Ever sent someone an important email and they fire back a response in minutes? What crosses your mind — that they can’t be that busy if they can get back to you, or that their promptness is impressive?
Your perception of time and the value you place on time is crucial to your success. It’s likely to have been influenced by how time was managed as you were growing up, whether yours was a regimented household or one that just went with the flow.
You may be someone who regularly runs a bit late as a result. While you may not be bothered by 10 minutes here or there, it can be stressful for others. It’s also simple courtesy: to keep someone waiting on purpose is rude and unprofessional. Ultimately, it will damage how you are perceived by colleagues and managers.
Having a sense of urgency isn’t just about punctuality and time management. It’s a feeling of getting things done or making a decision promptly and efficiently. Reflecting and thinking things through is valuable as long as a decision is made on time.
Protracted procrastination is akin to laziness and comes across as feeble, wishy washy and inept. If someone is waiting on a decision from you, get on with it.
Conversely, don’t underestimate the importance of ‘quality reflection’. Some decisions shouldn’t be rushed so don’t be afraid to say if you need to mull things over. You can make a judgement as to how much reflection time you’ll need, and then go back with a decision within the agreed timeframe.
Successful people have an innate sense of urgency. The skill of time management and completing a large number of actions is the norm. Whether it’s inbuilt or a learned behaviour, managing timing, getting lots done and making quick decisions are all qualities that are increasingly important in today’s business world.
If you haven’t got a sense of urgency chances are your lackadaisical approach has been holding you back in your career. But this is something you can turn around. There are numerous resources to help you with time management. But you need to act. Now.
Check out Team Taskmaster’s top 5 time management mistakes to get you started.
