March 2010 - Issue 69 - www.clareevans.co.uk

Hello ,

It's Spring and here in the UK it's certainly got warmer in the last few days.  It's good to see the lighter evenings.  I also find it easier to get out of bed earlier when it's lighter in the mornings.

I was out at the weekend and it was lovely sitting out in the sunshine. It's also a time of growth and renewal and that can apply to our businesses as well.

What would you like to change over the coming months? How could you make a few simple changes to take things up a level? A little natural inspiration can create the motivation you need.

We're also looking forward to the summer. Not just making the most of those long, warm days but the summer holiday. Start planning now, so you don't end up working long hours just before you go on holiday.

As usual, you can get extra news and tips from my blog or Follow me on Twitter.

Enjoy the rest of this month's newsletter.

Clare

P.S. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and colleagues.

How often have I heard that? I'm sure it's something you also hear quite often in your daily conversations. Whether with clients or just talking to people at networking events, it's a common theme.

- they don't have time to read my book,
- they don't have time to do their Time Audit,
- they don't have time to work on their marketing,
- they don't have time to grow their business,
- they don't have time to take a break,
- they don't have time to exercise,
- they don't spend time with family and friends.

Sound familiar?

"I'm so busy, what I really need is two of me" was the plaintive cry I heard from someone recently.

When you have too much to do and not enough hours, if you end up working late and weekends to get it all done, here are a few things you can do to make life easier.

Set boundaries around your time.
- Decide to work 9-5 ... 10-6 ... 8-6
- Decide to leave no later than 6.30
- Decide not to work weekends etc.

Manage your priorities and workload within the time available. It's a well known that your tasks will expand to fit the time available ... if you let them. If you have less time available or enforce a strict time limit, you may find that you are more focused and actually get more done.

Easier said than done but when you've got too much to do you have a choice - decide to do less or focus the time you have on what's important.

- Think 80/20 - 80% of your results will come from 20% of your effort.

-Stop the flow of work coming in - say "no" more often. Push back - especially if people are 'dumping' work on you that's not your primary responsibility or dumping deadlines on you as a result of their poor planning.

-Drop the time wasters.  You might be surprised at how much of your day is taken up with trivial and unimportant tasks.  I'm sure you can think of a few.

- Re-prioritise.  When everything seems important, is it? When a colleague or clients says "I need this done now", find out what's the reality and what's their perception?

Ask someone else to make the decision if you don't feel in a position to do this yourself. "I have x amount of time available, I can do task A or task B - which is more important?"

-Duplicate yourself - if there is more work than you can handle, find someone else to help. Ask, recruit, delegate or outsource.

Put your prices up. If you've got too much work coming in, perhaps you're not charging enough. Set your prices at the right level to balance incoming work with your available output.

You can only do so much in the time available. You don't need to automatically increase the amount of time you give to work in order to get everything done. You'll suffer and your work will suffer.

Saying no and pushing back applies to interruptions too. Is the interruption more important than what you're working on?

Plan your day's actions at the beginning or end of the day, work the plan and use short bursts of activity to maintain focus.

Ask yourself - "What's the best use of my time right now - working on what I'm doing or doing something else?"


To help you maintain better boundaries, create a workable plan or increase your productivity, email me or give me a call. You can book a free consultation by emailing me at info@clareevans.co.uk.

Until next month.