Seize your Day
Hello from the Food Bites Team!
We are in a celebratory mood – as always. The only difference is that this time we have a real reason to be feeling festive. This month we are celebrating our 17th birthday. Of course, no birthday would be complete without cake so we have decided to run a special birthday promotion on our social media platforms where you (and possibly some of your friends) could be the lucky owner of a Mugg & Bean voucher to go and enjoy coffee and cake on us! Keep an eye out for our social media posts…
If you are feeling a little overwhelmed by the fact that we are already 3 months into the New Year, don’t feel alone. This year took off at break-neck speed and all our intentions of being in absolute control of our time have evaporated in the sweltering Summer heat. We feel that now is the time to reclaim our good intentions by taking a deep, calming breath and refocussing our energy on what is really important.
Here are our top time management and productivity tips:
- Planning is no doubt the single most important aspect of utilising your time effectively. Most of us fall into a rut because we do not have time to plan, but planning does not have to be an activity that takes up an hour of your day. Effective planning can take just 10 minutes and bring so much clarity in terms of prioritising tasks. The idea is that before you leave work each day, you spend a few minutes planning your activities for the next day. This means that you start your day knowing exactly what needs to be done.
- Another way of improving productivity is to plan complex tasks in the morning when you have more energy to focus (obviously if you’re not a “morning person” you will plan these tasks for later in the day). Completing difficult tasks while you are refreshed and focussed means that you can complete them faster which saves time for other activities!
- Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking is NOT a talent! Juggling numerous tasks at the same time means that you need to refocus every time you switch from one task to another, and back and forth. Choose one task, complete it, and experience the joy of ticking it off your list.
- E-mail, WhatsApp, social media, and any other application that generates some form of notification is also a distraction. We know that you cannot disappear off the face of the earth but turning off notifications while you are busy with an important or complex activity improves focus.
- Finally, and probably the most difficult rule, is managing how much time you spend on e-mail! Create a schedule where you access and read e-mails a few times a day. Use the folders in your e-mail application to prioritise e-mails and create separate “to-do” actions when you plan your day’s work based on activities generated from your e-mail.
Start with a small change and as you see how more productive you become; you can experiment with another tip. Who knows, you could have some extra time on your hands for an overdue coffee break with a colleague or friend.
And while you are saving some time, why not visit our website where you can access our extensive training programme for 2022 as well as our online training offerings. Have any questions or specific training needs? Send an e-mail with your enquiry to info@progress-excellence.co.za or use the Webchat function on our website – we simply cannot wait to Wow! you!
Seize your day!
Food Bites greetings.