In today's fast-paced world everyone feels the pressure to achieve positive results by accomplishing more with less. Yet, the only way to make that happen is to own it, respond with flexibility, and control what whatever you have the power to handle.
Today, we are still in those of recovering form the Global Financial Crisis and things are breaking down all over the place. Many small and medium-sized businesses are yet to replace the people previously laid off and a lot of the work remains to be done by those who are still working.
You're probably doing the work that two or three people used to do before the economy when south. That is why figuring out how to workaround what's slowing you down is a priority. You are the one being pressured to accomplish more with less and it's up to you to improve the situation on your own. With enlightened self-interest, you can gain an advantage that will pay off personally and, hopefully, professionally.
In Workarounds that Work: How to Conquer Anything That Stands in Your Way at Work (McGraw-Hill), Russell Bishop shows how to boost your productivity with a complete strategy for outmaneuvering anything that stands in your way.
The question is: What could you do that would make a difference in your job that requires no one's approval, co-operation, support or agreement other than your own?
Try answering that simple question and write down what you come up with. The simple answer is… that you may get more work done, with a little less stress, and possibly with a bit more appreciation from others. You may even find that by making things easier on yourself, you also make things easier on someone else.
Don't play the blame game. Complaining and blaming others or other things for your long hours worked and personal stress is not the answer.
For example, if you blame time management as the problem you're in big trouble. Poor time management is only a symptom of the problem. Here's why: What can you do with your time? Can you mismanage it so badly that hours shrink and you end up with more hours than anyone else? Of course not. What people generally mean when they say they have a time management problem is that they have a self-management problem. What we are really trying to do is become more efficient with our use of time and more effective in terms of what we get out of it.
Today, multi-tasking seems to be the current cure for what ails your time. The rationale is if you can chew gum and walk at the same time, surely you can process email and take a phone call at the same time. It just isn't so.
What you are talking about is akin to having your neurosurgeon texting while operating. Yet, there are all kinds of multi-taskers out there. Almost none of them are half as effective as they might think.
The primary issue is one of focus management. It's not time management, or information overload, or just plain having more to do than you can ever hope to accomplish. It's focus.
With thanks: “Workarounds that Work: How to Conquer Anything That Stands in Your Way at Work” Russell Bishop (McGraw-Hill)
