By Laura Lee, Director of Training & Education, Duka
Finding work-life balance is an extremely difficult thing to do in such a fast-paced industry. It starts with you taking charge of your time! Below are ten tips to manage your time more effectively, relieve stress and improve your performance and work-life balance.
Start Your Day Right
It starts with arriving at work on time, being at your desk and ready to work when the office opens or when you are to start work. Arriving at work or at your desk late, as a result of traffic, getting coffee, going to the washroom, etc, adds unneeded stress and gets your day off to a bad/late start.
Manage Your Email Efficiently
Do not leave Outlook open on your computer all day; it is a distraction that will pull you away from accomplishing tasks or doing what is important. Check your email/voicemail first thing in the morning, just after lunch and before the end of the day. If necessary, let your board/staff know if it is really important to text you. This allows you to respond to emails/calls in a timely manner and provide quality customer service. Tackle simpler emails first, and flag or keep the ones that need more time left unread and circle back to them to enable effective use of your time.
Plan and Prioritize Tasks
If you have a lot to do, create a list of tasks, prioritize them and assign times to those tasks. Plan to accomplish larger tasks and tackle the smaller tasks when time becomes available. e. I have a task that will take me 5 minutes, I can squeeze that in before my meeting. Group tasks by type, such as emails, calls, letters, etc. Focus on related tasks such as coding payables, following up on arrears, and calling for quotes to be more efficient.
Stay Organized
Organization is key to your success. Keep important information/phone numbers, etc, readily available. Have regularly used forms in a handy place. Have the ability to multitask and, more importantly, refocus. You need to be committed to changing the way you do things to attain work-life balance; these are all essentials to your success. Avoid workplace clutter, make instant decisions on each paper that comes across your desk
Delegate Effectively
If you have support staff, tasks can be assigned and delegated to your team member. Leave time to give proper instruction, set a clear outcome and guidance to ensure you get the results you need. Avoid taking it back and doing it yourself because it is faster. You rob your team member of growth and skill development.
Avoid Overplanning
The most important thing is not to over plan your day. If you have an 8-hour day, 1.5 hours removed for emails and meetings with your staff and 1 hour for lunch, that leaves 5.5 hours. The most you should plan in a day is 2-3 hours. Overplanning results in disappointment and stress. By managing your time, you will be pleasantly surprised by what you can accomplish.
Protect Sacred Time
Find sacred time, this is where you set aside a time a few times a week for 1-2 hours, (keep the times consistent, i.e. Tuesday from 2-3 or Wed from 10-12) where you can close the door (figuratively, as not all of you have a door) and focus on tasks without interruption. Ignore the phone and emails for this period. This will allow you the time for quality and quantity of work accomplishments. Should something come up, and you are not able to use your normal sacred time, plan it for another day.
Work Smart, Not on Adrenaline
People are natural adrenaline junkies. During school, we would cram for exams or procrastinate, believing we work better under stress. When this translates into our workplace, it means we need to stay late or start early to accomplish necessary tasks. Ask yourself, at what expense?
Break Up Large Projects
Larger projects, like reporting to your supervisor or Board of Directors, can be done throughout the month by adding items or bullet points and putting the finishing touch on the report in advance to circulate the report before the meeting. If your task is overwhelming, break it up into smaller chunks. Know when to stop fine-tuning the work. Aim for excellence, not perfection.
Prepare for Tomorrow Today
Prepare for a good start tomorrow. Review the accomplishments of the day and carry forward items that did not get done to the next day. Lay out what you need the day before so you can tackle your planned activities.
Do not scrap the plan or to-do list, review, align, and refocus until you find a system that works for you. A habit is created through consistency if done daily, 21 days; if it is done weekly, give it three months.
Getting the right things is more important than getting everything done. Manage your time, instead of allowing it to manage you!