We all know that procrastination is the thief of time, but it doesn’t have the monopoly.
Complete this analysis of your own ‘typical’ day and identify what or who is wasting your time - only then can you do something about it.
To use this analysis:
First list out everything that happens in a typical day - if you want to be really strict with yourself then don’t forget those chats over a cup of coffee with your colleagues at the drinks machine!!
Then write down how long those activities take - Be honest!! - You’ll only cheat yourself.
Under column three identify those that someone else is capable of doing (don’t worry about the logistics at this stage) and mark with an S. Annotate those activities that do not add value or positively contribute to your working day and mark those with a V - (we suggest the coffee chats go under this category!).
All other activities which don’t fall into the S or V categories should be valuable tasks which cannot be done by someone else; these should be marked as category E.
Next total the three categories up S =
V =
E =
Add the three together to give - W =
Now the moment of truth. Using the following, work out what percentage of your time is being robbed.
(S + V) / W x 100 =?
( _ = _ ) / _ x 100 =
Finally ask yourself these questions:
o Is the percentage acceptable?
o Can I eliminate (through either delegation or self discipline) any of the time robbers?
o Is there anything or anyone consistently abusing my time and if so, can I do something positive about it?
I suggest that you complete this exercise from scratch every three months until you’re completely sure your percentage is as low as you are ever going to get it.
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Jonathan Farrington is a business coach, mentor, author and consultant, who has helped hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals around the world achieve their full potential and consequently, optimum performance levels.
Prior to setting up his own consultancy, Jonathan earned his spurs succeeding in some of the most demanding and competitive market sectors. Challenging assignments took him from the Middle East and Africa to Europe and the USA, providing him with the opportunity to work with a number of the largest and most successful international corporations including: - IBM, Wang, Legal and General, Andersen Consulting, Litton Industries and The Bank of Tokyo.
In 1995, Jonathan formed jfa with the primary objective to deliver unique leadership and sales team development programmes to both the corporate and SME sectors. Since then, he has authored in excess of three hundred skills development programmes, designed a range of unique and innovative process tools and written extensively on organisational and sales team development.
http://www.jonathanfarrington.com
