I attended a screening of Jaws with a theater full of other crazy aficionados of the 1975 classic. Throughout the movie, I realized there are plenty of take-aways to help us with our time management skills. Get out your popcorn, dim the lights, and board the Orca to set sail to Amity Island to learn a few nifty tips for personal productivity.
#1 - Prepare Constantly - When the town of Amity realizes it has a big problem, Quint (top shark fisherman on the island), makes a memorable sales presentation. He explains why he is most suited to the task in a very convincing way and makes a hefty offer of $10,000 plus a case of apricot brandy to catch the unwelcome visitor. His demeanor is calm and confident. If you write your battle plan the night before or have a routine each morning before work, you will find opportunities falling into your lap over time. When you prepare, you see life differently. For example, after reading all of Grant Cardone’s books on selling, I look at customer service in a new light and notice lost selling and service opportunities each day.
#2 - Maintain Focus Through the Noise - Amity Island’s mayor chooses not to hire Quint and instead allows low skill locals to compete for the $3,000 bounty offered by a victim’s mother. Insanity ensues as dozens of hapless amateurs head out to sea. There’s a scene where Quint is sailing by the bedlam with a great big grin and tips his hat. It’s obvious he knows the lesser fishermen won’t catch the Great White. He is aware of the depth of the challenge and knows they can’t meet it. The daily, weekly, and monthly routines you develop, as a result of, refining your goals, will give you that extra proficiency.
#3 - You Can’t Stay Underwater with Three Barrels - In the final act of the movie, Quint, Mr. Hooper, and Chief Brody are in a battle with the killer shark far out to sea. Each time the shark gets near the boat, the fishermen attach another yellow barrel to it - making it increasingly difficult for the fish to remain underwater. How many barrels are you bringing with you at all times?
One strategy to release a few of those extra barrels is to become more aware of switching life roles. You can’t do multiple tasks simultaneously nor can you be in-the-moment for more than one role. Here’s a handy exercise: jot down every moment of transition between roles in a typical day or week. For example, when I dropped my kids off at daycare, I’d transition from my Dad role to my entrepreneurial role with a touch of my mp3 player (changing from The Wiggles children’s album to an audio book on work life balance by Greg McKeown titled Essentialism. Naturally, this transition doesn’t mean I’m not a Dad anymore until I see the kids after work, but it serves as a clear moment of change in roles.
#4 - Capture the Essence - John Williams is the master of film scoring. In a behind-the-scenes feature, he described his initial viewing of Jaws as a swashbuckling pirate movie! And some of his action music in the final act express it. Water is splashing, boats are getting yanked about, and it’s very playful. By composing mini-mission statements for your roles, you will capture the essence of each role so you can connect with it each day.
#5 - Cultivate Quiet Intensity - For most Jaws maniacs, Quint’s speech about his experience being on the Navy’s U.S.S. Indianapolis ship that sunk and many of its sailors were claimed by the circling sharks is the most memorable speech of the film. He delivers his gripping story in a very subdued manner but the intensity of the story is quite jarring and unnerving. What are the moments of your day when you make powerful insights? Can you multiply them? Try journal writing or intention writing to amplify these moments of quiet intensity.
#5 - You’re Gonna Need a Better Time Management System - The most memorable line of the film is actually ad libbed by Roy Scheider who says in a half-daze after seeing the beast for the first time up close, “You’re gonna need bigger boat.” Same thing goes for your time management system. You need a system that can capture your best ideas, hold you accountable, clarify your goals, cultivate your innate creativity, manage large scale projects, and provide you with a method that can be shared with teammates. What’s the biggest time management challenge that’s taking a bite out of your quality time?