My friend and mentor, Thomas Leonard, was fond of saying
that "space management is more important than time
management." What he meant was that while we cannot
actually "manage" time (it just keeps marching forward), we
CAN and MUST manage our personal environment.
This is one of the KEY STRATEGIES of highly effective
people. They "set themselves up" for success by surrounding
themselves with the situations, tools, ideas and people
that "drive" or "pull" or "push" them in the direction of
their most important goals.
Failures and frustrated "wannabe's" live in the midst of
chaos. While they may work very hard and complain about how
busy or stressed or confusing their lives are ("there's
nothing I can do about it"), the reality is that they
permit their work, their time and their achievements to be
determined by whatever "happens to happen". That is not a
recipe for success!
This week I read an extraordinary statement from Carl Jung
that confirms this. Writing in a time when the masculine
pronoun was taken for granted, he said that man "can meet
the needs of outer necessity in an ideal way only...if he is
in harmony with himself. Conversely, he can only adapt to
his inner world and achieve harmony with himself when he is
adapted to the environmental conditions."
That is an extraordinary thing! Obviously, today it would
be phrased to include both women and men, but the point is
extremely important.
Jung was saying that we can ONLY achieve peak performance,
fulfill our potential and know inner peace when we live in
harmony with our surroundings! And yet, the vast majority
of us live in surroundings that are determined by our
employers, and by whatever dirty dishes, old newspapers or
yesterday's sandwich wrapper happen to be laying around!
That is no way to organize your life or achieve your
dreams!
Thomas Leonard was a master at controlling his environment.
Although he could afford to live anywhere he chose, he
preferred small, tightly controlled spaces. And, I think
everyone who knew him would acknowledge that in his short
47 years, he achieved an extraordinary amount. The two
things - organized space and high productivity - are
connected.
Our images of extremely successful people confirm this. The
President is never surrounded by clutter. While rock stars
may throw tantrums and trash their hotel rooms, the Donald
Trumps, Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey's of the world are
organized. They achieve great things in part because they
are not distracted or frustrated by their surroundings.
I am not a "neat freak" and readily admit that some people
are most productive when their books, papers and files are
piled around them. The point is to create and INSIST UPON
the environment that allows YOU to be most productive.
Highly successful people instinctively know this. World
class athletes don't struggle to "find" time to train. Stephen
King and other prolific writers don't "try" to write! They
organize their lives and their environments to support
their most important projects.
We can learn from these extraordinary people. We may not be
as rigorous and systematic about it (yet!), but we can
create environments that encourage and support the
achievement of our most important goals.
Greatness is rarely achieved in our "spare time".
Written & Published by Philip E. Humbert, PhD
Visit our website at: http://www.philiphumbert.com