Manage Smart

Friday april 23, 2010

This week after years of grueling over tipsy work-life balance, time scarcity and being parched and stretched, I managed my life! My emotions, friends, family and most importantly me and my time-happy little balls juggling in the air. Some ideas that worked.

1) Priorities. I asked many people for top tips on work life balance. Most centered on having priorities and being disciplined on them. Priorities change with different ages and stages but make no mistake that unless you are your priority, you won’t get very far, in this article or life. An empty well can’t quench anyone’s thirst. So proactively look out for your health and respect your heart and mind. Stand up for when you are stretched and tighten the leash when you slack off.

2) Dial 15... Min min. Tasks are daunting errands we must do. 15 minute is easy time slot we can choose. Match the two by dedicating 15 minimum minutes to a task. By adding a constraint we creatively manage more and tougher tasks than with unlimited time access. Aka time boxing; create time frames as per requirement or priority. E.g. overall work box can be 9-6 or pest box (for small annoying,
buzzing tasks) one hour. Tip: Play between max and min for max win!

3) Monkey business. Delegation is a man bless if you know the rules. My take from the famous HBS article* on delegation.
a) If someone hands over their monkey to you, hand it right back. Screw graciousness.
b) Try to give your monkey away to a person who has authority, knowledge and responsibility
c) You can do it doesn’t mean you will. They don’t know doesn’t mean they shouldn’t or cant. Train your team to take care of monkeys!

* Google article for more; monkey refers to tasks)
4) Usual suspects aka time drainers. Spot these in your schedule and kill them ON THE SPOT. (next writing to elaborate on my usual suspects)

5) Twice a day every day. Within the work box, it’s important to limit and fix certain ongoing things. Top most is emails. Reserve slots in the morn and eve. Also includes social media.

6) M.USE. Use as your muse the skill of Multi Usage tasking. If you are a man, or over 28, aim for at least a basic muse or go for tackling many targets with one arrow!

7) Meal choice. Time spent together can be compared to food for relationships. How often, how much, what variety-some tips:
a) Buffet; this rich varied fun diet is good once in a while. Ideal for social gatherings and friends get together. Call many and achieve many purposes. Tip: you don’t waste the buffet by hogging one dish only.
b) Piece meal; for our closed ones, spouses or equals and family – these nugget sized meals ensure energy and metabolism throughout the day. Tip: avoid large sized nuggets resulting in lethargy and obesity!
c) Simple nutritious one heavy meal: Like the breakfast this daily meal sustains you throughout the day. Tip: this is often determined by priorities and can vary between work, loved one or yourself. Aim for no leftovers!

8) Out of rote road. My most mismanaged tasks are attempting obligations. When I have to, I just can’t efficiently do. I whine, stall and wreck my schedule at such tasks. Solution: STOP! Fracture monotony. Socially I now trek between sums, talk, creating, baking, quiet rides and emails to express myself to my friends and family. Caution: assert this IS your chosen method for being in touch so you don’t have to repeat in the other’s preferred way.
Similarly at work, attempt things differently. You’re a trainer. Go manage a relationship once in a while. Write. Sing. Coach. Speak on random new topics. Routine, no matter how inspiring, at the day end is routine. And nothing beats a creative mind’s working like routine.

9) Support Tech. These gadgets were made to ease our tasks and our lives. So let’s learn to expand our times with :
1. Bluetooth ear piece
2. Tweet deck
3. Loafah with handles
4. Online calendars and other syncs
5. Speed reading
6. Smart phones (with connectivity)
7. Auto/pre typed sms/messages/mails
8. Dying batteries (cell phone)
9. Bossy friends