Take a moment to reflect on how you have spent your last week. Are the habits and actions you have invested your time in truly impacting where you want to see yourself in the long term?
We are engulfed in a society where being “busy” is thought as successful and packing our schedules full feels productive. As we try to do more and we think diversity will give us a competitive edge, we end up burning out and producing less quality results.
Time is your most valuable currency, and once you spend it, you can never earn it back. So how can we make the most out of a commodity that is of a value like gold?
We need to shift our perception from looking at managing our time and start focusing on prioritizing our days. Execution and action are the key to attaining the life we want to live, but if you spend your time taking action on steps that do not impact greatly that desired journey, you will delay the results you seek.
The infamous list of to-do’s need to become a list of clear intentions of how you want to play out the movie set of your life. First you need to take the time to get a clear understanding of the job results and the life you want to create at work and home. Then you can become selective of which tasks will bring you the most added value and bring you closer to what you want in life both in career and personal.
Work smart to achieve more! Pareto’s principle outlines that concept best; where 20% of your efforts and actions will produce 80% of your desired results. So bring your awareness to look at how and what your choosing to consume your time.
This returns to the questions:
Which projects at work are most important to produce a long term return on your investment. Who are the people that add value to your life?
What are the skills you want to continue perfecting to increase your well-being?
What are you willing to sacrifice and let go in order to spend better quality attention to what matters most long term in your personal and work life?
Where focus goes energy flows, and when we step into a flow state of effective and optimal work mode, we accomplish more in less time. Do the things you love and do the things that support how you want to show up to the world. You input joyous effort, in return you receive the joyful satisfaction. This gives you the “happiness advantage” where efficiency and productivity is also a side effect of working from a positive mind set.
6 habits to implement to start focusing on “Priority Management” rather than time management to improve your performance at work and home:
- Create your own “Eisenhower Matrix” as shown below. In the Important – Not Urgent quadrant assess and give value from 1-6 of prioritized tasks.
- Write out any potential distractions and challenges that may prevent you from completing your priorities. * THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT (we can get sidetracked easily, and lose focus as a result. When we are aware of what can sabotage our progress, we can prevent engaging in it before it’s too late)
- Set yourself 5-10 minute stretch and breathing breaks to reoxygenate the brain for better processing and thinking. Also moves stuck energy through the body.
- Stay hydrated, lack of water can impair our thinking abilities.
- Keep it SIMPLE! Doing less better, is more.
- Be flexible and adaptable. When we start to stress, our thinking brain shuts down and we lose our ability to use our rational thinking brain. Knowing that there are many ways to get to a solution promotes creativity.
THE ASTRID QUADRANT:
EISENHOWER MATRIX:
| ******** |
URGENT |
NOT URGENT |
| I
M
P
O
R
T
A
N
T
|
DO
(Do it now. Best in the morning)
- Deadline driven projects
- Health emergencies
- Preparations for meetings
- Pressing issues
Manage these wisely!
|
DECIDE
(Prioritize clearly and schedule in)
- Research. Learning. Planning
- Personal development
- Relationship Building
- Exercise and Meditation
Focus on what matter!
|
| NOT
I
M
P
O
R
T
A
N
T
|
DELEGATE
(Allocate tasks to someone or automate it with technology)
- Answering certain emails
- Booking and scheduling
- Certain meetings and events
- Short-term gain activities
Avoid these as much as possible!
|
DELETE
(Eliminate what no longer serves you or doesn’t align to long-term vision)
- Escape activities
- Distractions from reality
- Mindless TV watching
- Shopping distractions
Avoid engaging in these tasks!
|
Tonight before going to bed, set up what is a priority for for the next day. In the morning focus on the 3 most important and urgent tasks that need to get done. Allocate 50 minute chunks of uninterrupted work time for these priorities. (Turn off notifications and any potential distractions during this time). Then allocate 10 minute breaks in between to recharge body and mind.
When you declutter your mind, organise your thoughts and know what is valuable to you, you can then direct proper energy to enjoy every moment. Set your intention of what and who matters to you in life in the long term. Lastly, always remember to get enough sleep!
Sometimes this can be overwhelming, and anxious inducing when you don’t have clarity. Astrid can create a space and support in guiding you to help get clear on what truly matters and how to achieve the “happiness advantage”.
