Bob Dylan and Cindy Lauper sang about it. We wear watches on our wrists to monitor it. We measure success by it. It represents a precious, limited resource, yet something we can take for granted.

When we were younger time seemed to take longer to pass. We yearned to be older, for school days to end, we even watched the clock! As the years roll on my appreciation for time and how I use it grows. I’ve come to see time as both a gift and an investment.

The topic of time comes up a lot in my meetings with clients. There’s not enough time, they’re hoping to find more time, or want to get better at using their time. Some feel like they are running out of time to achieve the goals they have set. We’re being asked to do more with our time than we ever have been before.

One thing is for sure; we all have the same amount of time each day! This month I’ve included some tips on making the most of your time.

When we are busy, we sometimes forget the role we play as leaders in either our work or our families. Kristine Geimure’s article explores some common leadership mistakes to be avoided.

And hopefully you’re not too busy to read the other feature article. See why busy is no longer cool and read three simple strategies to become less busy.

Enjoy your time this August. Invest it well!

Best of life,

 

 

1. Plan your daily tasks. It sounds simple, but lots of people don’t do it… Spending 5-10 minutes at the start or end of each day planning what you would like to achieve can be invaluable. Set your focus and agree on what is do-able before even opening or after closing your email for the day.
2. Set one big goal for each day. Avoid getting to the end of the day and feeling like you have not achieved anything. Choose 1 big important task (something that moves you closer to your personal or business goals) to achieve each day. Learn to see the difference between urgent vs. important tasks.
3. Learn to delegate and to say no. Are you the best resource to be doing a particular task? If you believe your time is better spent on other tasks then raise the concern with your boss or colleague and get agreement on what would be the most effective use of your time.
4. Break up your day. Plan in breaks to get some fresh air and feed your mind with new stimulus. If you’re stuck on something, a short whip around the block can often help you clear your mind and often helps you to think of an alternative way to move forward.
5. Use down time well. What do you do when you are driving, on the train, waiting for things or people? Use this time to read, follow up on phone calls, listen to a great music or learning CD or dream up new ideas.
6. Work from big to small. Do the important things first! Don’t waste time ticking off little, unimportant tasks that just fill in time. Remember how good it feels to accomplish big tasks and just get started!
7. Know where you spend your time. Keep a log of your time for a week. You’ll be amazed at what you will see – Like how much of your time is spent on proactive vs. reactive things, urgent vs. important projects, what people you give most of your time to, “you time” and time for your health. Consider how would you like this to look?
8. Master your email. What is the opposite to jumping every time you receive new mail? Consider closing your email while you complete important tasks and allocate specific times to check and respond to emails. If it is really important and urgent, they will ring you!
9. Respect your time. Time is one of our few truly limited resources. Make wise choices on how you invest it. Delegate or say no to meetings you know you don’t need to attend. Consider your time as an investment rather than something you spend or sell.
10. Schedule your time. Lock time into your diary to complete your priority tasks. Unfinished things can occupy un-warranted brain space and drain you of mental energy so schedule future timeslots for important tasks in a trustable system. Then let them go and concentrate on the task at hand.

“Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.”
- J. K. Rowling

By Kristine Geimure

Leadership and management skills are something that rarely come naturally for most people. But if you follow some basic rules and are willing to learn how to work with people you will have things running much more smoothly in the workplace in no time. Here's a list of some the things you should NOT be doing.

1. Neglecting workers
   Your workers ARE your business and they have to be treated that way. Failing to send this message to workers can be a financial and productivity drag for any business. Our workers are people with feelings and emotions and have to be told in many ways how important they are to the company.


2. Not being able to handle criticism
   Just because you're in a leadership position does not mean that you suddenly become immune to making the wrong decisions. As a leader you have to listen to constructive criticism and make the changes necessary. If a worker cares enough to share criticism, the least you can do is listen.


3. Unable to delegate responsibilities
   This is often a problem for small business owner / managers. We have to trust that our workers can do the things we have done for so long. If they really can't do the job because a particular skill is needed, then get them the training required or hire someone that can. A big part of leadership and management is about making sure that things run smoothly and efficiently, and that does not mean running from job to job doing everything ourselves!


4. Knowing everything
   Many of the world's greatest leaders are people of average intelligence that don't know all there is to know in their industry. They understand that they can't possibly know everything and they hire people that do know everything! The success of any business is in the hands of its workers and the leading managers and entrepreneurs of the world all strive to hire the best in their field.


5. Procrastination
   Putting something off till tomorrow that should be done today! Often procrastination is a result of having no plan or list of priorities. Look into time management and goal setting for more ideas on how to overcome procrastination.


