3 Quick Tips to Take Back Control of Your Time

Hi. It's Stacey Ashley here, and just a quick tip today, and it's all about time. I've been speaking to so many people over the last week or so, and particularly this morning, where time was a real theme.

"I don't have enough time. I'm too busy. I don't have time to do all of the really important things."

So, this is probably a refresher for most of you, but I think it's so, so important just to remember a couple of basic things.

1.      And the first thing is that your time is exactly that. It's your time, so you get to choose how you spend it.

Yes, you've got obligations and responsibilities, but that doesn't mean you have to do everything that comes into your space. So, remember that when you're choosing to spend time on something to work on something, that it needs to be something that is adding value, that's having an impact, not just being busy work. If you have requests for busy work, then that wonderful word "no" can come in really handy or "not now," maybe reschedule things to a more convenient time after you've done your really important work. So, that's the first thing. Just remember your time is your own, and you get to make really clear decisions about how to spend it.

2. The second thing is know what you have on your plate. Having a great big long to-do list is not always the answer. It's good to have big picture of all the things that you're trying to focus on, but they're not going to really progress unless you actually decide when you're going to do them. And that means for a lot of people, popping it into your calendar.

So, figure out what you need to do and how much time it's going to take, and actually put the time into your diary. When is this going to happen?

So again, when something comes into your space, you can make a really choice about whether you're going to do that new thing, or you're going to do the important thing that you already had in there.

3.      And then my third tip for today is about distraction, and in particular email. There are so many people that spend so much time on email, and we all do it from time to time. But I want you to get really clear about how you're going to manage your emails, so you can be more efficient and it's not just taking up all your time and being a super distraction. So, WHEN are you going to do email and HOW are you actually going to do it?

So, rather than just reading something and leaving it in your inbox, what specific next step needs to take place. So you can ask yourself every time you process an email, "What's next?"

Do you delete it? Do you delegate it? Do you diarize it or, do you just do it right now?

And in that way, you clear your email box, rather than having it hanging over your head and interrupting you all the time.

So, I really, really want you to focus on how to make the best of a great new year. Don't get overwhelmed by, "I've got too much to do, and I don't have enough time to do it."

Make clear choices for yourself about how you're going to spend your time. Put that time into your calendar when it's important, and make really clear decisions about when and how you're going to process your email. And in that way, take control of your time rather than other people taking control of your time.

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