insideKENT Magazine Issue 70 - January 2018 | Page 127
BUSINESS
FINDING BALANCE:
IS TIME
MANAGEMENT
YOUR NEW YEAR’S
RESOLUTION?
BY MARC FARMER, PARTNER AT WILKINS KENNEDY, MAIDSTONE
CHRISTMAS TIME IS ALWAYS GREATLY ANTICIPATED, BUT SEEMS
TO COME AND GO IN NO TIME. WEEKS FEEL LIKE A FEW HECTIC
HOURS OF PREPARATION AROUND THE USUAL DAY JOB, WHICH
HAS SUDDENLY GOT EVEN BUSIER DUE TO THE IMPENDING
HOLIDAYS. WITH SO MANY GADGETS DESIGNED TO “MAKE LIFE
EASIER”, ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME WE RE-VISITED OUR TIME
MANAGEMENT THIS NEW YEAR?
As a culture, we are permanently “switched
on” thanks to better technology and more
flexible working. According to research by the
Chartered Institute of Personal Development
(CIPD), which surveyed more than 2,000
employees, 40% of people check work emails
at least five times a day outside of working
hours. Almost a third said that remote access
to work means that they can never fully switch
off and 17% said they were losing sleep over
anxiety associated with working remotely.
Here’s an idea – turn it all off: iPhone, tablet,
the lot. If you can, do it for the entire weekend.
You might just find you return to the office
well rested and recharged – you’ll be so much
more efficient. If you start to feel like work
schedules are getting on top of you, then
carefully analyse your workload and prioritise
everything that is important for that day alone.
Better still, if you can, try to be analytical all
the time. Don’t just rush from one meeting or
one job to the next and learn to plan your day.
Don’t just open the diary and say, “Right, what’s
first?” Set aside 30 minutes to really plan: what
needs doing, when, how, with whom? Give
everything a beginning and an end time.
When you plan, make sure you insert short
gaps, even if only five minutes, between
meetings and tasks. Five minutes planning
what to do and say in a meeting will make it
more effective and probably shorter. Or, take
a break – why not? Physically you could
probably keep going for ten hours, but the
brain needs some downtime. So schedule 30
minutes in the middle of the day – and take
it seriously; get away from the desk, out of the
building, stretch your legs.
Efficiency doesn’t just apply to work – it can
resonate into our personal lives too. We are
all juggling family and other commitments
around work and it can sometimes feel like
you just don’t stop. There is no reason why
you shouldn’t be able to apply your structure
to your time. If you are online, keep
distractions to a minimum. Facebook,
LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter. There’s no
shame, we all do it. But learn to turn them off.
Finally, tidy your desk. Apart from making you
look unprofessional, clutter is distracting and
a serious impediment to efficiency.
Being efficient is an important part of your
business plan, but your business also needs
you to be working at the top of your game. If
you could do with a few tips to help your
business run more smoothly, perhaps dust off
your business plan or need some help with
other management issues, contact us at
Wilkins Kennedy to see how we can help.
Local offices:
Ashford: 01233 629 255 / Canterbury: 01227 454 861
Maidstone: 01622 690 666 / Orpington: 01689 827 505
Sandwich: 01304 249 997
[email protected]
www.wilkinskennedy.com
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