Managing your Time – 4 Practical tips…

High gain activities are those that provide the best long term value. They are often time consuming, complex and require uninterrupted concentration, but are key to meeting business goals.

Low gain activities are normally short and easier to do, but provide no real benefit. They are quite often a distraction to the key drivers of the business.

Some strategies for successfully performing each:

High gain
• Plan when you are at your most alert. Some prefer to tackle these projects earlier in the day.
• Break the activity into bite size pieces - instead of a six hour project, divide it into two 3-hours assignments.
• Block out all distractions - don't accept the unscheduled visitor, forward calls to voice mail etc.

Low gain
• Where possible delegate them.
• Fit them in between high gain activities and meeting etc.
• Use the 10 minutes rule - I have 10 minutes to spare so what's on my low gain list.

2. Get started on projects that sit in the "too hard" bin.

Procrastination - we are all guilty of it. How many times do we work on the easy thing first or spend time preparing rather than doing.

To beat procrastination
• Don't wait until you have everything you need to start the project. As long as you have what you need to begin, you can gather the rest later.
• Break down the project into sections or parts.
• Reward yourself at the completion.

3. Catch up on your reading

We tend to let our reading pile up, be it trade magazines, newsletters, new product releases etc. There is always some value in the pile, but it takes time to read it.

Hint:
Place all this reading in a folder with a highlighter and pad of stick-it notes. Take this folder wherever you go i.e. appointments, planes etc, Take advantage of any idle time making notes in the margin, highlighting important data for future reference. You'll be surprised how quickly you will get through that pile, without having to set special time aside to do it.

4. Don't fall into the trap "If it's to be done right I'll have to do it myself".

Sound familiar? Learn to delegate work to others. Other people's approach may be different to yours and while the end result may not be perfect this time, you are giving them an opportunity to develop, or their methods may be a better approach.

Battersby HR Consulting can help with any aspect of your HR needs - call Paddy now on ph 838 6338 for a chat.

www.battersbyhr.com