There are some weeks when I feel like i'll never get the important stuff done.
A month ago my client was telling me the exact some thing. As a super busy yet truly hearted centered leader she wanted to find ways to increase her positive impact on the young leaders in her organization, yet her super busy senior job meant she had no space in her week.
And when she did get involved in these powerful extra activities she found they were costing her too much in her time and energy..
It boiled down to this - she was struggling to find the time in her week for the things that really mattered to her.
I can sympathize with her for sure.
Here's the thing - when we are committed to our responsibilities we can get so deep in all our tasks and "to do" lists that it's hard to see clearly whether we are actually doing the things that really matter.
And so we do them anyway.
I shared this one tip with my client to help her get clear on what was most important to her. Once she tried it she found she could gain an extra 6 whole hours in her week!
So, what's the tip?:
It's all about the 80/20 rule.
it's all about focusing on the right things and re prioritizing or even cutting out the rest. It's about looking at the whole load of things you need to do - the 100% - and making sure you spend 20% of your time on the things that matter the most - that deliver 80% of your impact . You won't be surprised to realize we often work in reverse.
Ok but how do we know what things are the right things?
Start by listing out everything you are committed to do in your week. Put it on a sheet of paper. - no need to get fancy with spreadsheets. This is all about getting these tasks out of your head and on to paper. Write down every meeting, every appointment, every strategic or admin task you meed to complete that week, Include family (kids) commitments, coffee or lunch meetings, exercise class, and other non work related things.
Look at every thing on the list and write next to it how much time you think is required on that task. Again, rough is fine - you're doing this to see how much time you typically need to spend on each item.
Got it? Great, now look hard at that list.
Decide which items can you truly say are the most important. Not the easiest, the most enjoyable or the quickest to do. This is the "must do and do well" stuff . These are your priorities and should be the tasks that deliver 80%of your impact.
So how did my client go when she tried this exercise?
By looking at her list, she was able to see where she had committed herself to meetings she didn't need to attend, a couple of committees that no longer really needed her support, an employee program that was time for her to step away from and allow another leader to step in, and more.
She found 6 extra hours in her week!
That meant she now had time for quiet thinking and strategic planning time. She could step up her efforts to be a visible, supportive female leader and role model. And the added bonus was that she felt much happier.
I've taken some of my own advice and used this tip too. It's a work in progress for me (hello discipline!) but I'm definitely much more focused on what really matters and I'm not getting distracted by the rest.
Who doesn't want that? As always, if you're intrigued and want to learn more, just click on the "BOOK NOW" button above and set up a time for a complimentary discovery call.
🧡 I'd love that.