A common myth is that the results you achieve are directly related to how hard you work. However, greater effort does not always equal greater effectiveness. Use your time efficiently, learn delegate, and make sure you switch off when you leave the office.
USING TIME EFFICIENTLY
Sometimes a poor work-life balance is a symptom of poor time management. Realize that time is you most valuable resource: ultimately, your ability to "save time" or "waste time" determines how well you balance your work and life. Have you ever systematically recorded and assessed your work time? Do you employ an effective time-management system to plan your working week? Take a moment now to identify one "time vampire" that eats into your available time and, also, one "time sever"that can win you back sometimes.
TIME-SETTING TIPS
There are habits you can develop to help you use your time more effectively at :
- Monitor and review your time at work to make sure you are working efficiently.
- Break tasks into manageable sizes, and schedule them accordingly.
- Prepare daily activity sheets to identify your key priorities, meetings. and deadlines - make sure that your team members have access to these.
- Create your diary on your computer., update your diary, and refer to it to make sure that you are on track.
- Encourage your team to make their own decisions, rather than referring to you about every issue - there is not enough time in the day.
TIDYING YOUR WORK AREA
Decluttering your work area encourages mental clarity and sharper focus so that you are better able to deal with your workload. Schedule time each week to declutter your office and master your desk. your desk surface should be reserved only for current, high-priority projects. Get a large wastepaper bin and purge your desk-top and drawers of any unnecessary paper. Make sure that your computer filing system is up to date and easy to navigate around.
KEEPING ORGANIZED
Make sure your in-tray is free of paperwork - file away correspondence that you have already dealt with. If you have redundant files on your computer desktop, delete them.
SIMPLIFYING YOUR LIFE
Success has traditionally been defined as "more" - more money and possessions, a car with more horsepower, a job with with more responsibilities, a social life with more friends. Recognize that too much of "more" can clutter up your life. It can leave you over-stretched, over-committed, overwhelmed. Avoid losing sight of your true values and real priorities. In this way, you can let go of excess and focus on what is most essential.
THINGS TO DO
- Think about what is essential to you.
- Find out whether your colleagues' priorities conflict with your own.
- Plan solutions that take into account everybody's particular needs.
DELEGATING EFFECTIVELY
One of the biggest blocks to enjoying a healthy work-life balance is the failure delegate. Recognize that if you are able to delegate effectively, you will have more time and space to set your own goals and to organize, manage and coach your team. Delegation ensures that no-one is indispensable, its gives colleagues opportunities to grow and to proves themselves and it helps managers evaluate potential. Remember that positive delegation means that you have enough time and energy to steer your teams towards its true purpose and success. It also ensures that you do not down in over-tiredness and in the long run, let your team down.
LEARNING TO DELEGATE
A manager was creating a cycle in witch his inability to delegate was producing a negative outcome. He consciously decided to change this habit. He found it difficult at first, but each success made it easier and he soon found that the habit of delegating become automatic.
SWITCHING OFF
Leave your work behind when you leave the office. Clearly designed what is "work time" and what is "family time", "time out", and "my time". If you do this, you will probably find you work fewer hours but produce more focused work. When "work time" is over, learn to stop thinking about it. Discipline yourself to turn off mobile phone, e-mail, and the internet. this will help refresh your mind and body. Aim to live more and work better.
LEAVE WORK CARES BEHIND YOU
When you leave work, and are enjoying time out with your friends, leave any work issues behind you so that they cannot invade and disrupt your personal life.
TALKING TIME FOR YOURSELF
When you leave the office each evening, switch your mind off from you work. Take quality time to rejuvenate, and you will feel refreshes and better equipped to deal with work the next day.
ONE-MINUTE EXCELLENCE
Punctuate your daily work schedule with moments of quiet. Take one minute of excellence to review goals, strategy, and balance : one minute is often enough to give you an idea that can help you work smarter, not herder. Ask yourself questions, like, "Is this the best use of my time?" and "Is there a better way to do this" Give yourself "time out" to make sure you are not being distracted by urgent, but unimportant, tasks.
NOTE:
- Value every hour of the day - make sure that you use them effectively.
- Take full advantage of your available leisure time.
- Schedule regular hour-long thinking sessions.
- Set aside one hour every week to tidy your workspace.
- Evaluate your real priorities and focus your attention on them so that you are able to give your best.
- Decide whether it is necessary for you to do a task personally or if it is possible to delegate it.
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment