Manage Life Like A Boss

This message is about managing life better and includes five life hacks to help you get started.

Why Multitasking is Bad for You

I’m drawn to managing more than one activity at once, but truthfully mono-tasking is more useful for me.

In a weak attempt to simultaneously handle various matters, problems, and situations, the demands of life may tempt you to multitask too. Still, your brain can only focus on one thing at a time and instead of believing the common misconception that your brain is working on two things concurrently, realize it is redirecting its attention between the two. [1] 

Multitasking can actually:

• Increase errors
• Decrease productivity
• Produce psychological strain

Instead of multitasking, it seems more suitable to learn to manage whatever you have to do more competently, by:

• Adhering to schedules
• Leveraging resources
• Embracing new skills
• Developing potential
• Growing in responsibility
• Actively anticipating and partnering with the future

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Adapt or Die

Understanding this, I’ve decided it best to treat life like a job.

And with this thought I prayed, Lord make me an effective manager. Give me the wisdom to manage every area of my life, because You [God] reward good managers and society does too. [2]

There is no better time than now for your administrative strengths to mature. On Wednesday, July 12, 2017, while pondering on some old notes…

Transition well.
Your opposition towards change can render you obsolete.
Lacking current usefulness and irrelevant.

5.8.17 10:39 AM

I thought about a few companies that, for this very reason, failed like Blockbuster and Borders Group [Did you know a few Blockbusters still exist?]. Then, I considered the former film giant Kodak only to learn some startling facts.

During the 70s, then Kodak engineer Steven Sasson invented the first digital camera to rather stiff reviews. When he brought his invention to his bosses, they encouraged him to continue his work, but to keep the results under wraps. Why? His discovery posed a threat to their dominant revenue base. Instead of building a team with the foresight to manage the gold mine they’d uncovered, Kodak quietly tucked it away.

Business Insider contributor Nathan McAlone writes:

Kodak’s marketing department, however, resisted it, according to the Times. Sasson was told they “could” sell the camera, but that they wouldn’t, for fear it would cannibalize film sales. At the time, Kodak made money off of every step of the photography business. Why give that up? [3]

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What You Fear Could Change the World

Sasson was a disruptive innovator and his findings produced a source of troubles for Kodak’s business model (selling film). If they’d transformed their business to support digital advancements, who knows where they’d be.

Time was on their side too.  Kodak had over a decade to prepare for the transition, yet they failed to adequately partner with change and became its casualty. [4]

The company continued funding projects that supported pending digital shifts, made billions from the digital camera patent until 2007,  and appeared to be on the cusp of the online photo sharing wave but sadly never made it past the curve. [5]

Fear causes you to mismanage your resources.

• Kodak didn’t fail because they lacked the ingenuity, creativity, or the resources.
• Kodak had the sauce [the money, the idea, and the market].
• Kodak’s fear disabled their foresight and tragically lead them to mismanage their business.

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I mentioned earlier that God looks favorably on competent managers. In the Parable of the Talents, three men were given money to manage, and all but one did it well. The lone ranger fearfully did nothing with the money he was entrusted with, as a result, he was stripped of what he had and rejected for being unprofitable. The moral of the story is this:

• Manage your resources well and you’ll grow them. Mismanage what you have and you’ll lose it.

Our world likes strong managers. In the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, a proprietor discovered an employee had been mismanaging his assets and afterward informed the agent of his impending termination. The manager responded to this news proactively and with some perspicacity. While still employed, he thought it best to secure his future by making friends with those indebted to his boss. He quickly settled open accounts by cutting portions of their outstanding debts. The moral of the parable is this:

• Life may not always be great for you, but while you have the head manage your resources well enough to gain supporters and influence.

5 Hacks to Manage Life Like A Boss

Use these tips to help you make practical use of this lesson and to kickstart your capacity to better manage every sphere of your life.

1. Set priorities. Designate time to perform them or delegate responsibility to someone who has proven reliable in fulfilling their commitments.
2. Try mono-tasking. Dodge distractions by focusing on what’s in front of you. Prioritize urgent interruptions and switch directions if needed, but avoid splitting your focus between multiple things at once.
3. Plan for the future. Maintain your present well, but know projecting the future is an extension of good management. Make time to for this.
4. Use a calendar, set reminders and stick with deadlines. Don’t try to be a super human, help your brain work and it will help you. Also, set deadlines for your deadlines to account for last minute modifications.
5. Take exceptional care of yourself. Welcome the growth that comes from pressure, but also know your personal stress limits. Get adequate rest, eat healthily to refuel your brain, and employ laughter to fight stress.

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Resources

1. Gupta, Dr. Sanjay. “Your Brain on Multitasking.” CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Aug. 2016. Web. 15 July 2017.
2.  Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 16:1-12
3. McAlone, Nathan. “This Man Invented the Digital Camera in 1975 – and His Bosses at Kodak Never Let It See the Light of Day.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 July 2017.
4. Mui, Chunka. “How Kodak Failed.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 June 2016. Web. 16 July 2017.
5. Anthony, Scott. “Kodak’s Downfall Wasn’t About Technology.” Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Publishing, 24 Apr. 2017. Web. 16 July 2017.