Managing Your Time Effectively - Time to Stop
Time is of the essence. And in business, time is money. We all
agree to that, but what do we seem to have the least of? And
what can we do about it....
If you only had half the hours in your week, what work would you
feel took priority? How would you be able to do just those
things and still have time left to get on with other priorities?
This week the challenge is to let go of some to the 'stuff' that
gets in your way. And better, to stop doing much of what you do
- especially if it is someone else's agenda.
Time to pass the buck that has been so handily passed to you,
back to the giver - with thanks!
Work is all about behaviours. Over time, our own behaviours take
on a life of their own. They are not who we truly want to be
(nor where we perform our best) and we get all uncomfortable
with how those behaviours dictate our time. It truly is like
forcing a square peg into a round hole - can you feel that
pressure?
To get round this you need to take a look at all the things that
are getting in the way of doing and effective and efficient job.
Sometimes this means getting out of the
nice-to-do-but-a-bit-of-a-waste-of-time things - your
'comfort-blanket' things that keep you busy, if unproductive.
Time to get real about where you best add value at the level you
are at.
Couple of examples? Sure!
- What about that member of your team who needs following up on
all the time - how much is that wasting your time?
- What about that boss you have who is always dropping extra
work on you that you haven't planned time for?
- And then there is the time you spend chasing after new
recruits, because you are losing people way too often.
To dump some of this waste, it's time to get deep down and
honest with yourself and decide what is not serving you best and
dump it - tough though it might be.
Time to assess where those wasted hours go and lose them, one by
one, to the benefit of you, your job and the rest of the people
in your team.
So, take a look at the job you do and get together that wish
list that would free up half of your time in the next week.
What are the jobs that waste your time - look hard and if you
can't find much, have the balls to look more closely at you,
yourself because that's the place to start - and finish!