DEVELOPMENT
Research out of the UK suggests that the average office worker is productive for just two hours and 53 minutes a day … Ouch ! The other five to six hours ? They ’ re said to be spent procrastinating via social media and news sites – or being interrupted by colleagues ( which can be said to clock up to an alarming 15 minutes an hour ). And did you know that once interrupted it takes us approximately 23 minutes to refocus on the task at hand ?
That said , there should probably be an exception in the above research because have they considered how productive and efficient the average PA , EA or chief of staff is ? Of course , even the most impressive high-level assistant still has room for improvement so , beyond the obvious ( such as exercising some self-discipline when it comes to social media surfing and agreeing some basic office protocols around not interrupting each other incessantly ) just how can you get more productive hours out of your work day ?
Exercise in the morning As a time management coach , I have dozens of strategies for designing a perfectly productive day . But my morning cold water swim is without a doubt my deal maker . After 12 minutes of cold water immersion , I turn up for work ready , engaged , enthusiastic , happy and , let ’ s face it , just a little smug at having survived another ocean swim .
The research backs me up with one study featured in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management finding that morning exercise not only improves our wellbeing ( with positive changes in performance outcomes almost exclusively linked to changes in mood ) – it also provides a 72 % improvement in time management on the days you exercise .
Add to that an Australian study by Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute , which found morning exercise improves decision-making across the day compared to having a sedentary morning .
Get the data Your day is made up of a multitude of competing demands for your time . So , how do you know which time investment is the best ? To make the right decisions you need the data . Map a few days of your time from the moment you get up until you go to bed ; make a real-time running list of every task you start , every time you are interrupted and every time you switch task . Why ? Because you can ’ t know what changes you need to make to your time habits until you know exactly where you are currently spending your time .
High value tasks vs . low value tasks Next , review your time maps and divide the tasks you perform into two categories :
High value tasks These are core to your role . They will either be revenue generating ( think sales , product development , stakeholder engagement , marketing , etc .) or cost-reducing ( think process efficiencies ).
Low ( er ) value tasks These are not core to your role and are costinducing . They are tasks you can : w Delegate ( if you have a team ) w Outsource to an expert ( think administrative tasks , IT , HR and bookkeeping ) w Reject ( poor habits such as starting your day on email , for example ).
From here , structure your day so that most of your time is spent on your high value tasks . I suggest you do it like this : w Batch these tasks into your calendar in the morning w Then break up each batched high value task with a 10 – 15-minute break to frequently disrupt sitting ( this has been shown to boost your short-term memory compared to uninterrupted sitting ) w Afternoons should be set up for any of the low ( er ) value tasks that you can ’ t outsource , delegate or reject .*
Say no Every time you say yes to someone , you are saying no to yourself . And each time you say yes , there will be a financial cost to you ( because your time is money ) and an opportunity cost ( what else could you have done with your time )? So , when a request for your time comes your way ask yourself : Is this something I really want to do ? If yes , then go for it . If not ; if the costs to you are too high , try a response such as : “ Thank you for thinking of me . Unfortunately , I ’ m working to a number of deadlines but if anything changes I ’ ll come back to you .”
Set boundaries This is different to saying no to others . Setting boundaries is about saying no to yourself . Establish firm rules about how and where you are going to spend your time and be consistent and disciplined .
The bottom line is that the act of designing the perfectly productive day takes commitment , discipline and personal accountability . There is no magic bullet . You need to invest time to identify your poor time habits , to consider better time habits and to then implement them . You have nothing to lose and plenty to gain . Go for it ! S katechristie . com . au
THE EXPERT
Kate Christie , founder and CEO of Time Stylers is a time investment advisor , a global speaker and best-selling author . Kate consults to big and small business , government departments and C-suite executives on maximising individual time spend and managing organisational drag through smart time investment strategies .
For me , mornings are devoted to revenue generating tasks , writing , coaching clients and producing content . Afternoons are devoted to meetings , process-driven work and finishing work completely by 4pm at the latest .
Winter Issue 2024 | Executive PA 63