How to Manage Your Time

What Is Time Management?

To manage your time is to use a system of procedures and routines (recurring tasks) that allow you to think systematically; it is to identify and prioritise tasks and objectives which enables you to become better organised, be more effective and feel more in control.

Two key questions:

·      How do you feel when you spend time poorly?

·      How do you feel when you spend time well?

Tips for Controlling Your Time

“Time is life. To waste time is to waste your life.

To master your time is to master your life.”

1.  List goals, set priorities

• What are your long-term goals?
• What do you really want out of life and your job?
• Then prioritise, using the ABC system (A-high value; B-medium value; C-low value).

2.  Make a daily To Do list

• Make and update it at the same time every day.
• Use any type of list that suits you.
• Prioritise using As, Bs, Cs or any other rating system.
• Keep the list in sight in a prominent place.

3.  Start with As, not Cs

• Concentrate on high value goals and activities - 80% of everything in this world is a ‘C’ but that doesn’t mean you should spend 80% of your time on them!
• Ask yourself frequently what might happen if you didn’t do this ‘C’?  If the answer is nothing, then don’t do it.
• Make yourself a “Standby List” of small tasks to do when a few spare minutes arise or you need a break.

4.  Frequently ask yourself ‘What is the best use of my time right now?’

• Handle each piece of paper and each email only once.
• Don’t pick up a piece of paper unless you intend to do something with it!
• Problems usually escalate if you keep ignoring them.
• Use the ‘Swiss cheese’ method to get started on those overwhelming ‘A’ jobs, instead of doing nothing or doing ‘Cs’

Increasing Effectiveness:  Planning

• Start by looking at your goals and list all activities needed for their completion.
•  Put these in sequence.  For each goal, allocate a deadline.
•  Where others are involved, agree (and record) who is responsible for completing each activity.
•  Priorities your activities according to the goals.
• Plan ahead: write activities in your diary for long term overview with both start and finish times, including time needed to check on others’ progress.
• Plan time to plan: allocate time for meetings with yourself.
•  Plan:

·    For tomorrow, at the end of today

·    For next week, at the end of this week

·    For a meeting, project or presentation as soon as it is agreed.  This leaves you free to be creative and gives you time to add new ideas and extra points as they come to mind.  It avoids last minute rushes when little - but important things - get forgotten.

• Don’t postpone important or disliked things.  Do them first so that you can feel a sense of achievement (not guilt!) for the rest of the day.
•  Ensure that you regularly include some activities that make you feel good.
• Start major activities when you are at your peak performance, leaving shorter tasks to fill the gaps.
• Be realistic in your assessment of your available time.  Allow contingency time for interruptions, delays and problems.  Limit your daily To Do list to one that is achievable that day, so that at the end of the day you leave feeling good about what you have accomplished, not frustrated or depressed about what you have not!
• Ensure that you regularly do some activity towards your longer-term goals or the massive, unpleasant tasks that otherwise just never get started.

Building a Focused Daily To-Do-List

Check once mid morning and once mid afternoon:

• Review:  What do I need to do to get back on track?
• Take the time out to retrieve your day
•  Transfer:  Sometimes an emergency throws your day
• Tackle them in the same way

Check           

• Your ‘pending’ file, your ‘holding‘ file and your ‘tickler file’
• This Week - Pending
• Next Week - Holding
• Beyond - Tickler

Add                

• New tasks at any point

Collect together your ‘to do list’ into groups; for example,  ‘Administration’, ‘Clients’, etc.  When using your diary to plot out time always add an extra 15 minutes to every hour of estimated time.  Build in time for emergencies and interruptions and schedule in ‘time to think’ or ‘meetings with yourself to plan for the future and review work completed.

