My Time

“I will complete my blog entry before midnight!!” “I will complete my blog entry before midnight!!” Unfortunately one of my less desirable behaviours was described very well by Shanel in her last entry. Yes, I am one of those people who tends to follow their own time schedule and doesn’t respond well or move to action quickly when told what to do. This undoubtedly drives others crazy, but for you out there who are like me, there are some simple tricks that will help lessen or at least disguise these annoying behaviours.

It actually astounds me to think that I have been able to operate in a military environment for so long with this kind of personality characteristic on my shoulder. I mean in the military you are supposed to be on time and be very good at taking orders. The orders have not been too much of a challenge for me, as I have always had quite a bit of leeway in my roles. However, keeping to other company procedures, like showing up to work on time, has always been a constant struggle. I think my managers and colleagues over the years have figured this out and know to expect that I will probably wander into work late. All I can say is ‘thank goodness for tolerant workmates and flexi-time’.

It’s not that I turn up late for everything. I am always on time when I am required to do a presentation or when I perceive that something is important. It’s just that sometimes things which others deem to be essential and urgent seem less important in my little world. So the key to beating this stubborn and unteamly behaviour is definitely to create accountability for yourself and to others in some shape or form. I do this by:

• Telling others what I am going to achieve and by when
• Trying to dig and understand why others feel a task is urgent or important
• Asking others to set deadlines for me – This is horrible but needs to be done!!
• Getting involved in team projects where members depend on one another

But I suppose the biggest trick is gaining self-awareness. While I knew I was a fairly determined chap (obviously phrased in a positive light) this area was definitely a ‘blind spot’ for me. It wasn’t until I undertook a particular personality profile that I started to see the ‘darker side’ of my determination, which subsequently became more evident when I was placed under pressure. So while it will always be with me, I am now able to identify the negative behaviours before they take over and apply certain techniques to limit the damage these cause when working with others.

Anyway, I had better go as I need to get to work early in the morning.