Invest Your Time In Others

Something that’s come up a few times in conversations over the last week, is how you can free up your time by delegating. Many people don't like to delegate tasks, as they think it's quicker to do it themselves but if they actually invest the time to hand over the task, spend a little time on training it will pay off in the end.
Think about how much an hour of your time is worth. Delegate the jobs that someone else could do cheaper, quicker and more efficiently than you.

At home: Pay a cleaner to clean and tidy your house for a couple of hours will be worth more than what you pay them. You’ll not only have a tidy house but more time with your family. Get a gardener to come in weekly or monthly to give you more time to enjoy your garden. Share the housework with your partner and children.

At work: If you work for yourself - pay someone to do your book keeping or accounts. What you'll pay them for a few hours of their time is probably less than you charge your clients. It gives you more time to spend earning money for your business and working with clients or just to work less. Use an admin assistant - they work for themselves and will work for as many hours as you need - often not even needing to be in the office - filing, emails, newsletters, sending out and chasing invoices can all be handled by someone else.

Don't expect perfection and just because they don't do it exactly the way you do, doesn't mean it's wrong. You might need to show them more than once but be patient - it's worth investing the time to get it right. Be specific, give them the information they need and a timeframe to work to. Don't delegate tasks that are confidential or sensitive in nature or core to your business.

Make sure you stay in control but don’t micro-manage.

P.S. There's a whole chapter in the book on delegating if you want more detail.

Early Bird Or Night Owl?

We all have different times of the day when we have more energy than at others. Some people are at their best first thing in the morning - a good time for creativity and others do their best work late at night, when it’s quieter.

Getting up an hour or so earlier may give you an extra hour at the beginning of the day but not if you’re a night owl. Don’t burn the candle at both ends and go to bed late or force yourself into an unnatural routine by constantly working late if you’re naturally an early bird.

Try not to fight your natural tendency for when you work at your best. If you’re an early bird, use the morning to do tasks which require you to be at your best or need your concentration. Don’t set aside time to work on a complex report or jobs which require your concentration in the afternoon when you’re more likely to hit the post lunch slump or in the evening when you’re tired. If you’re a night owl and need quiet time for your creativity, leave it until later in the day.

If you’re tied to traditional office hours then when you start and finish work may not have the level of flexibility to accommodate early or late working. However many employers now offer more flexible working patterns. If you work for yourself you have more flexibility around when you work but still need to be able to deal with other people’s normal working day both in business and at home.

There may be certain days of the week when it makes sense to schedule in particular tasks. For instance - you might hit the ground running on a Monday morning but be ready to go home by Thursday. You might find you have a peak of activity on a Friday when you’re keen to clear things out at the end of the week and go home with a clean slate.

Know when you’re most productive time of day is, when you prefer doing certain types of tasks and plan around those times.

We're All Going On A ... Summer Holiday

It’s coming up to that holiday time of year when in the next couple of months, most people will be looking forward to their annual two week holiday. Make sure you’re in a position to wind down before your holiday with time to finish all your tasks so you’re not having to work long hours just to clear the decks before you go away.

Be realistic about what you can achieve in the last few days before you go. Do the important tasks first and don’t waste time on things that can wait until your return or be done by someone else. Write out everything you need to do – including updating your voicemail message and setting an auto responder. Hand over work to a colleague if that’s practical. Don’t dump work on them.

If you don’t want to be inundated with unnecessary emails from your online networking groups – switch off any email notifications before you go, as you certainly won’t have to time to catch up with all those messages and it’s unlikely any of them will be that important.

And don’t even think about going away and taking your work with you. Taking your phone and laptop with you just so you can catch up or keep on top of things isn’t the best solution. You might feel your business will fall apart or your office won’t be able to function without you if you’re not in touch for a few days but is that really the case or an unfounded fear? If it’s the former then you really need to do something to change that. Even if it’s your own business you can still take a break without worrying about business, it just takes careful planning. Let people know in advance when you’re going away and plan work round your holiday time.

Make this year the year you go away on holiday having completed all your tasks in good time. Leave your laptop and office phone at home and really enjoy the break.

