Being Busy Does Not Mean You Are Being Productive

If it seems you can’t catch a breath throughout your workday and, yet, you end up with so little meaningful work accomplished by the time you head home, you need to examine the way you manage your time in the office more closely. Facilitating meetings, answering emails and smoothing over conflicts are important of course, but they should not prevent you from assuming your responsibilities and fulfilling your core duties to the company. Take control of your time and be more productive at work by considering the practical suggestions below.

Limit Interruptions

Just because you’re a key decision-maker does not mean you have to make all the decisions in your office all of the time. Make sure your staff and co-workers are clear on the kind of decisions they have to come to you for and the ones you trust them to make on their own. They end up interrupting you less often and you end up checking more items off your to-do list.

Stick to a Time Flow Plan

Start by determining how much time you have each month or week. Block out the time you need to allot for can’t-miss meetings or events. Then schedule an hour or two each day to work on high-value projects. Make sure your staff knows you are not to be disturbed at these times unless a major crisis or emergency arises.

Set aside this block of time even if you do not have a big project at hand. You can use it to plan new revenue opportunities for the company or seek alternative ways to improve your business process and promote growth. Once you set a time flow plan, make sure everyone, including you, sticks to it.

Mark Milestones and Set Deadlines

Use an effective project management system to give structure to your projects and steer them to completion. Setting deadlines keeps everyone focused. Marking milestones makes projects more manageable and helps maintain forward momentum. Projects without deadlines often end up going over budget. You (and the company) save time and money by setting clear deadlines and measurable goals.

Our facilitation training courses can help you manage your time and work projects more effectively. We conduct on-site or online facilitation training sessions for your convenience. If you need a strategic planning facilitator or require more information about our professional facilitator training, call us. We’ll be glad to sit down with you and help make your team and company function more effectively and efficiently.