Top Time Tip #115
What Is One Of The Most Critical Skills You MUST Master?
12th February 2009
 It's our second lovely summer in a row here in New Zealand and I've been out nearly every weekend sailing, running or hiking - making the most of it.
However, if you're reading this in Australia and either you or your loved ones have been affected by the devastating fires in Victoria,our hearts go out to you. Please know that your friends across the Tasman are sending you prayers, sympathy and support in any way we can.
After that sobering comment it seems a bit crass to talk about business, but maybe even more than ever we need to keep looking to the future. Therefore, I'd like to give you a quick heads-up on an exciting programme in Wellington, New Zealand at the end of this month.
We all know that things are tough in the world economy. And yes, thousands of people will lose their jobs or their businesses. But it doesn't have to be a final blow for you.
Remember, people are paid by the value they create.
Whether you are an employee or a business owner, it's exactly the same. So in order to survive in tough times we must constantly make ourselves more valuable to our boss and/or our customers.
If you're keen to add to your own personal value, and you live in or near Wellington, I am again joining two of New Zealand's leading personal and business growth experts, my good friends Allie Mooney and Yvonne Godfrey, to give you some ideas and tips on how to Recession-Proof Your Year.
"The whole afternoon had a very professional feel and all three of you were excellent. I liked how each of you was quite different in style and had different things to say but you all complemented each other so well. I took away some great keys, not only from what was said, but from watching you ladies and thinking about how I could emulate you and learn from your example. Thanks again for a great afternoon."
Cheryl Megchelse
And if you know people in Wellington, I'd really appreciate it if you could forward this note on. Both your friends and mine will thank you!
Our lead article, just below, focuses this time on how to reduce one of the biggest problems we all have -that crushing sense of overwhelm and 'too much to do'.
Yours in exploring new horizons. (My next new horizon is a trip toPapua New Guinea on Saturday to be the main speaker at a 2-day leadership conference for women.)
Cheers,
Lead Article: How to Master Overwhelm
A question, or variations of it, that crops up more and more often in the current economic climate is:
"We've had to lay off some people due to a downturn in business but even though there are less customers the amount of work hasn't gone down. So I have to get more done. How can I do that when there is so much going on?"
The answer is simple.
We have to be more effective. And that means getting rid of stuff that we don't NEED to do and focusing on the jobs that are IMPORTANT. Sounds simple, doesn't it. The problem is, many folk find themselves overwhelmed, stuck in an endless groove of 'busyness' with no end.
Has it ever happened that when the summer holidays (drawing to a close down here in the Southern Hemisphere) have disappeared in a hot ball of sun, you catch yourself saying: 'It can't be that close to the next holidays already! I'm still catching up with the 'beginning of year' backlog!'
Perhaps you're one of the truly organised ones, and never feel behind-hand. If so, this article is not for you! For the rest of you, this issue will give you a few strategies to cope with that ugly feeling of daily overload.
Overwhelm Days
At a conference, we'd been talking about how to do daily planning and 'to do' lists. Martin, one of the delegates, made a great contribution.
'Robyn, you gave us some great advice about writing a list of all the things to do for the day, identifying just the top five, and working on them. The action of writing down definitely takes away some of the stress, but sometimes, especially if there's pressing deadlines and you can feel a panic attack coming on, the list of 'absolute must-do's' seems too long.
'If you also quickly jot down, beside each item, an estimate of how long it will take, it has several benefits:
- Clears the mind clutter.
- Focuses your attention on what's really important.
- Helps you be more realistic about what you really can do, instead of pushing ahead blindly, maybe on things that you've got no chance to achieve.
Probably the most important - helps you realise that, almost always, the issue is what's in your head, rather than what's on the list. Our mind plays funny tricks! It's amazing how quickly you get through the work once you push the anxiety away, and there's almost always enough time.'
Overwhelm Weeks
Here's another angle from Canadian educationalist and speaker Warren Evans.
'I've had a bit of experience with 'overwhelm' in the last couple of years. Often I find that sorting/prioritising a day doesn't do it . . . because I'm looking at a couple of overwhelm weeks!!
Here's my process:
- Get a large sheet of paper (at least as big as foolscap) and draw it into days.
- Split each day into morning, afternoon, and evening blocks.
- Transfer your list of to-do's on to sticky notes, colour coded for importance & those with hard deadlines.
- Also note how long they will take [also Martin's recommendation].
- Stick the notes onto the big page.
Warren went on to say:
'There's probably a much fancier electronic way to do this . . . but I'd lose 3 days learning how to use the computer program, and this way I get the exact number of days to cover my time frame - all on one page.'
Advantages:
- I feel good seeing how all this will get done.
- I can sort and sequence as I go.
- I can fit in, or decline, the stuff that pops up.
- I can move the sticky notes around as the week progresses.
Warren also suggested leaving a few blank spots on the big page, rather than filling all the spaces.
Overwhelm of Information
And here's one more variation from me, especially when there's a lot of data to capture and manage. It's more a project management and data capture tool than a prioritising tool. Martin and Warren's strategies, although they also work for project management, are especially helpful for fitting a particular number of tasks into a defined number of days.
Whenever I've got a particularly large project on, such as writing a book, creating a complex new product or redesigning my website, this is what I do.
If you're very visual you'll want a large space - flipchart pages are best, or a large whiteboard works well, as long as you can leave it there until you're finished. Or if you're more minimalist and have small tidy writing, the large piece of paper (or several) mentioned by Warren may do the job.
- On the first page identify the broad categories within the project. (You may choose to use a mind map, or a linear bullet list works well too).
- On subsequent pages, break each category out into key activities.
- Expand each item with as many details as possible.
- Identify the critical items for fastest results.
- With a different coloured pen, give yourself any important target date.
- Transfer any time-critical matters into your regular planning tool or diary.
Extra tip:
Leave your lists in sight while the work is in progress - on the flipchart stand, the whiteboard, or pinned on the wall. Even if you're not actively looking at them every day, your subconscious keeps working. You'll be delighted how many of the target dates are met, and how effective you feel. And again, as Martin and Warren noticed, it takes away the feeling of overwhelm.
The key to all three strategies is in writing things down - it unclutters the brain.
And here's one more idea from Pete, one of my Top Time Tips readers. See if it can help you too.
"As well as estimating how much time each task will take I've spent a few minutes calculating my likely 'interruption time' over a series of days and a varied array of tasks. I then calculated a % overall. With drop-ins, phone calls, e-mails requiring urgent attention, lunch and four coffees!!! my interruption time is typically about 50%.
"This becomes my factor to add on to the time I allocate to each task... for instance correspondence 1 hour + 50% = 1.5 hours. If there are no interruptions I simply go on to the next task but if there are I can still make effective use of my time over the whole day... usually 4-5 tasks."
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