The below being my potted notes from the Susie Kay session at BIALL2013 Conference…
Will gradually put all my notes up from the various sessions I attended. Susie was going at a fair pace so this is the general gist, it’s not everything.
Susie noted people commonly have more demands to fulfil using less resources so the session was about strategies for dealing with that.
What are we short of?
People tend to say they’re short of e.g. time, staff, space, money. Therefore finding ‘extra’ working days would help. Session intended to suggest ways people could reclaim 10 / 15 mins daily making up to several days ‘extra’ time over the year.
Fundamental Questions
We need to ask ourselves
What is our job role meant to do?
How much of what we do is peripheral to the core of that?
The Moscow Rules
Think about the Moscow Rules, which break things down into
Must do
Should do
Could do
There are key activities that are necessary to achieve any task including planning and prioritising.
As Others See Us
Think about your own workplace –
What is their view of you / your team?
How much impact do they think you have?
Whose Goals Are Important?
Important to distinguish between being prepared and being swamped by others.
If you allow yourself to get swamped by others you lose ability to complete your own goals. Fail to complete your own goals and you lose your reputation for being able to get things done.
Important we recognise the value we add in terms of confidence, reputation management, earning respect and demanding respect.
We are there to help others, but we are also professionals in our own right and not at the beck and call of everyone else.
Important to safeguard reputation because it is built up over a long timeperiod.
Professionalism
Relationship with Time
Time is finite – we all have 24 hours, 60 minutes per hour. In that time we need to eat, sleep, do family, do social activities. A fraction of it only is available for work, thus work hours need to be carefully constructed for maximum effect. We cannot manage time, but we can utilise time more effectively.
Procrastination and Distractions
Two major problems are procrastinaton and distraction.
These can be reduced and eliminated.
The tendency to procrastinate is caused by various issues – feeling of overload, in ability to decide what to do next out of the pile, unable to find time to complete a task, start bits of tasks but never complete any.
Multitasking is a fallacy. It is neither possible nor a good idea. When multitasking people don’t achieve anything very well as they tend to lose concentration.
How to avoid this?
Having a today’s priorities list, eating the frog first (the nasty task) so that everything else is easy in comparison, eating the elephant one slice at a time, the desire to get to the end, the desire to feel satisfied.
Our inboxes are the delivery system for other peoples priorities. Show your inbox who is the boss. Check it at your convenience. Empty it every day. Create folders to store information that needs kept, other wise either do or delete. Do the worst things in it.
Space and Contingency
People forget to plan and priotise in the rush to just do.
Important to put contingency into the diary, free space, and not shift it. That way if you really do need it for something it’s there.
If people lack capacity then their overall lists lengthen and delivery weakens and they get reputation for being unreliable.
Default mechanism of people is to say yes. Important to practice saying no as well. Push back when it’s someone else’s problem.
Organisation Preferences
Different people have different ways of working. Some create lists, others are post-it addicts. These things can become mere decoration if they’re not used to base actions from.
Helps a lot of people to use mind mapping when figuring out commitments. Lots of advice on and examples on internet. Can be hand drawn or using software, no right or wrong way to go about, helps add value.
Mindfulness
People allow themselves to become distracted, always thinking about what’s ‘next’. Important to know difference between being mind full and mindful.
Mindfulness is becoming still, creating focus to aid better concentration, stopping the noise in our heads.
Important to ditch the clutter to get more organised. Don’t just put things down, put them away in their correct place so they’re easy to find next time.
Finding the good and Recognising Bad Signs
No job is all stress, so figure out what triggers your stress reactions, see the patterns and develop strategies to offset.
Important to look after yourself because no one else does it. Build in breaks, lunch, quiet time, understand your own body patterns and map how you work to it.
If things get overwhelming then stand still, let the feeling subside around you or try donothingfor2minutes. Important to hit the pause button on the day if you need it, relax, then get on again.
At end of the week
Create a done list.
Don’t worry about what wasn’t done.
Reward yourself.
Important not to feel alone, mentoring and peer support both beneficial.
Most people need to work for a living, but work can also be wonderful.
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