Requests For Your Time

From People 

• Always say it early - Do not wait until the deadline to say no, you will lose trust.
• Acknowledge - Keep people informed of your schedule, acknowledge the importance of the project that you have been asked to complete.
• Assertively decline - Be very brave and say “I am unable to do this task for you within that time.”
• Account for resources - Give 1 or 2 reasons why, “I have one or two priorities to work on right now, it is important that I . . .”
• Alternative solutions - “Let’s see if we can re-schedule, re-shuffle, propose some other solutions. . .”
• Decide and communicate the options – give yourself time to think/refer to your list, look at it realistically, “I can draft it for you now or finalise it and proof it by tomorrow, which would you prefer?”

 Tips for Shaving Time Off Phone Calls

•  Summarise: “Well, before we hang up, I just want to...”
•  Ask questions: “How can I help you?”
•  Use statements: “I know you’re busy, so I’ll just....” 
• Set a time limit   
•  “I was just on my way out...”
•  “I have a meeting in five minutes...”
• Schedule for a block of time convenient to you

Fresh Learning offers a range of training and support with delivering excellence in Time Management. If you would like to contact send us a message using the contact form on the right-hand side of this post.

Fresh Learning Team

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10 Reasons Employers will hire you

When you apply for a job, you know exactly what you're looking for. You want a company you love, great co-workers, a decent salary, a culture where you fit in and, most importantly, you want to love what you'll be doing.

But do you ever consider what the employer is looking for in its employees? These days, competition is steep among job seekers; it's important to know what employers want in an employee before going into an interview so candidates can sell how they would be an asset to the company.

More employers said that aside from having the basic job qualifications, multitasking (36 percent), initiative (31 percent) and creative thinking (21 percent) are the most important characteristics in a job applicant.

Here, 10 of the most common reasons employers hire employees, in no particular order. Hopefully, they can help you prepare to land your next job.

1. Long-term potential

Employees want to see their future within a company so they are motivated and excited about their career path, the company's future and their role in it.

From the employer perspective, you want people in your organization to work their way up. It is best to have someone who is multidimensional and can grow with the company.

2. Ability to work well with others

We spend a lot of time at work; there is nothing worse than someone who cannot get along with others. It's so important and involves being helpful, understanding the unwritten rules, being respectful, reliable and competent.

3. Ability to make money

Hiring managers want people who can prove that they will increase the organization's revenues or decrease its costs.

During a recession, revenues are difficult for organizations to generate and employers have typically already cut their costs about as much as they can. Their emphasis is on increasing their revenues.

4. Impressive résumé

A résumé is a person's billboard; a reflection of the applicant in the eyes of the reader. First impressions are lasting ones and a résumé is often the vehicle to either make a good impression or a poor one.

5. Relevant work experience

Experience levels generally allow a person to hit the ground running without a lot of hand-holding. Managers do not have time to mentor and train people as in the past.

6. Creative problem-solving skills

Employers know that in business, the chessboard changes daily. As soon as we think all is fine, the economy changes or the competition makes a surprise move and the company's own strategy must change. A person who gets locked into a set way of doing things finds it difficult or impossible to adjust. They are a drag on the business as opposed to an asset for it.

7. Strong online presence

Social networking has become the primary way that people communicate. But it is a double-edged sword. Employers have access to your personal life, likes and dislikes, political views, good and bad behavior. Because of that exposure and the speed at which information is distributed, it is important that you be digitally dirt-free, especially when job hunting.

8. Multitaskers who thrive on variety of projects

Business today moves at supersonic speed, and effectively managing a variety of different projects simultaneously is essential. If an individual demonstrates a passion for learning new things and enjoys a variety of work, chances are she is also ambitious and inquisitive -- two qualities that are critical to success and advancement.

9. Enthusiasm and initiative

If you show consistent enthusiasm and take initiative on the job, you can count on being noticed and rewarded. Every business looks to put their most enthusiastic people forward with important clients and customers.

By taking initiative, you convey a true team spirit and illustrate that you are not someone who simply meets the criteria of a job description, but who goes above and beyond what is required to help the business succeed.

