A Lesson in Availability Management

What are you, the airlines? Why do you book yourself solid? Think of your time as a commodity. Just as there are a limited number of flights, you have a limited amount of time. You must figure out where to spend it. It's a simple math equation—an issue of supply and demand. What do you do when you're "sold out"? Add another flight? That's basically what you're doing right now—if you're willing to dole more time out to anyone who wants to fly free. If you don't value your time highly enough, people will constantly demand it. To reduce demand (interruptions), you must increase the cost (value) of your supply (time). If the cost is too high, people will think twice about buying some. Simply put, when people try to spend too much of your time, you must stop being so darn AVAILABLE. Yes, you need to be available sometimes, but where is the line between a team player and a sucker? Perhaps this month, you could use a lesson in availability management.

One woman asked me, "I'm an admin, so I'm essentially in a customer support role, and my job is to give people the information they request. How can I not be available?" You aren't necessarily going to say 'no,' but you must ask questions. When someone asks you to do something, when do you assume they mean it? Usually, we think "right now" when others ask for things. Instead say, "Do you need that today, or will Monday be okay?" Or "Here's a list of the things I'm working on today. Does this take priority?" Or "I'll be happy to stop working on (x) project and work on (y). Is that what you would like me to do?" Have your boss or colleagues help you prioritize the order, rather than always being immediately available to the non-important tasks and staying late to complete the important tasks.

However, sometimes not being available does mean saying 'no.' Interestingly, the more I say 'no' to prospective customers, the more they want me. Many offer me a stipend below my usual fee, which of course I politely decline. If they really want me to speak at their meeting, they miraculously find the extra funds. Many ask me to come in and meet with them in person before they hire me. With 120+ speaking engagements each year, I simply don't have the time to do that (and have a life and a family). I explain to prospective customers I would be delighted to have a conference call with them. I've actually had people tell me, "We aren't going to hire you if you don't come out to meet us first." I tell them I'm disappointed to hear that, and I wish them the best in finding another speaker. It's amazing how many of them come back, tail between their legs, saying "Okay, never mind, we'll arrange a conference call." The fact that I was NOT available and turned down their request actually made me more valuable in their eyes. My actions communicate, "I'm a successful person with or without you, and here are the conditions under which I will be available to you." I'm polite and respectful, but I don't allow other people to dictate my calendar to me.

Do you have any conditions? Over the years, you have trained people how to treat you. Every time a colleague pops his head in your office and says, "Do you have a minute?" you're giving that person a lesson in your availability. If your behavior says, "I'm available any time you need me, so bother me randomly!" you will never have a moment's peace; everything and everyone will be vying for your attention. By managing your availability, you will gain the space of time and mind to complete your most important tasks and still be perceived as a valuable member of the team.

Need some more ways to reduce your availability? Try these:

