Blog Layout
Time Management - Part 1
Ashley Burgess-Payne • Jul 07, 2020
President Eisenhower, “Most things which are urgent are not important, and most things which are important are not urgent.”
Top Tips to Help You Manage Your Time Self Effectively So That You Can Achieve More
‘I just don’t have the time!’ Sound familiar? If you’re often racing around playing catch up, feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list or frequently find yourself in a state of panic, fearful and stressed then take a moment, breathe a sigh of relief and relax. This article is for you.
Over the next two weeks we’ll show you how to become more effective and get significantly more value from your time so that your output matches or even exceeds your input. Stop working hard for little reward and start working smart.
But before we begin, use this quick and simple tip to get you focused.
Write it all down. That’s right. Write down on paper all of the tasks that are currently racing around your mind causing you stress and anxiety. Don’t think about priorities or deadlines just yet. Simply write it all down so that it’s off your mind and you can see it. It may sound overly simple but writing it down frees up mental capacity meaning you can begin to think about solutions rather than problems and panicking. Sometimes trying to remember everything and making sure nothing is forgotten is half the battle, making it appear worse than it actually is.
This simple activity alone will relieve some of the stress and tension you may be experiencing. But there are many more tips you can implement to help you use your time better.
Let’s get started.
1. You Can’t Manage Time – You Can Only Manage Yourself
Time is a funny thing. It can’t be seen, yet it plays a massive role in our daily agenda, often dictating lives. One thing that is common for all is that we all want more time. However, it doesn’t matter who you are, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates or even Donald Trump, it is irrelevant because you can’t manipulate time no matter how much you try or what your net worth is. Time waits for no one. The only thing you can manage is yourself.
We often feel we are ‘up against time’ and therefore associate the perceived lack of it with powerful emotions such as fear, stress and anxiety. But as we will show in this article, it is not time that is the enemy, it is a lack of personal organisation.
Time can in fact be viewed as an asset. It is the great equaliser that levels the playing field. We all have the same number of hours in a day, but it is what we choose to do with them that makes the big difference. Therefore if utilised correctly, time is our most valuable commodity. Unfortunately, we are not always careful with how we spend it. And just like money if we aren’t careful, we can quickly find ourselves without it.
So, the starting point of time management is to understand it isn’t about managing time. It is about managing yourself. Start by asking yourself this important question: Q. How and where do I spend my time?
Take inventory and analyse this. What do the results show you? Are you dedicating too much time towards the wrong activities and places that are not conducive to you achieving more and what you really want?
To get the output you want from life you may have to change the input. Be ruthless with this activity and really analyse what you are getting out of the time you are putting in. Perhaps it is time for a change of mindset and acquaintances.
#Tip 1: To start improving your use of time, start by managing yourself – how and where are you spending your time?
2. Have a Plan – Without a Plan You Will Quickly Become Part of Someone Else’s
What do you actually want from life?
If you are like the majority of people you will have not dedicated enough time to answering this question. When asked what most people want from life the common answers are to be rich, happy and have the freedom to do what they want when they want. But in order to turn this dream into a reality the first thing you must do is specify with clarity what ‘rich, happy and free’ actually looks like for you. In order to get somewhere you need to know where it is and what it looks like.
The same principles apply with time. If you are to maximise your output you need to know what your inputs should be, otherwise you could waste your time on the wrong tasks. It is all about reverse engineering e.g. working backwards from the finished product/end goal. Using this method, you can identify the key steps and action points along each step of the way that you must take to build the lifestyle you want. Effective time management is about taking the right actions at the right time to get you where you want to be in the quickest time possible with the minimal input.
If you don’t know the answer to the above question you are like a hamster on a wheel - active and busy, spinning around and around but going nowhere.
Often people who are time poor feel this way because they are busy being busy e.g. doing tasks that don’t move them towards their bigger picture goal. Their time is taken up by menial tasks that add to their stress levels and feelings of being time poor instead of moving them closer to their goal and leaving them feeling fulfilled and satisfied that progress is being made.
#Tip 2: Don’t waste your time on menial tasks! To get to where you want to go, you need a plan.
However, in order to have an effective plan you need to prioritise.