10. Good cultural fit

Recruiters are pressured to find the right match for a company; applicants are under pressure to creatively differentiate themselves and demonstrate a desire to succeed. Hiring managers are particularly interested in how a candidate is going to adapt to their unique organizational culture.

Edited from an article by CNN

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5 Qualities of Charismatic People. Are you charismatic?

We always say: “They are charismatic. Who wouldn’t want to look up to a charismatic person?!”

And who wouldn’t want to be charismatic? Synonyms for charisma are alluring, bewitching, captivating, fascinating, charming, enchanting, engaging, magnetic and seductive.

Why are some people charismatic and others are not? Are we born charismatic or do we cultivate it? And once you have it, can you lose it?

Everyone can be charismatic. We are not born charismatic – we cultivate it in many ways. One way is by observing and learning from people who you think are charismatic. You don’t need to copy them, but learn their secrets, try them on and fine-tune them until they fit you. It’s a trial and error process. Bad news is that once you have your charismatic status, you can lose it. But here’s the good news – if you lose it, with self awareness and effort, you can regain your charismatic ranking.

Here are 5 important qualities of a charismatic person – how many do you have?

Be Self Confident

• Like yourself. It’s much easier for others to like you if you like yourself.
• Be optimistic. Keep your glass half-full. Be enthusiastic.
• Be comfortable with who you are. Be consistent.
• Don’t: Trot out all your issues. We all have problems, but compartmentalize them, park them in a corner and bring them out for close friends and family.

Tell Great Stories

• The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.
• Speak with conviction. Use words like “I am sure” vs. tentative words like “I think, I hope and I feel.”
• Be tuned into humor. Self-deprecating humor can included – it’s ok to tell a story about an embarrassing moment.
• Be relevant. Know what’s happening in the world and around you. People want to be with people who are in the know.
• Don’t: Confuse humor with bad joke telling. Don’t self-deprecate yourself out of the conversation. Don’t put yourself down so much that it takes away from who you are.

Body Speak

• Be open and approachable. Gracious and graceful.
• Walk up to someone, smile, make eye contact, shake hands. Introduce yourself by saying your name, “Hi, I’m Fresh, Fresh Learning.” That way people hear your voice twice.
• Own the room when you walk into it.
• Don’t: Overdo it. When you smile, be authentic. If your smile is not in your eyes, people will know you’re faking it.

Make The Conversation About The Other Person

• Let the world revolve around the person you’re talking to.
• Make the person feel like they are the only person on the planet at that time.
• Immediately put others at ease and make them feel comfortable with you.
• Don’t: Let your ego drive the conversation. We all have egos. If your ego is in overdrive, check it at the door.

Be a Good listener

• You can’t remember everything, but remembering someone’s name is a biggie. Here’s a trick: When you are introduced to a person, immediately repeat their name. Example: “Fresh Learning, it’s so nice to meet you.”
• Listen with interest. Pay attention. Engage. Be empathetic.
• Don’t: When you’re talking with someone at an event, do not check your cell phone or look around the room to see if someone more important is there. If you want to find someone more important, make the conversation brief and move on graciously.

Are you charismatic? How many of the 5 qualities do you have? What about your co-workers, boss, spouse, friends and family – how many qualities do they have?

Want to improve your charisma? It’s never too late. Just cultivate it.

Fresh Learning Team

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Engagement and Training Spend

A question asked within one of the Forums of the American Society for Training and Development was:  “We’re spending $200 billion on training. Why can’t we involve and engage people in the workplace?”  Fresh Learning’s Managing Director gives his insights…

In my experience, there are a number of factors that inhibit employee engagement even when we are investing huge amounts of money in development:

    Reality does not match the learning opportunity provided – this can be as delivery content is too ‘off the shelf’ and therefore does not reflect the organizational need, culture or individual’s needs, or beacause the delivery sets false expectations that build apathy when the employee returns to the office from their learning

    Mid-Management (also at times senior and first-line management) do not support the learning and prohibit what was learned from being applied even though the content has been signed off by organizational development or even at times by the CEO – I would be a rich person if I had $1 for every candidate on training courses that I have heard say ‘I love the theory, and can see how it would make my performance and the engagement of myself and my team, but the reality is that I will not be allowed to apply this as it does not meet with that senior manager’s expectations’. I now refuse to deliver work where I feel that the organization just wants to hit certain groups of employees with training without considering the wider impact and ability to gain ROI and engagement.

