Once the Royal Couple gets back from their honeymoon, the demands of their position will click in even more aggressively than before.  Just like us commoners, they will need to make the most efficient and effective use of their time. Therefore, since my invitation to the wedding obviously got caught in the US mail, here’s my belated gift to them both: Time Management Tips for the Royal Couple (works for commoners too).

Ask yourself what you do that adds the greatest value

Now, I know there’s quite a bit of pomp and circumstance that goes with the territory, so to speak, but the critical question to ask yourselves is what investment of time yields the greatest return on that investment?    Where and how is your time best spent?  Be honest about the things you do because they’re easy to do or they allow you to quickly check them off your to do list.  Assessing what their purpose is will help you determine the answer.

Now do a brutally honest “audit” of your diary (that’s British for “calendar”)

Let’s say you’ve identified the three or four things that are the most important things you can do in order to contribute to the good of the kingdom.  Now look back over your diary for the past two weeks and see how much time you’ve actually devoted to those activities (admittedly, this might be hard to do with all the wedding planning but you get my drift).  I did this exercise a number of years ago and identified a disconnect between what I acknowledged added the greatest value and where I was actually spending my time.  If you’re struggling to identify where and how you add the greatest value, use your business objectives, job description and/or your team’s objectives for the year as a guideline and see how much time you’re dedicating to achieving them.  It might surprise you.

Delegate

Without setting unrealistic expectations about ascension to the throne, delegation of some of your responsibilities does give your direct reports an opportunity to learn and stretch their capabilities.  Look at the list of things that need to be done.  Now take the tasks that are important but are not where you add the greatest value and see who on your team might be able to do them.  Royals, isn’t that what ladies in waiting are for?

Assess what you want your legacy to be

This self-evaluation and “value” audit works for our professional life as well as our personal life.  Is what you’re doing adding value and in what way?  Are you using your time wisely?  Are you confusing activity (or busyness) for movement?  Where are you putting your focus?

Even if you’re not ruling a kingdom, we all leave behind a legacy.  What creates that legacy is not simply the passing of time but what we create with the time we have.