I love targets, especially when they save me time. I have very high expectations of myself when it comes to work and making the right choices. However, the time I take to make those choices can sometimes take hours out of my busy schedule.  I love impactful visualisations. They hook people in and give them something to think about.

A couple of years ago I was introduced to Haiku Deck by Mark Anderson. An amazing presentation tool which generates a selection of images linked to a word on the deck, or one you choose yourself. When you are given so much choice, you can often find yourself spending too long picking the one which looks the best. It’s safe to say I’m a bit partial to a Haiku Deck! Here’s an example:

My slide had the words 15 seconds.

Now check the vast array of options it gave me:

So much to choose from, so many images. Because I was spending so much time choosing which one would be the most powerful and impactful for my audience, I found I was losing valuable time. So, Mark Anderson suggested the ’15 Second Rule’ for Haiku. Genius.

I’ve used that rule over and over again. I’ve realised that just a 15 second choice has given me so much time back. It’s given me ‘life time’.

I used the 15 second rule and chose this one;

So what’s the message here.

1. Don’t spend too long trawling through image after image in Haiku Deck or another presentation tool, even items on a restaurant menu! Be decisive and try the 15 second rule.
2. Setting timed targets are a good way of saving time!
3. Get balance in your life and take a 15 second breather here and there to reboot your brain.
4. Pause for 15 seconds before you say something you may regret to another person.

What would you include in the 15 second rule?

Let me know if it works for you, or maybe you’d like to share your time management targets with me. I’d love to know your thoughts….don’t take too long to think about it though!

I’m giving you……‘Time in a bottle’ 

If I could save time in a bottle

The first thing that I’d like to do

Is to save every day till eternity passes away

Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever

If words could make wishes come true

I’d save every day like a treasure and then

Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do, once you find them

I’ve looked around enough to know

That you’re the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes

And dreams that had never come true

The box would be empty, except for the memory of how

They were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do, once you find them

I’ve looked around enough to know

That you’re the one I want to go through with time