This weekend, most of the country makes the shift from Standard Time to Daylight Savings Time—a cosmetic ritual that comes and goes without major problems. Its benefits are arguable, but this shift happens every year.

I’m more interested in shifts that produce significant benefits—like a shift in strategic direction or a shift in policy or (in the spirit of this weekend’s time change) a shift in saving time.

Could you benefit from an extra hour in the day?

Do you find things you work on take longer than expected?

Are you frequently challenged to address unexpected crises?

Leadership Tip
Identify at least three opportunities that will save you time, then make the necessary changes to reap their benefits.

Where can you find these opportunities? Consider your calendar, email, travel, interruptions, clutter, conference calls, phone calls, meetings, and much more.

My best time-saving suggestion is to schedule an hour or more on your calendar each week to think and plan. When you carve out “alone” time to do that, magic can happen.

• You solve little problems before they become big ones, thus saving time fighting fires.
• You make long-lasting decisions that save you time fixing any reactive decisions you might make.
• You achieve clarity on the priority of your tasks and assignments, which saves time because your energies are focused in the right direction.

Benefits of planning can roll over into increased profitability, productivity, employee engagement, morale, customer satisfaction—just to name a few. (These are part of The Power of Thinkership–a program I invite you to explore.)

If you don’t take time to think and plan now, I highly recommend you begin. You won’t regret it.

If you already do, then squeeze in another 30 minutes each week to benefit even more.