The secret to prioritising your time

A study by McKinsey & Company revealed that only 9% of executives were satisfied with how they prioritise their time, with nearly half admitting they were struggling to concentrate sufficiently on guiding the strategic direction of their business.??

With time challenges evidently influencing the well-being of both leaders and their people, I’ve taken my top time prioritisation tips from three Leadership Learns guests: Hannah Farrar , Chief Executive at CF , Jason Guss , CEO at Octane? and Daniel Couto , Chief Operating Office at Vedanta Biosciences, Inc. .??

Prioritise ‘reflection time’ – Hannah Farrar?

When you get extremely busy, you can often push through but eventually, this becomes an unhealthy habit. Without ever stopping, you deprive yourself of time to think and reflect.??

Prioritise ‘reflection time.’ Reflect on what’s happening, what’s happened, and what you want to happen in the future. Where do you need to prioritise your time within this???

Reflect with your team and use these collective, healthy conversations to plan and prepare. Welcome differences of opinion as these might contain the answer to a problem.???

Turn these reflective conversations into a habit.??

?Ruthlessly Prioritise – Jason Guss?

Your time is your most valuable resource.??

Ask yourself, are you spending your time in areas that move the business forward the most???

It can be difficult to let go of things that may not be worth your time, especially if there is emotion attached.??

Reflect upon what your business needs most to succeed and ruthlessly evaluate your current strategies - are you doing anything that doesn’t contribute toward your core business needs???

There may also be areas that need specific focus and you may realise this is an area where your personal skills fall short. Don’t be afraid to hire to fill your skills gap.??

Meaningful conversations – Daniel Couto??

Great leaders put time into listening to and understanding their people. ?

Effective communication is a skill in itself, but perhaps a stronger skill is being able to listen, not talk. Have meaningful conversations, ask your team questions, and make sure they understand how valuable they are to your company. Make sure you put time aside to do this.??

When you communicate a message, don’t overcomplicate. Keep your message simple, help people understand the reasonings behind why you’re doing something, and you’ll see the message be effectively adopted. ?

If anyone in my network is wanting to learn more about time prioritisation, please reach out direct over LinkedIn messenger. Happy to have a chat!??