Time management continues to be a growing challenge for many leaders. They’re constantly distracted at work and never able to focus on their big picture goals.
If you feel like you’re too busy at work, then you’ll like this episode of our Productivity Edge series. You will learn a simple time management system that gives you a chance to refocus your priorities on a daily and weekly basis.
What Productivity Questions Does This Video Answer?
- How can I be less busy at work?
- What’s a good time management plan?
- How can I get more important work done?
- How can I be more productive at work?
Video Transcript
When you’re really busy does it feel like you’re in a game of pinball? At the end of the day, do you feel like you were just bouncing around from one task to another and you should be getting done? It’s like you’re inside that game of pinball.
When I was a kid, I would sometimes play pinball and go over to an arcade, throw my quarter in, and I’d realize really fast that I didn’t understand the game. I’d just be kind of randomly hitting all sorts of stuff and hope that it worked out okay.
That’s kind of like a lot of our days, where we’re trying to do stuff but we’re not sure it’s gonna help us at all.
When I was at the arcade though I saw the more experienced players, who could keep a pinball going for hours. How they had a strategy and a plan and suddenly the game got a lot easier.
Let’s take some of that pinball strategy and apply it to your day:
First thing I want you to do is to have a plan at the beginning of the day. Think about what are the two or three most important things that you need to do and how are you accomplish them.
Next, I want you to think about those tasks that take up a lot of your time that aren’t really important. Can you delegate them? In any job, over time, you may inherit certain tasks, you may have had certain duties. And then you got promoted but you kept doing the thing anyway. Well is there way to get it off your plate?
Periodically, take a moment to evaluate how your day is going. Now, this might be before lunch, might be midmorning, late afternoon. Just take up to 90 seconds just to think about the task, how you can get it done, even with those interruptions that happen.
Let’s say there’s a day, Friday afternoon, usually a slow time. Take a few minutes to think about how well are you performing and moving towards those big picture goals.
What’s keeping you from achieving them? Is there a way that you can overcome certain distractions and problems? Make sure you have a plan. Think about it some.
If you do this every week, by the end of the year, you will have given yourself 50 course corrections. This doesn’t have to be a long process but it gives you the ability to check in, think about your game, and apply some strategy.
About This Video Series
Ken Okel’s Productivity Edge video series will make you more effective on the job. Every week, you’ll learn a new, easy to understand tip that you can use right away.
Got a productivity problem? Let us know and we’ll feature it in an upcoming episode.
About Ken Okel
Ken Okel works with leaders and organizations to boost productivity, performance, and profits. At conferences, conventions, and company meetings, he engages audiences with new ways to maximize their time at work. To see a sample of his keynote and workshop presentations, visit: https://www.kenokel.com/videos
