Productive or Busy – How to Focus on Your Must-Dos and Be Productive
December 20th, 2017As a leader in your company, any day of the week can be busy. But how many of those days do you feel productive? Most managers feel run-down as they leave the office, feeling that they were treading water or putting out fires, hardly making a dent in their real work. While this might seem like the norm, it doesn’t have to be – more importantly, it shouldn’t be.
Ready to have more productive days? Read on to learn how to make better use of your days and how to stay focused on top priorities even during the busiest of seasons.
Determine Your Top Priorities
As a manager or leader, you should be able to identify what your top priorities are. They may be driven by company goals, quarterly performance goals, or other factors. If you need some clarification or are unclear about your expectations, you should definitely talk to your own supervisor or manager for direction. It’s easy to get distracted with daily tasks and checking in with your workers to the point that your own work gets pushed aside. This is a huge mistake and one you need to correct quickly.
Upgrade Your To-Do List
To-do lists can be your friend or foe, depending on how you create them. First of all, the tasks on your daily to-do list should not run your life. Second of all, once you determine what your top priorities are, these become the projects that you must focus on, not ones that you can push aside to tend to smaller distractions. After keeping your priorities at the top of your list, feel free to include other tasks that are important to your job and rank them according to levels of importance and priority.
Determine Delegations
After you take an honest look at how you rank your (long) to-do list, you may notice that some of your tasks may be worth delegating to another team member. Maybe you’ve kept the responsibility because it doesn’t take much time, or maybe your worker hasn’t been trained in that are yet. Consider whether or not your team member or subordinate would benefit having that additional task as a learning opportunity. This will not only help strengthen your team but free up some time for you to focus on your top priorities and have a productive day.
Looking for More Management Tips?
If you want to know more about how to manage a stellar team, contact Concorde Personnel.