Time Versus Planning

Did you blink and hit Term 7?  Do you have items waiting for ‘someday’? Do you get to the end of the day and pack the bag to take it home? Jane Taylor knows the feeling – as busy SBLs, no matter how much gets done there is always more to do

Unfortunately, there are only seven days in the week and ‘someday’ isn’t one of them. There are also only 24 hours in any day, we need eight hours to sleep (and feel refreshed), we need to work eight hours, that only leaves eight hours for the commute, eating, shopping, friends, family, exercise, hobbies etc.  By trying to cram in one last job you are squeezing out something else.  It also does not stop the constant workflow – the to do list never ends!

Proper Time Planning

Accepting that time is finite we can use this to our advantage and plan accordingly.  Whether you still use a diary or a planner (or prefer a digital option) it’s not just a case of adding an entry to a day and time.  If only it was that simple.  You need to think about how long is this going to take you?  Be realistic.  It’s not only the time to do the task that you need to factor in.  Does the job require any pre planning time?  Will there be any follow up tasks after this?

For example, you need to have a meeting with a member of staff regarding their absence(s).  Therefore, you need to set aside time to have the meeting, but before that you need to review their absence(s), you need to invite them to a meeting, you need to book a room.  After the meeting you need time to type up the feedback, attach it to their personal file, provide a copy to the employee, potentially set up follow up actions or monitoring.  All these elements take time.  Acknowledging this will help you to book out the appropriate amount of time in the day.  By block booking time you are giving yourself a better opportunity to achieve the outcome desired.

The Benefits of Blocking

The benefits of block booking are that you are more organised.  You can plan your day more effectively.  I know that in the morning as staff are arriving, I will always have some quick questions to answer and that I need to get my PC set up and review my emails.  By block booking the start of the day for these tasks means that you know when you will be available to take/make a phone call, attend a meeting or just get those quick jobs done.  Similarly, by block booking some time at the end of the day to complete a review of tasks will also give you time to prepare for the next, or even just get some filing done.

Block booking does not mean that you must work on the task for the full time allotted.  If you get it done quicker, great, it means that you can take a bit more time to review your to do list, fit in a quick task or just visit the bathroom or get a drink (the things we don’t add to our diaries!)  Block booking is not perfect, there will always be something that needs your attention.  However, by using a block booking technique you can start to take control your limited time.  You can see what your time stealers are.  You can see where you can save time.  You will be able to review and adjust your future block bookings based on the knowledge of how it worked previously.

Whatever you do you need to find a system that works for you so that you can continue to be the brilliant professional that you are.