one workingday
Don’t be afraid to say no – even to your boss. If you haven’t got time to do something, youwill be better off letting it be known than adding another thing to your already over- crowded to-do list. And that includes letting your boss know... in the nicest possibleway, of course. If the boss approacheswith yet another task try saying: “Yes I can do that, but what level of prioritywould you likemeto give it? I have got 10 things on my list to do today, where would you like me to put this?”
Manageyour meetings. It’s often possible to attendmeetings just for the times that relate to you, and as it’s generallyPAswho organise themeetings it should be easy tounderstandwhenyou areneededandwhenit mightbepossible to slip backtoyour desk. If you’re expected to do the minutes see if you can teamup
with a colleague and take it in turns to do the minutes and attend themeeting. Before themeeting ensure the roomis stockedwith all the necessary stationery and paperwork required to reduce the chance that you’ll be called in to provide this.
HINCREASE EFFICIENCY
Plan.Working as a PA orEAcanmean dealingwith things as they arise, but therewill still be lots of things that canbe planned. Try planning your whole week as well as each work day. “Understandwhat is the ‘NoChoicework’ dailyandget itdone
as fast as possible,” recommends Dr D’Souza. “Create another list of tasks atwork that makes you happy, buildsmeaning and pur- pose and focus on this.When you approachlifewith a conscious focus onwhat makes you joyful and purposeful, it fuels passion every second of your life. Productivitywill then be a non-issue.”
Prioritise.When planning, it’s vital to prioritise. Check your to do list eachmorning and prioritise each task everymorning – and then check it again later in the day to check you have your priorities in the right place still. When prioritising tasks always ensure yourmanager is happywith theway you’ve pri- oritised the tasks –what you may feel is important and urgent may differ from your boss’s opinion.
Delegate.When you can ask someone else to do something for you, do it – even if it means ‘delegating up’. Knowwhat it is you have to do, andwork outwhat you can delegate. If your boss has asked you to do something but you haven’t got the faintest idea how, you might need to ask them to do it or ask them to spend some time coaching you. Just remember that if you do delegate, youmust follow up to make sure it’s been done.
Communicate. Poor communication not only leads to mis- understandings but means morework for you down the track. Be clear about what you need and what the other person/peo- ple need to knowto eliminate unnecessary time spent clarifying and chasing
up.By being clear in your explanation fromthe off- set itwill save time in unnecessaryemails going back and forth.
Take a helicopter view for effective planning
Imagine you are walking in a forest and you get a bit lost. A helicopter lands in a clearing near you and you go up in it a couple of hundred metres and you see where you are and how to get out. Then you come back down and set off again, but now you know the direction to go and the path to follow. Think about this approach when looking at your
whole week or day and overall goals and priorities, and working out how to fit them in with more immediate things that need doing.
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WWW.EXECUTIVEPA.ASIA 39 cINCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
The Pareto Principle (or 20:80 rule).One of the key prin- ciples of timemanagement practice is known as the Pareto Prin- ciple, or 20:80 rule. Italian economist Pareto found that inmany cases there is a small proportion of the effort put into achiev- ing something that produces a majority of results. For exam- ple, for most businesses 20 per cent of customers provide 80 per cent of sales income. This can be understood tomean that 20 per cent of thework
you do generally provides 80 per cent of the results (and vice versa). Identify this key 20 per cent and you will know where to dedicatemore of your effort and time. If you can identify the 20 per cent of your work that has the biggest impact, then put more effort into those things and you will get more output. Whenit comes to timemanagement, thismeans that ifwe con-
centrate our efforts on those activities that bringusmost return, wewill be more effective than ifwe spread our efforts evenly.
Take breaks.Working throughmorning and afternoon tea and eating lunch at your desk is often counterproductive. A refreshed mind ismuchmore effective than a tired, jaded one. Similarly, a healthy worker will achieve more than one who is rundown and unwell thanks to self-neglect. Maximise efficiency by delivering files to a co-worker or run-
ning that errand you need to run during one of your five-minute desk breaks. After all it’s those little five minute time-out breaks that will keep you raring to go for the rest of the day. E
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