6. Lack of focus
   Obviously there will be things come up during the day that require immediate action that will distract us from our work, but we have to have a clear set of priorities to follow. Doing a little bit of everything gets nothing finished, causing stress and feelings of being overwhelmed.


7. Afraid to change
   The ability to change in business is essential. Changes in technology, the way we deal with people, the way we present the business, and in every other aspect of running and operating the company. Holding on to old ways of doing things just because they've always been done that way is a sure way to lose business. If any aspect of the business can be improved then there has to be change, even if this means getting rid of a poor performing worker or product range that is no longer profitable.

As a manager or leader you have to treat your business like a garden. Continue to water, fertilize and weed your garden and it will continue to reap a quality harvest year after year.

Kristine Geimure is the author and editor of several successful online businesses. She also writes business articles for the Woopidoo! business success portal.

By Belinda Cordina

I am over being busy.

Still a bit of an aspirational state for some, I think busy is losing it’s cool. I don’t mean busy in the sense of a thriving business or a robust social calendar (I am all for that), I mean the type of busy that we use as an excuse for underperformance…

…Let me explain.

Being ‘busy’ often stops us from doing what it is we commit to. It gets in the way of achieving our goals and is increasingly used as an excuse for not performing. It’s this use of busy I’d like to see given a rest from our vocabularies.

It seems like everyone is busy these days. Some of my friends are even ‘busy-busy’. When busy becomes a reason to not do the things that are important to us, it’s time to review how we are spending our time and make some changes.

With the growth of the information age we’re progressively presented with so many options. If we don’t become good at making decisions and choosing wisely how we invest our time, we risk feeling extremely ‘busy’ but not like we are really moving forward.

Could being busy actually be the enemy of being brilliant? Imagine if rather than being busy we decided to be productive or effective… or even brilliant? How would you spend your time differently if this described your week? What else would you spend your time doing that you are not doing now? What would you drop?

We all have as many hours in our day as Michelangelo did. What is it that allows some of us to sculpture masterpieces bit by bit while others get lost deciding which paintbrush to use or worse still, collapse with exhaustion after carrying everyone else’s paint brushes for them?

Busy isn’t cool.

The bad news is there’s no secret formula… or not one that I know of! The good news is, removing ‘busy’ from your reasons and excuses vocabulary will help and trying new strategies, like the following three listed below has also worked for me and a number of my clients in achieving more and enjoying more of the fruits you are producing:

Strategy 1: Treat every day like it is the last day before your holiday
Aren’t these the most productive days you have? When you know you need to leave at 3pm to beat the traffic down to the ski fields or at 5pm on the dot to pick up the kids – how much more productive and efficient do you become? How do you plan your day to make sure you get what is important done? What do you do before you leave… you let go. Nine times out of ten it will still be waiting for you when you get back!

Strategy 2: Overestimate how long it will take you to do everything
We tend to be overly optimistic about what we can achieve in a day and tend to underestimate what we can achieve in a year. When scheduling time in your diary, lock in double the time you think it will take. Try this for 1 week and you will be pleasantly surprised by what you are able to achieve.

Strategy 3: Invest time in yourself
This is one of the strategies that can be the hardest to implement but can be the most beneficial. Allocate time to invest in yourself every day. It may be 3 minutes of positive reflection when you’re in the shower. A 5 minute stretch when you get up or 10 minutes to journal your ideas, dreams and goals before you go to bed. Time spent depositing into your own energy bank is a simple but effective way to get in touch with YOU and keep things in perspective. Surely we can’t be too busy to do that?

Join me in my quest to be less busy! The next time someone asks you how work or life is going, resist the urge to use the B word. Describe what’s going on for you in another way, think of a highlight or accomplishment you’re proud of and share that. Take on the strategies above when you feel you might be getting ‘busy-busy’ and start creating and enjoying the masterpiece that is your life.

Sandra is a wonderful addition to the Brave team. Sandra brings to the team twenty years experience in the corporate sector which enabled her to develop outstanding skills in communication, training and systems management.

Through Sandra’s experience as an executive coach, along with her commitment, belief in an individual’s potential and good humour, she assists her clients in achieving clarity, balance and control into their lives, while clearing the pathway to their true potential.

Learn more about Sandra.

Because of all the other demands on your time, marketing planning often becomes a transaction and a bit of a chore. Brave's Masterful Marketing Planning workshops add the fun back into brand planning and inspire you toward innovative strategy and action plan development.

Our workshops are tailored to meet the needs and experience of your team and even better still, we facilitate the process so you can concentrate on doing what you do best!

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