Time Management For IFAs - Blog

Time Management For Dummies

Today, the day it's actually published and I finally get a copy in my hand. Well, I have to say - I'm pretty chuffed and had to go and show it off at a local network meeting, despite still having a head full of cold, so not totally able to celebrate.

It's available to order on both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com - get your copy now while stocks last! www.clareevans.co.uk/timemanagementfordummies.htm

Set Your Office Hours

If you work from home it can be helpful to have a flexible working day to fit in around family and home life but don’t blur the lines between the two.  Create a structure of core hours.

Start work at roughly the same time each day.  By all means take breaks during the day to have some ‘home’ life, or time to get chores done.  But place a time limit around these.  Set a fixed start time and finish time to your working day or your likely to end up working late into the evening – just because there are still things to be done.

Plan your time at the beginning of the week and if you need to take a half day for home based tasks or school commitments – sports day, school play, car servicing etc.  Book this in and plan your work around it.  How many hours do you work in a week?  Spread them out across six days rather than five or work four long days and have three days off.

When working from home you can at least choose the hours you want to work but make sure it’s not getting in the way of the rest of your life.  Working at weekends can be a good time to catch up on things at the end of the week, or spend some time planning for the week ahead.  There’s no reason why you need to stick to 9-5 but make sure that you don’t end up working a 50-60 hour working week.

If your family and friends are complaining that they never see you, take a look at whether you’re really using your time effectively.

How long is your working week?

MPs reckon they work on average 85 hours a week when Parliament is sitting.  How much of that time is spent snoozing in the Chamber or out on boozy lunches I'm not sure (it did include travel/commuting time).  Of course my ears pricked up on hearing this.

They're voting on how much of a pay rise they're going to reward themselves and obviously feel that they deserve a big pay rise because they work such long hours.

Apart from rushing up to the House of Commons and offering them all time management courses ... can you really have a life when you're working an average 80 hours a week?  That's 16 hours a day, so not a lot of time for eating, sleeping and socialising.

We're renowned for working longer hours in the UK than our counterparts in Europe. Do you work longer hours than you would if you were working for someone else because it's your own business or are you happy with the hours you're working.  You chose your hours, you have the lifestyle you want and have plenty of time for family, friends and to enjoy the rest of your life?  Many people who run their own businesses feel that in order to make a success of the business they have to put in long hours in order to make it work.

Even in the corporate world there's an unwritten expectation that if you're only working 9-5, you're not working hard enough.  Eyebrows are raised or tutting occurs if you attempt to leave 'on-time'.  The threat of job cuts and redundancy means that if you  can give the impression that you're working really hard (because obviously if you have to come in at 7.30am and leave at 7.30 every day - you must be) then you'll be so indispensable your name won't be on the list should the worst happen.  Say yes to everything the boss throws at you - of course you can handle it - you'll just stay a couple of hours longer.

It doesn't have to be this way - unless of course you enjoy working 60-80 hours a week (does that include weekends?).

Learn to say No - whether to the boss or to yourself (the boss) is one way to start cutting back.

Plan your time - appropriately and effectively.

Obvious - but how many of us actually do it or are you just reacting to things as they come in - dealing with them on a first come first saved basis or whoever or whatever shouts the loudest?

Get control of your time and you can reduce your hours.

Making New Year Resolutions

Resolutions fail because they're a usually half-hearted attempt to make a change without really understanding the reasons and motivation behind them.  Losing weight is a favourite and most people will focus on the negative side of 'going on a diet' or watch the scales to closely then get disappointed and frustrated when they slip up or don't lose as much as they want.  Far better to think about being fit and healthy for the person that you are.

Few of us are going to be able to look like Kate Moss.  Having a healthy, balanced diet is a far better goal to aim for and knowing what you will have once you are healthy and what you are letting go by no longer being unfit and overweight.  By all means measure this goal by checking your weight but this doesn't have to be the only measure.

Don't spend out large sums of money on a gym membership with great enthusiasm at the beginning of the year, only to give up as Spring arrives.  Find a way of exercising that you enjoy - it doesn't have to mean joining a gym.  There are plenty of classes available for everything from dancing to yoga.  Swimming and walking are great for all round exercise and there are plenty of ways to increase your activity in each day.

People tend to be too general with their resolutions which is why they've usually given up on them by February.  New habits take time to adopt - so if you've spent a lifetime of eating biscuits, processed foods and sitting on the couch - don't expect to have changed all this in just two short months.

Understanding the underlying reasons for wanting the change and also the reasons why we so often fail will increase the chances of being successful.

• Write them down - really, really understand what it is that you want.
• Talk it through with a partner or friend but know that they have their own perspective and underlying motivations.
• Be realistic and focus on what you want not what you don't want.
• If you go off track, don't give up, adjust, modify and get back on track.