Get more detail, tips and information in July's newsletter.

Get Out And About

It’s been another holiday weekend here in the UK and of course being a Bank Holiday – mixed weather. However, there’s nothing quite like getting out into the Spring sunshine when it’s there, whether just to relax in the sunshine or to enjoy some fresh air and exercise. Many of us could benefit from getting out into the fresh air and closer to nature more often. We spend so much time shielded from it in our cars and air-conditioned offices, walking along exhaust fume filled streets, that we lose sight of the changing seasons.

One great advantage of working from home is that it’s a lot easier for me to get out and experience the seasons – even if they do seem to disappear at a rate of knots – or is that just a sign that I’m getting older?

If you work in an office all week, the evenings (in the northern hemisphere) are still getting longer and there are good couple of hours of daylight to get outside and enjoy it.

- Take in the scenery on your way home.
- Get out to a local park in your lunch break.
- Go for a walk or cycle when you get home as a way to unwind instead of collapsing infront of the TV.

Even if you don’t think you have the time, make the time. It’s worth it for the physical and mental boost you’ll get. If you’ve read my nature blog – you’ll know that I regularly get out for a run, walk or just to sit outside in the garden. Open your eyes and be more aware of your surroundings, especially where nature comes into it.

P.S. If you want some inspiration – sign up for Monday Moments from the RSPB - http://www.rspb.org.uk/moments/

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.

How Many Hours Do You Spend Working?

We're renowned for working longer hours in the UK than our counterparts in Europe. As many people now run their own business - do you work longer hours than you would if you were working for someone else because it's your own business or are you happy with the hours you're working.

Or do you chose your hours, you have the lifestyle you want and have plenty of time for family, friends and to enjoy the rest of your life? Many people who run their own businesses feel that in order to make a success of the business they have to put in long hours in order to make it work.

Even in the corporate world there's an unwritten expectation that if you're only working 9-5, you're not working hard enough. Eyebrows are raised or tutting occurs if you attempt to leave 'on-time'. The threat of job cuts and redundancy means that if you can give the impression that you're working really hard (because obviously if you have to come in at 7.30am and leave at 7.30 every day - you must be) then you'll be so indispensable your name won't be on the list should the worst happen.

Say yes to everything the boss throws at you - of course you can handle it - you'll just stay a couple of hours longer. It doesn't have to be this way - unless of course you enjoy working 60-80 hours a week (does that include weekends?).

Learning to say No - whether to the boss or to yourself (the boss) is one way to start cutting back.

Plan your time - appropriately and effectively.

Obvious - but how many of us actually do it or are you just reacting to things as they come in - dealing with them on a first come first saved basis or whoever or whatever shouts the loudest?

Get control of your time and you can reduce your hours.

Finishing on time

If you work from home do you find that you’re getting tempted to work extended hours just because your office is just next-door or that you end up working sporadically throughout the day?

Just because you work from home doesn't mean that you can't create structure in your day. While you might not want to work 9-5, think about hours that work for you. How many hours a day do you need/want to work? Would you like to have some time off during the day/week? Make sure that you spend time planning what needs to be done each day and that it fits with your business plan and goals. What would be a good start time ... 7.30am, 9.30am? What is a good/reasonable time to finish ... 3.30pm, 6.30pm? If you’re in the habit of working most evenings, aim to finish work a little earlier on at least a couple of evenings a week. Take a half-day off during the week and work a little later one evening if you need to.

Make sure that you plan in breaks too. All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy (or Jill). You won't work as effectively or be as productive if you're working constantly and not taking breaks. Even if you work from home, so the 'office' is never far way, set yourself a cut-off time each evening and make sure you get breaks during the day. Take at least one day off at the weekend. If you're doing what needs to be done then you're working more efficiently, you won't get so tired out or feel guilty when you're not working. After all, why should you?

Think about what you need to get done, plan it in accordingly and don't work for the sake of it. If you want to cut down your hours - look at prioritising what's currently on your list of roles and responsibilities and see what you can change about the way you're currently working.