    The wrong person is in the room (virtually or physically) – often the manager will desire a learning intervention for the employee when the issue is with the manager, building disengagement and apathy before the employee is even developed.

    The culture and methods of working within the organization has not been considered within the delivery of development – I see this within many organizations, eg in application of e-learning in the healthcare setting to groups of employees that don’t have access to computers – and often don’t even know how to turn one on or delivering examples and case studies that don’t reflect the culture and working practices in the team/department.

    Lack of application and follow through prevents creation of effective new habits by the attendee – A lack of ability to apply what is learned sees employees becoming disengaged beacuase the learning is not transferred into practical habit building that helps the employee. What action planning is done post-intervention and how is this supported in order to engage the employee in the learning and have a tangible result, has action-learning been used in order to move away from the estimated 90% loss of knowledge within the first few weeks after the learning intervention.

For me, the key aspects we must consider in order to use this large investment wisely in the future is how are we ensuring that the learning delivered matches the needs of the organization and of the individual, as well as how are we ensuring that we build the right culture in order to embrace learning and transfer learning points into learned points that have improved performance, productivity and engagement.

Fresh Learning Team Tweets por @FreshLearningHQ

Saying no without saying no.

Have you ever looked at a task and thought “Why did I ever agree to do that?” Or, whilst swamped with work ended up taking on tasks that you just didn’t have time to do?

The reason why we do this is simple, we aren’t able to assert ourselves to effectively say no.

Why do we not say no?

Guilt

We feel guilty for saying no, however is it better to rush tasks and not do them properly, or indeed to let people down by not completing tasks when realistically you should have turned them down in the first place?

Politics

We feel it isn’t our place to say no to our manager or superiors, or we fear the consequences of being seen as a difficult employee. However we have the right to say no when tasks or workload are unreasonable, ultimately protecting our ability to do the job well and reducing things such as stress that in the long-term can harm ourselves and the organization.

Confidence

We often lack the ability to assert ourselves positively in these situations, leading to an inability to say no.

So what can we do about it?

There are many things, however all of them take practice in order to succeed.

Our five quick hints are:

1. Prepare a clear and concise to do list on a regular basis, that is clearly prioritized with an understanding of how long tasks will take to complete.

2. When asked to do a task that you have to decline, clearly state what you currently have to do, the priorities and how long these will take in order to to complete (thereby indicating that you do not have time to do the task).

3. Stop talking. Give the other person time to process what you have said. They may work out from this that you don’t have time and tell you not to worry. Alternatively, they may move other tasks to allow you time to do the requested task (you may need some additional assertiveness techniques if they are not the owner of the tasks they try to move, we will cover these in one of our blogs next week).

4. If during the silence they do not respond, summarize what you have just said and say either “given the above, what would you like me to not do to achieve the task” or “given the above, I will not be able to achieve this task in the time given”.

5. Where possible/appropriate you could consider offering an alternative such as delaying the completion, only completing part of the task or passing task(s) to colleagues who genuinely will have time to complete them (please ensure that they genuinely have time before you select this option).

But won’t it just be easier to just do it as they’ll just say do it anyway?

They might, and they may use their seniority to state that you have to do the task, however at least you have asserted yourself and can then state this if there are problems. Another technique may be to move to use the Broken Record technique in order to assert yourself in situations where you feel you are able to. 

Saying No without saying no is an area explored in detail in our time management and assertiveness training courses, to find out more, contact us at www.freshlearning.eu

Fresh Learning Team

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