July 11, 2022

Where does my time go?

Red mechanical alarm clocks disappearing in a hole in space

You haven’t stopped all day. The day is done, but not that job you wanted to do today. Sound familiar?

What happened?

One solution is understanding that personal productivity is more about rhythm than perpetual motion. Our efficiency goes in cycles during the day. Our abilities change during the day. So, work to your strengths.

When are you most creative?
When can you handle numbers most easily?
When are you best for physical work?
When are you best negotiating or meeting people?
When can you most easily catch up with a backlog of emails?
What are the signs that you need to walk around the block for a break?

Another solution is to ensure that any task that will take longer than 15 minutes is scheduled for a time slot, not put on a task list.

Think of yourself as having a meeting with that task at a specific time and give it the same undivided attention you would give a meeting.

What are the tasks you will meet with today, and when?

My best wishes, Paul

Paul Matthews

CEO and Founder of People Alchemy

share this article:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

related posts

Your guide to adopting a learning transfer mindset

Like many terms, the phrase ‘learning transfer’ seems to mean different things to different people. Paul says “Every definition I ...
Read More
L&D Free Spirits podcast cover

How do you build a freelance business that runs itself?!

In this new podcast episode Paul chats with Mark Gilroy from L&D Free Spirits about his journey from IT sales ...
Read More
Somebody working on a laptop

Measuring the Right Metrics for Your Stakeholders

New article from Paul Matthews on Training Industry offers a strategic approach to measurement that goes beyond compliance and focuses on ...
Read More
Survival kit laid out on frosty ground

The ultimate management survival tip

I saw a blog which asked, “What is your ultimate management survival tip?” What would you say if asked that ...
Read More

search blog

Get your free weekly tip

You agree that we can keep a record of your details, and send you other occasional offers. See our Privacy Policy