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Rachel Autherson

ARE YOU supremely efficient at work, or do you often wish there were more hours to a day and you could get more done?

If you do wish for more time, you are not alone.

Nearly 43 per cent of British office workers think they are not as productive as they could be, according to a recent research by digital imaging and technology company Canon.

Unfortunately, knowing that you can do more work does not mean you will. To achieve more, you have to work smarter, not harder.

In his book, CEO Logic: How to Think and Act Like a Chief Executive, C. Ray Johnson writes that prioritising is the answer to time-management problems - not computers, efficiency experts or matrix scheduling.

What you need to do, Johnson says, is spend more time on the right things rather than work faster or make every minute more productive.

For that to happen, you need to focus on your goals. Only then can you define the activities that will lead you to those goals.

Start by reviewing your performance objectives or organisational goals for the coming year. Remember to include personal development goals such as learning a skill or taking up a new responsibility. It will help if you write these goals down and keep them always in sight.

Once you know what is needed to achieve your goals, make a plan listing the specific tasks you need to do. Be as detailed as possible, and if a task looks unmanageable, break it down into smaller chunks of activity. This allows you to concentrate on each activity without being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task.

Of course, it would be easier to get things done if you only had one objective. In reality, most of us juggle tasks and priorities at work. That is why to-do lists are invaluable. These lists help consolidate all the jobs that you have to do in one place. You can then prioritise the tasks and tackle all the critical activities on the list first.

However, keep in mind the difference between urgent and important tasks. Many urgent tasks are not important in the long run. Last-minute meetings are typical examples - these may be important for those who hold them, but spending too much time on them could distract you from your goals. Deal with these pressing issues as quickly as possible, or delegate them to someone else.

Once you are clear about what you need to do, schedule enough time to get those tasks done. This is where many of us fail - it needs discipline to make a schedule and stick to it. Remember not to take on more than what you can do; a schedule must be realistic if it is to work.

Start by identifying the time you think you will need for each activity. Then, while making the schedule, consider the way your workdays are designed.

Many salespeople, for example, use Friday afternoons to complete their paperwork, as their clients do not like to receive sales calls just before the weekend.

Do not make the mistake of tackling the easy jobs first - and definitely not at the cost of long-term activities.

Tasks such as managing the performance of others often contribute the most to the achievement of your objectives. You should give enough time for these activities. This could mean, for example, setting two hours aside each Monday morning to coach your staff.

A disciplined approach will certainly improve efficiency, but do not expect everything to go according to plan. There will always be crises and interruptions. However, do not allow them to undermine your efficiency. If a request on your time does not contribute to your goals and is not important, ignore it.

One way to organise your work is to have one-hour productivity slots in each day's schedule. Set a goal for each hour and devote all your attention to it. If the work needs you to be at your desk, shut the door, do not answer the phone and resist the temptation to check your messages.

When your hour is done, take a break, review your messages and respond to any urgent calls. Then get back to the next hour of intense productivity.

If you plan your day to include four or five of these intensive and focused work sessions, you will manage to find one or two hours in which to deal with unexpected events, return calls or engage in less structured creative thinking.

Do not think you should keep your nose to the grindstone all the time. A study in Denmark has shown that playing games, such as a spell of solitaire, during the working day, improves productivity. So make sure you take regular breaks - even if it is only for a few minutes between meetings.

Despite your best efforts to prioritise and plan your actions, if you still struggle to get things done, try keeping a record of your activities to evaluate the way you manage your time.

By tracking your activities over a couple of weeks, you will be able to identify and eliminate many unproductive habits such as reading junk e-mail, browsing the internet, chatting with colleagues or waiting for meetings.

You may be shocked by the amount of time that you waste every day!

Article sponsored by Gemini Personnel, the trusted name in personnel

Productive minds

Time management principles are easy to learn but are often undermined by unproductive attitudes. Here are some tips to develop a more efficient mindset:

Let go of the need to please.

Learn to say no - being a team player is good but being a doormat is not.

Believe in your goals; this will make it easier to decline distracting activities.

When saying no, be polite, do not apologise and do not fall into the trap of over-explaining.

Be direct - people are happier to accept an honest refusal than be faced with a delayed decision.

Act without delay

Explore your reasons for procrastinating. Are you scared or overwhelmed, or do you lack the commitment to carry out the task? Tackle the underlying problem.

Do not expect to create a finished product immediately. Instead, commit to just half an hour of focused attention. Once you have begun the task, things will flow more easily.

Do the things you enjoy first. Who says a proposal needs to be written from beginning to end? Maybe you want to do the graphics before writing the text.

BE REALISTIC

Perfectionism wastes time, so focus on doing things right the first time and then let go.

Be realistic about what you can achieve. Identify the 'must have' deliverables of any project and focus on these.

Do not waste time on things that add no value. If a client asks for a proposal, it will probably prefer a two-page summary rather than 10 pages of in-depth analysis.



Learn the art of managing time efficiently