Only when the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of making the change will you be ready to do something about it.

Set a resolution this year that you will actually achieve - change just one thing.

Finishing Work

How many of you currently work from home?

Do you find that you're getting tempted to work extended hours just because your office is in the room next-door or that you end up working sporadically throughout the day or late into the evening and at weekends?

Just because you work from home doesn't mean that you can't create structure in your day. While you might not want to work 9-5, think about hours that work for you. How many hours a day do you need/want to work? Would you like to have some time off during the day/week?  Spend time planning what needs to be done first thing each morning and fit it into your day around client meetings. What would be a good start time ... 7.30am, 9.30am? What is a good/reasonable time to finish ... 3.30pm, 6.30pm? If you're in the habit of working most evenings to catch up on research, admin and paperwork, aim to finish work a little earlier on <u>at least</u> a couple of evenings a week.  Why not take half a day off during the week and work a little later one evening if you need to.

Make sure that you plan in breaks too. You won't work as effectively or be as productive if you're working continuously and not taking breaks. Even if you work from home, so the 'office' is never far way, set yourself a cut-off time each evening and make sure you get breaks during the day. Take at least one day off at the weekend.

If you're focusing on what <b>needs </b>to be done, you'll be working more efficiently, you won't get so tired or feel guilty and you'll be more productive.  Think about what you need to get done each day and plan it in accordingly. If you want to reduce your hours - look at what's currently on your list of things to do and see what you can change about the way you're currently working to give yourself more time.

October Newsletter

Organising Your Home Office

Balancing work within the home environment can often be difficult.

You may be juggling children, family commitments, running a household, wanting to spend time with your family and working on your business.  Make life easier with these few simple guidelines.

It's good to have a structure in which to work which creates a balance between ensuring that work gets done and enjoying the flexibility of working from home without getting overwhelmed.

To read more - just register for the free IFA Time Life Newsletter and get Top Time Tips for you and your business.

Busy Being Busy

If you're working long hours, there's probably a chance you're working on 'busy stuff' rather than the 'productive stuff' or perhaps just taking on too much at once. I always get concerned when people say they're working 60-65 hours (or more) a week, whether they're running their own business or not. Particularly if the rest of their life is suffering as a result and it's not what they really want to be doing.

If you love what you do and your partner, family and friends are happy for you to spend the majority of your waking hours working, that's one thing. Working long hours for a short burst of time or for a specific longer-term goal, is sometimes necessary but if you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel and every week consists of long hours, your health and social life is suffering as a result, then perhaps it's time to start looking at how you can work smarter not harder.

I once had a client who loved his job - went in early every day (about 6.30) and often worked late and over weekends, he was the only person who the quote "Nobody on his deathbed ever said, I wish I had spent more time at the office" might not have applied. 

However, even he realised that his health was suffering - he was overweight, as he had a terrible diet, never made time to exercise, he had a limited social life and not surprisingly no girlfriend. A few months later, he'd reduced his working hours quite considerably - still enjoyed his job, taken his first holiday in years, lost weight, had a girlfriend (and is now married) and had got a more balanced life as a result.

If you feel you've got too much on your plate, take a look at the important priorities in your life. What do you really need to focus your time and energy on and what can you let go?  How can you work smarter and not harder?

Give me a call to find out.

Are You On Automatic Pilot?

Here in the UK, we're coming up for the Easter weekend and a few days off.  I'm sure quite a few of you will have been working hard since the beginning of the year, so I'd like to remind you to take time out to relax!

Maybe you've been functioning on automatic pilot – getting up, going to work, coming back home, the same cycle day in, day out. Just existing from one day to the next without really being aware of what's going on around you.  How are you really feeling?

I'm all for work life balance.  We spend more than enough time at work and we work to live, not live to work.  However, more often than not, when we're busy thinking about balancing our life and fitting everything in, we can often neglect the one person in your life that's most important – YOU.

No doubt all you Mum's (and Dad's!) out there are busy looking after your families and making sure their needs are met.  You're looking after your partner, making sure they're OK but how often do you take time out for yourself.  Time to be totally selfish and look after your own needs.  How often does what you do enhance your happiness and well-being or are you always running round after everyone else?

What one thing are you going to do for yourself over this next week?  Take time out, sit down with a coffee or glass of wine and a good book, watch your favourite film, get some exercise.  Treat yourself  - a manicure, pedicure, facial or relaxing massage (yes, you guys could do with a treat too), a night out, new CD/DVD.

"The time to weave your parachute is not when you are about to jump out of the plane."

Don't let things build up.  Set aside a little time each day to look after your own well-being.