Lose An Hour, Gain An Hour

The clocks have just changed here in the UK. We’ve lost an hour as we switch to British Summer Time. It’s darker in the mornings (although it was already light enough at 6.30am) but lighter in the evenings, which gives a whole new feel to the end of the day.

How would you feel if you lost an hour every day? What would you do if you gained an extra hour in each and every day – and not just once a year? Do you feel as if you’d really like an extra hour every day and what would you want to do with that extra hour?

When I’ve asked this question before, most people say that they’d use it to exercise or sleep. Something most busy people find they don’t have time for – to exercise regularly or to get enough sleep. Well, why not find that extra hour starting from today?

It doesn’t have to be an hour every day but perhaps start with a couple of hours each week. Take a look at how you currently spend your time and see if there are certain activities or times when you’re easily distracted or less productive. Could you fit more into one part of your day to free up some time in another part – perhaps at the beginning or end of the day?

You probably lose an hour every day but don’t really notice it, as you either rush from one thing to the next or get distracted or waste time on unimportant activities.

Set aside one hour to do exactly what you need to do – whether that’s to be totally focused on one task, to use it to exercise or to go to bed earlier.

Once the time is gone, you can never get it back so use your time efficiently and productively – don’t waste it.

Set Your Office Hours

If you work from home it can be helpful to have a flexible working day to fit in around family and home life but don’t blur the lines between the two. Create a structure of core hours.

Start work at roughly the same time each day. By all means take breaks during the day to have some ‘home’ life, or time to get chores done. But place a time limit around these. Set a fixed start time and finish time to your working day or your likely to end up working late into the evening – just because there are still things to be done.

Plan your time at the beginning of the week and if you need to take a half day for home based tasks or school commitments – sports day, school play, car servicing etc. Book this in and plan your work around it. How many hours do you work in a week? Spread them out across six days rather than five or work four long days and have three days off.

When working from home you can at least choose the hours you want to work but make sure it’s not getting in the way of the rest of your life. Working at weekends can be a good time to catch up on things at the end of the week, or spend some time planning for the week ahead. There’s no reason why you need to stick to 9-5 but make sure that you don’t end up working a 50-60 hour working week.

If your family and friends are complaining that they never see you, take a look at whether you’re really using your time effectively.

Efficient Meetings

We know that people spend far too much time in meetings and that quite often the time spend in travelling to and from a meeting can be greater than the actual meeting itself.

A great way to save time spent on meetings is to set up a meeting using either group conference call facilities or a call over the internet. Rapid changes in technology mean that people across different locations, countries and continents don’t have to travel to take part in the same meeting. Saves huge amount of time for everyone involved if you multiply up the travel time involved in traditional face-to-face meetings.

Teleclasses, workshops and teleseminars can all be presented online with notes displayed in an online ‘classroom’ format with a trainer holding the call and students calling in.

Group conference calls enable people to meet, communicate and discuss key objectives without having to be in the same room. Because there are no visual cues these need to be handled carefully to ensure that everyone is allowed to participate, key points and actions are documented and communication is clear.

Video conferencing – were you can see people at the other end of the phone line – can be useful but can also be distracting and the quality of the technology can make an impact on it’s effectiveness.

If you’re going to use this technology, test it out ahead of time or as a dry run to make sure it works and iron out any hiccups before the actual meeting. There’s nothing worse than trying to sort out the volume and picture signals at the start of the meeting.

Save you and your colleagues time and money and think about the most efficient way to hold your meeting.

Stress Less

Stress is something that we’ve all experienced. What is stressful for one person can be enjoyable for someone else. People can handle different and varying levels of stress, there's no 'one-size fits all' approach when dealing with stress and it can vary depending on our situation at the time.

A certain level of stress is good - it stirs us into action and gives us a push to meet deadlines, deal with confrontations and adds spice to life. However, too much stress affects the body both physically, mentally and emotionally and causes a loss of performance and ultimately a breakdown of the body resulting in illness.

Look after yourself:
- eat a healthy, balanced diet
- avoid excessive stimulants - coffee, tea, cigarettes and alcohol
- take regular exercise - include gentle exercise like Yoga or Tai Chi
- allow time for yourself, your family and friends

Adjust your workload:
- work less hours
- learn to say no
- take responsibility
- start being pro-active instead of reactive
- "don't sweat the small stuff"
- improve your skills
- work within your own ability

Know what causes you stress and then find ways to reduce it or learn how to deal with it better.