Time Management for Leaders: Schedule Everything (Wisdom From John Lee Dumas)

Schedule Everything

In early March of 2015, I was at a marketing conference in San Diego (the one I told Ann Meacham I was going to). I posted a picture on Facebook of me in the city, and my friend Lindsay Siegel saw it and commented that I should reach out to John Lee Dumas.

I didn’t reach out to John asking to be on his podcast – I just wanted to say hello. It’s a great example of good things happening when you don’t have a hidden agenda, because although we didn’t get to meet in person, he asked me to be on his podcast anyway!

His Entrepreneur on Fire podcast is one of the top in the world, and the exposure was simply incredible. Before we did the podcast, I asked him if I could mention him in this book, and he said absolutely. As we spoke on the phone, I asked him some important questions.

There are three stand-out tips from my conversation with him that I want to share with you. They are incredibly powerful and, when properly applied, will improve your results:

1. Schedule everything.
2. Take breaks.
3. Surround yourself with the right people.

“If it’s not on the calendar, it probably won’t happen,” John said to me as we chatted on the phone.
“What about simple things like meditation?” I asked with a smile.
“Put that on the calendar too – put it all on the calendar. What I’ve found is that when you don’t schedule time for the things you want to get done, your other activities will find a way to push that activity out, often without you even realizing it. Make sure that even the little activities you care about are scheduled,” John emphasized.

This is awesome input because it ties into a core theme of managing time as a leader: make time for the things YOU want to do. Yes, there are always going to be chores, obligations, and other tasks that you have to do as part of being a human being on planet Earth, but you have more control over your schedule than you may realize.

Believe it or not, you can schedule into your calendar some fun and tension-relieving activities like going for a massage, spending time with family, working out, watching a movie, and activities like those. The whole point of managing your time well is to leave time for the fun things and get time to relax! Sounds simple and obvious, but many people get caught up in the mode of “go, go, go” (I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone) and forget that being productive isn’t supposed to leave you feeling burned out – it’s supposed to leave you feeling fulfilled so you can do the things you actually want to do.

It’s fantastic to be in the flow and getting lots of things done – I love that feeling, don’t you?

The second aspect of John’s insightful comments to discuss is taking breaks. Research shows that when you take a 5-minute break every hour, your productivity increases. So don’t feel like you have to do everything at once. Be focused, but make sure to pace yourself and give yourself breaks along the way.

“What do you do when you get overwhelmed or stressed?” I asked John.

“Walks, for me, are huge,” John said. “They help me keep my sanity, maintain peace, find my balance, get answers, and remember to keep it all in perspective. Walks are a huge part of my daily schedule, and I make sure to make time for them.”

This is very powerful because John is a living example of strong time management leading to more peace, not more stress. He makes sure to take care of himself and take breaks along the way, and it has led him to massive success.

His third tip is an important reminder to always be careful who you surround yourself with. As you read this book, and specifically this chapter, you are saturating yourself with positive insights, which is good, but you need to be aware of the people in your life. It can be challenging to find new friends, though, so don’t beat yourself up when it takes longer than you want it to take. Just please be careful who you are spending your time with on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. It makes a huge difference in your life.

You’ve heard this tip earlier in the book, but it’s worth repeating because it’s so incredibly important to your success. If you apply everything from these chapters but are around the wrong people, you will quickly lose steam.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” John said.

Get around people who are doing what you want to do. Ask them questions. Reach out and initiate meetings. Do what you have to do to get all sorts of great input from successful people.

Podcaster and entrepreneur John Lee Dumas was featured in both the award-winning book Reach Your Mountaintop as well as the Amazon bestseller The Power of Authentic Leadership.