3. Prioritise – Pre-qualify Your Tasks Against Your Plan
Prioritisation is essential if you are to free up more time in your day. Tim Ferris, author of the Four-Hour Work Week states, “a lack of time is actually a lack of priorities.” In order to ‘have more time’ we need to focus on our priorities.
Remember it is not about being busy, it is about being productive (effective and efficient). Just because they are on your ‘to-do list’ does not mean they should be done, at least not imminently or necessarily by you. Not all tasks carry the same value.
Here in the UK we are conditioned by society to believe that there is merit in working ‘hard’ and long hours e.g. being the first in and last to leave the office. We have a culture of busy is good/busy is effective. But this is not always the case and is highlighted by the large proportion of the population who work long and hard hours with little to show for it. Success is not about hard work it is about effective work and effective work begins in the mind with prioritisation. Remember, you don’t get paid by the hour. You get paid for the effectiveness you bring to that hour – and prioritisation is effectiveness.
Sometimes busyness is in fact a disguise for ineffectiveness as Tim Ferris again states, “being busy is a form of laziness – lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.” To become more effective with our use of time and reap greater rewards we must be analytic and decisive in both our thinking and our actions. What would provide the greatest return for my investment of time, effort and energy? If you apply this thinking to your ‘to-do list’ you will begin to create a ‘to-day list’. This differs to a ‘to-do list’ as it only contains tasks that will be pre-qualified against your big picture plan from point 2 above.
A ‘to do list’ grows longer and is rarely completed as more tasks are added without thought thus resulting in even more stress and unease. A ‘today list’ is a closed list and works alongside your overall plans for your life e.g. activities are pre-qualified/measured in value by how they contribute towards you achieving your overall goal.
By pre-qualifying the tasks in this manner, you will ensure that you are focusing only on the tasks that will 1) provide you with the best returns for your investment of time and 2) move you a step closer to your overall goal.
This will not only relieve stress but increase effectiveness which is the ability to decrease the amount of time you spend doing something but increase your profits. What tasks carry the most weight in your business?
Prioritise - things often aren’t as important as you initially thought. If you find this difficult to do simply search Google for the Urgent-Important Time Quadrant activity. This will help you to distinguish what is Urgent and Important from Urgent and Unimportant as well as identify the things which are Not Urgent but Important and Not Urgent and Not Important. You want to spend the majority of your time working on the Not Urgent but Important tasks – these are the tasks that will provide the greatest rewards and are likely to move your business forwards and get you off the hamster wheel of busyness. As President Eisenhower said, “Most things which are urgent are not important, and most things which are important are not urgent.”
Tip # 3: You need to pre-qualify! Focus on doing the tasks that will reap the biggest rewards and move you closer to your goals. Always ask why am I doing this? What will this add to me/my business and how will it help me get towards my goal?
Part II will be available next week.
Written by Ashley Burgess-Payne
LinkedIn is a key channel for personal branding, so your LinkedIn profile is the launchpad to building a strong professional network. The channel is also the place to be if you wish to continue relationships of key people you meet at zoom networking events allowing you to easily stay in touch after making the effort to attend the meeting. As well as being the touchstone for nurture and lead generation a well optimised LinkedIn profile is on the same level as making a good first impression when you meet in person. How do you optimise your profile? 1. Make sure you have a current and professional head and shoulders photograph of yourself. You are on the platform to do business so ensure you appear to be there for that reason so a picture with your partner, favourite pet or vehicle doesn’t cut it. It should be a current photograph as it could be embarrassing putting a ten-year-old photo on the platform and when you meet a contact in person you look nothing like your photo so it could end up being a little like a bad first date. Be authentic. 2. Also use Canva.com to create a background image as why miss the opportunity to promote your business. If you have staff on LinkedIn create an image for all of them to use as their background as it’s a little like giving them all a company vehicle with no costs attached. 3. Treat your LinkedIn profile as an online resume and ensure you complete every section – a. The about section – I split this into two sections i. My Background ii. What I Do Now iii. Include an email and phone number at the bottom of this section b. Experience – show at least the last two positions c . Education d. Licences and Certifications e. Skills and Endorsements – You can have 50 of these so put in as many as you can for example if you were a bar person you could include customer service. f. Recommendations – request these from people you know 4. Use keywords in your headline – think of the words you would use if you were looking for your goods or services. 5. Join groups which could be a. Within your industry b. Where your target market is c. Services you have an interest in If you require any help or advise we offer training or talk you through the process via zoom. Blog written by Linda Cloke of We Do Social Media Ltd Contact: Linda@wedosocialmedia.co.uk or call 07769943756
According to the Health & Safety Executive, over 11 million workdays are lost each year due to stress at work! The latest Employment Law Bulletin from our sponsors Parfitt Cresswell Solicitors focuses on the topic of stress in the workplace and the actions that employers can take to defend themselves against claims arising from this. In the Employment Law Bulletin expert Philip Luff covers: • What stress is • The duties of an employer • The potential action that an employee can bring against their employer for work related stress, and offers tips on how employers can best protect themselves against workplace stress claims To read the article and find out more about Stress Related Claims in the workplace click here . If you would like legal advice regarding an Employment Law matter take advantage of Parfitt Cresswell Solicitors’ complimentary initial video/telephone consultation with one of their legal experts. Call 0800 999 4437 or email enquiries@parfittcresswell.com today to arrange your free initial consultation.
