…168 hours a week and how to organise them.
“How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
-Dr Seuss
Here is a statistical fact that will not surprise anyone who is a part time working a parent. According to a recent report by accounting firms EY, part time working women are 3% more efficient than their full time counterparts. This means each of these women have produced 1 and half additional productive weeks over the course of a year than their full time co-workers.*
Let’s take gender out of the equation for a moment and consider what this says about time management.
In 1955 Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote an article for The Economist and the principal stated in the opening sentence of that article has since become known as “Parkinson’s Law”
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for completion”.
Just consider how productive you can be when a deadline is looming for a report. You eliminate distractions, shut your door, ignore your phone and just get it done. Any parent knowing they need to get out the door right on 5pm will have a brief chat in the office kitchen and then jump right in to the day’s tasks. When required, our minds suddenly become adept at filtering and organizing tasks.
So let’s look at how we can re-evaluate our time management practices and make our workdays both more enjoyable and more profitable.
- PLANNING
This week you have 168 hours so that makes planning a little easier right?! On Friday night or even Monday morning, make a plan for the week and slot in the tasks you would like to get done. There are usually some big-ticket items that are always getting pushed down the list. Get them on them back on top before they become urgent but be realistic, 1 to 3 larger tasks per week is manageable. Then create a daily task list around this weekly plan. Factor in routine work such clearing emails, customer or client calls and time to deal with urgent issues but set aside time for larger tasks and stick to it.
- BATCH YOUR TIME
Be tough with yourself – deal with your inbox only 3 times a day and give yourself a time limit then turn off your email alerts. If any of those emails requires some dedicated time move that task into a dedicated time slot. During this time, you are only clearing and sorting so stick to the task and the time allocation.
If you have a constant stream of phone calls, it’s ok to be in a meeting sometimes so don’t take calls at certain times of the day so you can focus on other tasks. The world won’t end if you don’t pick up straight away.
Look at other routine functions and allocate a time to do them.
- CHANGE THE SCENERY
Make an appointment with yourself each day or even better, work remotely sometimes to save on travel time and have a day away from routine distractions. In my days as a lawyer. I would routinely block out time in my calendar and either close my door or move to another office where I could work without interruption for a set time. No calls, emails or client meetings during that time. Don’t delude yourself that multitasking works. (Personally I prefer my surgeon not to be checking Facebook whilst wielding the scalpel on my left knee). And remember Parkinson’s Law – give yourself a set time period and stick to it. If you don’t finish, you will have made considerable progress and you will feel great.
- PICK THE LOW HANGING FRUIT
When we employ staff in our businesses we are really good at organizing their roles by reference to their tasks and skills. We don’t want out bookkeeper updating our website or our HR Manager cleaning the office.
We want their time and of course our own money to be utilized as effectively as possible. So why not shine that same light on our own work practices? Where can your skills be best directed in your business? Give your time a dollar value and then outsource any tasks where it would cost less or be more effective for someone else to do it.
- GET OUTSIDE AND TAKE A DEEP BREATH
We are emotional and social beings so time out is essential. Don’t wait until the end of the day to head to the gym. Put down the phone, pull on some sneakers and go for a walk or run at lunchtime. Then sit in the park and empty your mind for 15 minutes. Breathe deeply. Everything will fall back into perspective.