Sound impossible? It’s not. We’ll do a deep dive into this topic on 6/5 but for now, let’s get started. Here are some of the questions and/or feelings you may have:
- I have so much to do, and so little time. I want to be more efficient!
- I want to balance my work life and my home life.
- My boss keeps asking me to switch projects and/or stay late. I want to be valuable but I am starting to get a bad taste in my mouth. How do I stand up for myself and not get in trouble?
With these 3 examples and more, you can turn your work life around so that you are:
- getting more done in less time
- eating dinner with your family again (without your phone)
- earning respect from others; even your (difficult) boss.
Start here on the Road To Respect and Fulfillment
ASK YOURSELF a very powerful question: When am I at my best? When do I get the most done? For most people, this happens either VERY early in the morning, mid-day about 10 am to 12 noon, or for some….late at night. Let’s focus on that mid-day timeframe since it falls during the work day.
NEXT QUESTION: What one project, that if I worked two hours on it, would get me my biggest return for my time with respect to my/ my organization’s long-term goals?
NOW: Guard that time and that project. Start brainstorming ways to say “no” to “typical interruptions” such as inter-office meetings. Block yourself out as Busy at least one time during the week during that time frame; more is better. (hint: you’ll get so much done in this block that you will keep doing it).
How? How do you “say no” so easily? Some ideas for you:
- “I’d love to, but I have another commitment at that time. Could we do x or x time?”
- If it’s your boss, and you are working on a big priority that s/he supports, you could mention that, and underscore that importance (along with the high-productivity time frame it is within.) You might ask him/her which one he/she feels is most important and remind the boss that this will delay the first project accordingly.
Remember, most people want to hear how you can support THEM. So when you stand on their side of the fence and try seeing their point of view, they’ll typically respond more favorably.