Knock Off on Time for a Change!

Why is it that so many specialist staff, junior and middle managers, and even many executives vocally proclaim the level of stress they feeling in their life? And how is it that the same stress levels are felt by so many stay at home parents - particularly those who work at home? For most it is a lack of techniques for managing the stress they are under. This article features just one of the tricks to reducing stress - leaving the 'office' on time.

Leaving the 'office' on time each day can greatly reduce the level of stress you feel. However, as a business consultant, I have heard hundreds of reasons why this cannot be achieved and just part of my job is to help key staff overcome these reasons to make them not just less stressed but also more productive. Generally speaking, over ninety per cent of reasons why a person cannot leave the office on time can be resolved by these three resolution techniques:

• goal setting,
• working to natural body rhythms,
• managing disruptions and distractions.

Goal Setting

We are all too familiar with writing to-do lists. For many managers and work at home parents these can look more like books than lists at times which is exactly why it is important to have goal setting techniques in place. They key is to think big and then small. Each day pick five items off your to-do list - two strategically based and three administratively based. By strategically based, we mean to select two items that are tied to a strategic outcome - things with longer term outcomes that you need to work towards on an ongoing basis. In the three administratively based we are seeking to select three items that should take no longer than a week to complete before they are simply 'crossed-off'.

At the end of each day - write down the five things you need to-do the following day. Do not include the outcome which may take a week or month to achieve but rather the one task you need to achieve that day as you step towards the outcome. I suggest the end of each day because it means that you can go home knowing that you only have five things to be concerned with the following day and that you won't find yourself dragging your feet into the office the following morning thinking 'I have so much to do'. Instead you will have five do-able tasks to focus on over the course of the day.

Working to Natural Body Rhythms

Working your to-do list to natural energy levels of both staff as well as your own can boost productivity three fold. Most people, work better in the morning than the afternoon as our bodies respond to a natural circadian rhythm. Some common examples of changes that can improve your efficiency are detailed below and relate to when you time different activities.

My first recommendation is making those dreaded phone calls on your first hour on the job. Required phone calls can increase stress and lead to procrastination if not dealt with so simply get them out of the way! Secondly, schedule meetings early to catch people at their most lively. By scheduling meetings at a time when creative ideas and the ability to make closing decisions are at their best you can effectively halve the time allowed for meetings by simply scheduling them before lunch. Thirdly, leave internal relations issues until after lunch. Talking to a staff member about leave arrangements, work or pay issues over an afternoon cup of coffee can do far more for employee morale than we give credit.

Managing Disruptions and Distractions

There are two forms of disruptions and distractions - those that enter of their own volition, such as staff interruptions and inbound phone calls, and those you invite in to distract you, such as email and peripheral matters not on your to-do list. It is important to have ways to manage both forms well in order to be at peak productivity.

Gate keeping is the way to manage this and it far easier delegated to someone else if you can. If not, it is a case of establishing techniques to minimise the impact of disruptions. Below are examples of minimisation techniques for phone calls, email and staff for you to consider.

Restrict phone calls to those that either pertain to your to-do list or your career longevity. (By career longevity I mean that you should take the calls from your boss and key staff members or clients that have influence over your career or business progression). For all other calls, offer for them to call at a specific time later in the day or offer to call them back.

Exercise self-discipline when managing email. Changing your routine to check your office email no more than three times daily can increase your productivity seven fold. Did you know for every distraction it takes 20 minutes to refocus on the task at hand? Turn off your email notification pop-up and sound alert to stay focussed on the task at hand in increase your productivity up to seven fold.

Modifying your 'open door' policy as a manager can enable you to be available to staff when they need you without sacrificing your efficiency with the task at hand. One peak performance recommendation I have for managers is to have staff classify their need as something that is either task critical (will define whether they are productive or left twiddling their thumbs until they speak to you) or is administrative. Block half an hour each day for administrative contact for staff and publish times on your calendar or stick a copy on your door. This is then a block time for managing human resources issues, discussing broader scope issues on projects they are working on and the like. Scheduling this time, can with staff training, reduce disruptions from staff by up to 80 per cent leaving just a few critical interruptions that will help your staff remain productive for you as well.

If you find yourself at the mercy of other distractions and disruptions then note them down in your diary and establish your own technique for managing it or talk to your supervisor as to how you can better deal with the things that are taking you off your focus.

Risks and Rewards

Implementing this five-task programme can sometimes require tweaking as you go along. If you find that you are consistently getting to the end of the day and are not completing your five tasks then perhaps you are not being realistic about the time that some tasks take. Perhaps, some need to be broken down into smaller tasks to make them achievable? In other cases, some tasks may be very reliant on others and may be more effectively deal with by getting all the stakeholders together in the same room so that it can be dealt with rapidly, even in just 20 minutes so that you can complete your obligations and cross it off your list.

Once you have implemented a five-task day effectively then make sure you leave work on time rather than bogging yourself down in the next day's tasks. Take the evening for yourself to do what you enjoy, spend time with your family, go out with friends or even take an early night and get a good night's sleep. If you achieve your list more than an hour before the end of the work day then treat yourself to a 5 minute break only after stopping past your boss' office to let them know what you have achieved that day. This is a great technique to ensure that your efforts and achievements are remembered when it comes to discussing your work performance and potential pay increases.