It’s third down and goal, the Bears are down by five with 13 seconds left, and quarterback Jay Cutler takes one last look at the defense before yelling, “Hike!”
He fakes a handoff and steps back to pass and looks to his right. That’s the first option on the play he called in the huddle: it was designed for tight-end Greg Olsen to score the game-winning touchdown.
He fakes left—just like the play calls for him to do—and then looks back at the spot Greg Olsen is running to.
But there’s a problem: Greg Olsen is covered and even notoriously gun-slinging Jay Cutler can’t see a way to get him the ball.
Seeing that there is no play, he tucks the ball into his side, sits down in the backfield, puts his headphones in his ears, and jams out to a little Nirvana as the other team’s defensive linemen bear down on him.
This is how careless most of us are with our time.
When things don’t go as planned, we give up and do something unproductive.
This despite the fact that we all complain that we don’t just don’t have the time to do the things we want to do.
Commuting to Work
Lots of people try to be as productive as possible during the “dead time” they spend commuting to work. Some people catch up on email, others read a book, and some just stare out the window and daydream of a better, more fulfilling job to commute to.
Personally, I try to get as much writing done as possible.
That’s why I take my netbook with me everywhere I go—you never know when I’ll get a seat and have a chance to crank out some copy.
Most of us probably have things we like to get done when we’re on the train (or anywhere else), but what happens when those plans are interrupted?
What happens when our first option is blocked?
If I get on the train and can’t get a seat, there’s no way I can get my netbook out and type away (although it would be pretty entertaining to watch me try). And it’s really easy to just give up on being productive, listen to some Cee-Lo, and enjoy my ride.
But that’s not what professional athletes do and that’s not what you should do if you’re serious about being productive and finding the time to get things done.
Jay Cutler would never just put his headphones on and listen to some music—he would quickly check down to his secondary receivers to see what other options are available to him.
- Is Matt Forte open after pretending to take the handoff and blocking a couple of guys?
- Did Devin Hester find an opening in the back of the end zone?
- Oh look! The guy covering Johnny Knox slipped and fell.
Cutler fires it in and the Bears score with no time left on the clock.
Bears win…Super Bowl time!
The Lesson
Always be prepared. You need to have a backup plan at all times, and you’ll most likely need a plan C and plan D.
At some point, you’re going to need them all. Ask any new parent and they’ll tell you—preparation is key if you want to avoid some really terrible (and messy) situations.
This applies to anything that has to do with getting things done, whether it’s writing during your commute or getting errands done on the weekend.
Here is how I play it on my commute:
Plan A: Find a seat and open up the Netbook. Try to hammer out 1,500 words.
Plan B: Can’t find a seat? Take out my smart phone and catch up on emails at work, for my site, etc. The goal is to get through some email so when I get to work I don’t spend as much time on it and I can get other stuff done. It’s tough to resist the temptation to check scores, scope out the feed reader, etc. But you do it.
Plan C: Still can’t find a seat? Not many emails to get through? Take out my New Yorker magazine and get some reading in. I’ll typically find a couple of things that are interesting enough to write about later on. Underline anything I want to remember…otherwise I will forget.
Plan D: No seat? No emails? No magazine? Put on the headphones, stare out the window, and relax. Hey, sometimes we have to stop being productive, clear our mind, and take a break.
In order to be as productive as we can, we need to always be prepared, but we also need to know when to take a break and relax a little.
