Some simple but effective tools to help you feel more in control of your working day!
1. Planning – one of the key things is forward planning. Whether you are organizing an event or whether it’s for the general day to day running of the office, forward planning will cover any emergencies. Simple systems in place within the office such as a ‘Procedures’ folder will help with the forward planning which in turn will help the office to run more smoothly. Staff will know what is happening and when and they will know how to undertake each task. You will feel confident knowing that if for any reason you cannot be in the office, any outstanding tasks will be actioned.
2. Delegate/Allocate – a lot of people have the mentality that they have got to complete the work themselves and sometimes they might even feel threatened by a colleague if they must ‘share’ the workload. They feel it reflects on them, that colleagues will think that they cannot cope with the work. But, this is not true! Everyone has their strengths and whether you are amanager, co-worker or office junior, you should utilise these. If you have a deadline and you know that you will meet it, but the content will sub-standard,why not ask a colleague for some help. This will help with your time management of your workload and the work you complete will be of a higher standard than if you were to over stretch yourself. Think about it – it makes perfect sense!
3. Setting goals – This is a good visual thing to have on your desk, fridge or even perhaps your bathroom! If you have a big task to complete try to break itdown into smaller goals, ones that will be achievable. Some people will use post its on their computer (I don’t personally like this approach as it only takes a gust of wind for it to disappear or for it to stick to something else!) butI find that the use of your electronic diary will do the trick. Make the most of the task list, set a different task for each day of the week, create an ongoing task over a longer period and if you need to DELEGATE! Send a task to a colleague if you need some help.
4. Prioritizing – communication is the key here. When given a task, ask some key questions:
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What is the timescale to complete the work?
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When do they need it by (similar thing to the above but whoever has asked you to help, their deadline might be 2 days after the one they have given you, so you might have a bit of leeway if something urgent comes up in the meantime)?
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What priority have they given the task/work?
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Do you need to collaborate with anyone else? If yes you need to bear this in mind so that you can forward plan the tasks accordingly.
5. Learn to say no – a lot of people have a hard time saying no and I used to be one of them! I am all for helping anyone out but sometimes when your workload is at the maximum, you just cannot do it! But there is a way to say it– be polite and explain that unfortunately you are unable to help now due to your workload. Offer to help when you have more time and perhaps even suggest a colleague that might be able to help instead.
6. Utilise your resources – make the most of your electronic diary, paper diary and make sure that if you arrange a meeting that you input this straight away. If you have regular priorities that need to be completed every week, schedule these into your diary so that this time has already been allocated. If you are out of the office often due to meetings, again schedule some time in your diary to be in the office to action emails and correspondence. Make sure that your staff are aware that this time is for you to get on top of your admin and if they need to see you for a catch up, again schedule some regular slots so that they can book some time with you. This will not only help the coordination of your diary, but it will also help your PA and staff.
7. Don’t be Perfect – nobody is perfect, it’s a fact! Some people might portray this for a while but eventually they will mess up. So…………..rather than putting extra pressure on yourself to get everything done yesterday, understand that you can only do one thing at a time.
8. Keep your email inbox up to date – this can be such a time drainer if you do not put some simple practices into place.
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Archive – make sure you set up the automatic archive rule
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Go through your emails a couple of times a day, if possible.
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Once you have read an email decide what to do with – reply, delete or pending list.
Remember to delete any emails as you go otherwise your email account might reach its mailbox limit!