4 Genius Steps to Gain More Time
Do you wish you had more time in the day?
Trick question. I already know the answer.
Of course you do (or, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article).
Sometimes feeling like you have enough time is not about an abundance of free hours throughout the day. Instead, feeling like you have more time can often come down to the type of work you fill your day with.
For example, when you spend your time on tasks that you’re good at, that challenge you (in the best way), and that ignite your passions, you aren’t wishing for leftover time to fill with nothingness. Because your hours feel fulfilling and you’re getting the most out of them.
This sweet spot of ease and passion is called your zone of genius.
The Genius Zone
The concept of a zone of genius was introduced by Gay Henricks in his book ‘The Big Leap’.
Hendricks defines four different “zones” we work in:
The incompetence zone: This zone is a struggle. You aren’t good at what you’re doing because you don’t have the right skills or understanding, and you likely have little interest in learning them.
The competence zone: This zone is a step up. You’re efficient and you get the job done. But you’re not adding any extra value. You’re simply checking the box.
The excellence zone: If you’ve found success, you’ve likely spent some time in this zone. You’re very skilled and, in comparison to others, your work in this particular area really shines.
The genius zone: Finally, the goal post: genius. In this zone, your passions meet your natural talents. The key difference between your genius zone and excellence zone is that you not only excel at the work you do here but you genuinely enjoy it.
Filling your hours with tasks that fall into your zone of genius can feel effortless. You are more relaxed and the work flows without an unnecessary amount of brain drama to get started and keep going.
This is where you can provide the most value in half the time.
Your days become less of a slog and you spend less time wishing for more time.
Acknowledge Your Genius
Perhaps you’re already well acquainted with the type of work that falls into your zone of genius.
Or perhaps you’re convinced you’re not a “genius” at anything as it can often be easier to point out your flaws than appreciate your genuine, inherent talents.
We fixate on the things we see as weaknesses, so much so that it often makes it difficult to see what we’re really good at.
We spend time obsessing and trying to figure out how to be something we’re not. Something that doesn’t come easily to us.
“I wish I was a more confident speaker.”
“I’m not very good with numbers.”
“I’m not great at the details.”
It can be hard to break the habit of thinking about only the negative.
If this is you, how can you find your genius zone?
First, accept you are, in fact, a genius in some portion of your life. You just need to give it a little of your focus.
Redirect some of that attention you spend critiquing what you don’t do perfectly to what you actually do quite well.
The rule: If you’re going to spend time thinking about all the things you don’t do well, you need to give equal time to the things you do well.
Spend 5 minutes beating yourself up over a less-than-perfect presentation delivery?
Okay.
Now it’s time to spend 5 minutes appreciating the level of detail and facts you easily tracked down and pulled together to prepare the presentation within the last-minute deadline.
It doesn’t have to be positive all the time.
But at least keep it equal.
2. Find Your Genius
Now that you’re acknowledging there really may be some genius inside you, it’s time to narrow it down.
Take the next 10 minutes and do some brainstorming. Write down all the things you’re really good at.
Remember, just because something is easy for you doesn't mean it's easy for others. That could be your genius.
Use the following questions to get the brain juices flowing:
What do you see others struggling with that’s baffling because it seems so easy to you?
What tasks do you tend to get through quickly that don’t require much effort?
What kind of tasks would you fill an ideal day with?
What work doesn't feel like work when you do it?
What work produces energizing ideas without effort?
Once you have your list, keep it handy. Reference back to it when you’re doubting your talents. Use this list to start to refine these genius skills and inch more of your time working in your genius zone.
3. Improve Your Genius
You’re starting to narrow into your genius.
Now it’s time to improve where you’re already on track to full-blown genius mode!
It can be easy to let those natural skills sit stagnant while you focus energy on trying to improve where you feel like you’re lacking.
But this is not the best use of your effort and time.
Here’s an example. You’re really bad at basketball. Like, on a scale from 1 to 10, you’re a negative 2. You can spend every day practicing for multiple hours, cursing and sweating your way through each training session. And sure, over time, you’ll improve. But you’ll never be anywhere near a Michael Jordan level. At best, you may jump up to a 3 or 4 on the basketball proficiency scale. That’s a lot of effort, to still be pretty mediocre.
Now, let’s say you’re good at baking. You enjoy doing it and you constantly get compliments on whatever concoction you’ve put together. So you take some baking classes. A few hours each month learning and experimenting in the kitchen. Low effort because it brings you joy. Before you know it, you’re a solid 8 or 9 on the great bakers scale. Friends and family can’t stop talking about your treats at each get-together. You’re a hit.
Consider the effort input compared to skill output.
Michael Jordan Dreams = Maximum Effort / Minimal Improvement
Contender for the next season of The Great British Baking Show = Minimal Effort / Maximum Improvement
Putting in a little time and effort to improve your strengths will always return a higher value than just trying to get from bad to mediocre.
Stop dwelling on the things that don’t come naturally.
Focus and improve what you’re already good at. Uplevel to genius mode.
4. More Time for Genius
You’ve acknowledged your skills and have started to cultivate them. So it’s time to fill more of your hours with genius zone tasks.
To accomplish this, you’ll need to eliminate, then add.
It can help to first list out all the regular tasks you do from day to day so you know what you’re working with. Star the items you’ve decided fall into your genius zone. Then, identify the things that…just aren’t for you. You’re slow. You struggle. You’re inefficient. They’re your incompetence zone.
Make a plan to stop spending time on those incompetence zone tasks:
Delegate or Outsource: Determine if there are tasks that don’t have to be done by you Delegate them to another team member. Don’t waste your time spending 4 hours on a task a coworker could crank through in 15 minutes.
Swap: If you’re concerned with dropping more on someone else’s plate, maybe you can offer a trade. Do you have someone on your team with contradicting skills? Score! Do a task swap. Offer to pick up some of their workload that falls closer to your zone of genius in exchange for them taking some of your incompetence zone tasks. It’s a win-win!
Remove: Often we end up with a mile-long task list full of items that don’t really need to be done. Just stop doing these. If you’re not sure if you can fully remove a task completely, try skipping it for a few weeks. Did anything crash and burn? If not, consider removing it permanently.
Now you should have some space freed up for genius. Let’s get back to those starred genius zone tasks:
Schedule time for these tasks early in the week and early in the day to make sure they’re never at risk of being “bumped” as conflicting priorities emerge.
Supercharge your genius zone time by working on these items during regularly scheduled “focus time”. Notifications turned off. Zero distractions. Just genius flow.
While it’s not possible to be in your zone of genius 100% of the time, with a little effort, you can inch closer!
If you’re ready to tackle even the biggest of projects with your genius zone time, download the 7 Days: Consider it Done! Guide. This step-by-step guide will walk you through completing anything on your to-do list in just 7 days! Bye-bye procrastination. Hello genius.
