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Assessing how you spend your time now Planning as the key to effective use of time

How should you use your time?

An important part of focusing on results is working out what to focus on! Many people work very hard all day doing little jobs that do not actually affect the quality of the work they do.

This section concentrates on three areas - clarifying what you enjoy, working out what your strengths and weaknesses are, and working out both what your job is and what constitutes excellent performance.

What would you like to spend your time on?

It is important for your own quality of life that you enjoy your job. If you know broadly what you like and dislike, you will be more able to move your job towards doing things that you enjoy. This is important as you are much more likely to do a job efficiently and effectively if you enjoy it than if you loathe it.

What do you do well?

It is important to know what your talents and weaknesses are. A good way of doing this is to carry out a SWOT analysis. This provides a formal approach to evaluating your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats that you face.

Job Clarification

One excellent way of ensuring that you concentrate on the right things is to agree them with your boss!

You should ask the following questions:

  • What is the purpose of the job?
    If possible this should be expressed in a single sentence starting with the word 'To..' - e.g. 'To ensure effective distribution in the South East'
  • What are the measures of success?
    Work out how he will be deciding whether you are good at your job or not. Find out what the key targets to be achieved are, and how they will be measured.
  • What is exceptional performance?
    Find out what this is considered to be, and work out how to achieve it.
  • What are the priorities and deadlines?
    So that when work builds up you know what to focus on.
  • What resources are available?
    This ensures that you are using all the tools at your command.
  • What costs are acceptable?
    This lets you know the boundaries within which you can move.
  • How does this relate to other people?
    What is the broader picture within which you have to work?
Getting answers to these questions and referring to them frequently should help to ensure that you do your job in precisely the right way. You know what exceptional performance is, and will be able to plan to achieve it using all the resources available, within the correct bounds.

Highly Recommended Books

For an excellent book on time management, try Beyond Time Management: Business With Purpose by Robert J Wright.

Assessing how you spend your time now Planning as the key to effective use of time

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