• Block out your calendar (or schedule yourself) until 9:00 a.m., so others can't schedule morning appointments with you. Make sure you're not "free." Check the "private" box in the appointment window; all anyone needs to know if you're not available. Save these early morning hours for your high-energy periods when you can knock out your high-importance tasks. Similarly, block out your calendar starting at 4:00 p.m., so you don't get roped into a meeting that drags on past your departure time.
• Avoid saying the words "I'll look into it." These words are the kiss of death. If you're trying to concentrate on a task and say this phrase to get the intruder out of your office, that person is laughing all the way down the hall, since a task was successfully off-loaded to you. Refuse to take it on. "I'll be happy to review your project outline once you have it planned out, and I will be available as an advisor if you run into trouble. Good luck."
• When a coworker pop his heads in your office and says, "Hi, gotta minute?" You can reply, "I have just one. Will that be enough?" And DO NOT smile. Look at them with eyebrows raised, as if you are truly expecting an answer to your question. You'll get a stammering, "Oh, uh, well, actually I probably need fifteen." Then you can say, "In that case, please send me a meeting request." Or "I have my back up against the wall on a priority project (or a meeting in thirty minutes, or whatever); can I call you tomorrow at 9:00?"
• Be very careful with your body language and words. If you're interrupted right in the middle of a task with "Can I ask you a quick question?" and you say, "Sure, what's up?" and lean back and rock in your chair, you're done working on that task. Instead, try "What can I do for you?" or "How may I help you?" or "Is there something you need?" while holding your pen poised above the paper. Other times, when you're not focused, you can certainly take the question. Just don't be available all the time.
• Cue others of your non-availability before you're interrupted. Agree upon a signal with your team to leave you alone unless it's an emergency. I worked with a group at Coca-Cola that wore red baseball hats during periods of unavailable time. What might work? Installing curtains across the cubicle door? Turning your nameplate around? Wearing orange armbands? Putting yellow police crime scene tape across a cubicle entrance? Using retail "Be back at" clocks? One group I worked with found that co-workers respected the signal about 80% of the time. When I questioned the people who said others weren't respecting their signals, it turns out they never took down their signals. They were never available to their co-workers, so their co-workers simply ignored their signals. If you use this system, make sure you don't abuse it.
• The majority of incoming email is unimportant, so do not check it as it comes in. If someone needs you in an emergency, teach them to call your cell phone instead of emailing you. If you check email messages as they are coming in, you will distract yourself from less important tasks than the one you're working on. If you want to ramp up into a state of intense focus, you must turn off your incoming email alerts (Tools, Options, Email options, Advanced) and discipline yourself to only check, process, and respond to email every two hours at a minimum (four hours is better).
• Question the wisdom in attending certain meetings. Push back. Can someone attend a meeting in your place? Do you even need to be there? Can you be placed first on the agenda and then leave? Perhaps the information can be exchanged via email and the meeting cancelled? Would a team member tape the meeting, and you can listen to it in the car? Question a face-to-face meeting, if you think a conference call will suffice. Focus not only on the time spent in the meeting but what you could have accomplished if you weren't there.
• When a phone call, face to face, or meeting is wrapping up, cue the person that time is running out. "It was nice having talked with you." "In summary, before we head out, I'm going to..." or "Before we finish..." or "Before we wrap things up..." "If that is all, I will get started on this..." or "I see that our time is almost up...is there anything else?"

The lesson here is really about setting healthy parameters for yourself and recognizing the reality of the consequences of "always available" time. Saying "yes" to everything and always being available will compromise your energy level, your overall productivity, your sanity and your health. Accept your limitations and focus on what's most important by decreasing your availability.

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Q: Laura, how can you help your spouse become organized without nagging? A recent Readers Digest article really sums up the situation. It seems my wife has a serious problem with hoarding, which has been going on ever since we got married. This problem was described as the "great depression syndrome" in your book "Leave the Office Earlier." My wife buys lots of stuff we don't need; our home is very cluttered; we store stuff we don't need or use in storage units; she won't throw anything away in case she needs it later; she won't let anyone help her organize her stuff; and she tries to organize her stuff, but never makes any progress. I've tried to help her get organized, but my help comes across as nagging. I think the help needs to come from someone else she respects. Do you offer any such training courses or seminars that would help? Your book would be great for her to read and follow,but she won't read it due to procrastination. I just wish I could clear out the clutter, get rid of the stuff we don't use, and live a simpler life. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

Chris S.

A: Chris, this is actually a common complaint I hear frequently from audience members. One partner is usually organized, and the other isn't—one reason they might have been attracted to one another in the first place—they balance each other. I've heard of hoarding knick knacks, pens, packets of condiments, photographs, clothing, shoes, and mini shampoos from hotels. We're not talking about truly valuable collectible items, such as antiques; we're talking about ordinary, everyday items that have no inherent value other than multiplying like bunnies in your home and office.

The underlying drive behind this behavior is an excessive concern that a given object shouldn't be discarded, as it might be needed later. This behavior can also include excessive acquisition, such as compulsive shopping, extreme collecting or hoarding free items, such as free newspapers or junk mail. Following the acquisition behavior is extreme indecisiveness about what to keep; the indecisiveness is so extreme that the hoarder completely avoids the decision-making process and ends up keeping everything and having a hard time organizing it all. Sometimes hoarding behavior becomes severe. Not only can it extend to the office and one's vehicle, but fire marshals have even declared such residences a fire hazard. In one extreme case, a hoarder rented a second apartment to live in because his own had grown too full of belongings.

If her behavior is severe—such as having to create pathways in your home and avoiding having guests—you can obtain help for her from a psychologist or psychiatrist. (Hoarding disorder can be tied to a deeper issue like fear of abandonment.) You could also hire a local organizer at the National Association of Professional Organizers and have that person come in your home and help—like it or not. Since it's affecting you, too, you'll have to put your foot down, be more firm than usual, and take more control. Plus have a big garage sale. Then put her on a budget so she stops spending excessively.

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