This article is brought to you by Parfitt Cresswell Solicitors Extension of the Furlough Scheme (CJRS) On Saturday 31st October the Prime Minister announced a further national lockdown in England to address the increasing rate of Covid-19 infections throughout the UK. This lockdown commenced on 5th November and will remain in place until at least 2nd December 2020. Under the previous tiered ‘local’ lockdown arrangements, the Government had announced two Job Support Schemes which were intended to succeed the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme). These schemes were known as the ‘JSS Closed’, aimed at businesses that had been forced to close under the tiered restrictions and the ‘JSS Open’, a scheme for businesses who although affected by Covid-19, were still able to open. These schemes were due to replace the existing furlough scheme when it ended on 31 October 2020, with the Government support significantly reduced when compared with the original CJRS. However, along with the announcement of a national lockdown throughout November, it was also announced that the CJRS would be extended for a further month. A few days after this, the Chancellor announced that this extension of the furlough scheme would now run until the end of March 2021. As such, the JSS is not likely to resurface until at least April 2021 (if at all). How had furlough changed By way of a reminder, the CJRS has been through several changes since its introduction in March 2020, from the Government initially funding 80% of an employee’s salary up to £2,500, with government support reducing in recent months as restrictions eased. In October 2020, the month before the scheme was due to end, the government contributed 60% of unworked hours up to a cap of £2,187.50, with the employer paying the additional 20% along with employer national insurance and pension contributions. How will the extension work? In simple terms, the extension of the Furlough Scheme puts employers back to the same level of government contributions that were available in August 2020, with the Government funding 80% of eligible employees’ salary, but the employer having to contribute both employer national insurance/pension contributions themselves. The current understanding is that the furlough extension will operate largely as it did before, however the following now applies: • The extended scheme will run until 31 March 2021. • The employer or employee are not required to have previously used the CJRS • To be eligible, the employee must have been on the employer’s PAYE payroll by 23.59 on 30 October 2020 and the employer must have made a Real Time Information (RTI) submission for that employee by that date. • The employee can be furloughed either full-time or flexibly (for part of their hours). Employers will need to report and claim for a minimum period of seven consecutive calendar days. • The government will pay 80% of eligible wages for any unworked hours, (up to a cap of £2,500) with the employer paying employer NIC and pension contributions on these unworked hours. Employers will need to pay the employees for any hours worked as per usual. • The employer can choose to top up to 100% if they wish but is not obliged to. • The Job Retention bonus for employers (£1,000 for each employee kept on until the end of January 2021) will no longer be able to be claimed in February as planned, but will possibly be introduced at a later date to help avoid the impact of the furlough scheme ending. • The Government will review the scheme in the New Year, so it is still possible that increased employer contributions could be required prior to the end of March. As with all these announcements, further detail and guidance will follow from the government in due course. If you require further legal assistance regarding the CJRS or and other employment law issue, take advantage of our complimentary initial consultation (available via telephone or video call) today by calling 0800 999 4437 or email enquiries@parfittcresswell.com
Want more information?
Connections International Ltd, 4a Kingfisher Court, Bellbrook Industrial Estate, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1QQ