coach, mentor, or an outside party who can help you simplify your current chaos.
Let the white space on your calendar be your goal and your friend!
Leave margin and space in every single day because life does happen. Rest also needs to happen. A neighbor in need, a child that needs attention, the last-minute work project…this will come up and our days should be scheduled in a rhythm that allows for flexibility.
If you’re currently caught in the busy trap of overwhelm and not seeing strides, you may be caught in the rat race. I would encourage you to pause to reassess your priorities, and your personal mission, and look to simplify and redesign your approach to life.
Spend 30 minutes at the start and end of each day taking all your tasks and goals through the MANDATE MODEL.
Investing 30 minutes a day to carryout out your MANDATE can create much freedom and impact. Your focus on your deep work goes longer and further.
Take time to implement your filtration system every week. If necessary, do it to start your day, every day to make sure you’re staying on your goal.
If you have made it this far, put a reoccurring meeting on your schedule for every work day that says “The Mandate Model”. Copy and paste the applicable parts of the model overview into your notes.
Success is not in materialism or achievements. Success is found in stewarding your time and talent well.