How frustrated do you feel when you are interrupted? I know I can feel quite annoyed when I’m in the middle of a large piece of work and the phone, a colleague or an email ‘breaks up’ my concentration. By the way, that’s the original meaning of the word ‘interrupt’…to break up. How fitting!

I’ve listed below some tips that I’ve found useful in minimising the impact of interruptions in my working day:

First, the phone: If you are reachable at all times, then expect to be interrupted. Instead, have specific times during the day where you put your phone through to voicemail, and return the calls when you have planned to do so. Also, bunch your outgoing calls so you control when you call. Call people just before lunch or just before closing time…you tend to keep conversations short and have more time to get things done.

Uninvited visitors: State you’re busy and tell the visitor you will be free in xx minutes. That way, you control when you have visitors. Have a chair for visitors away from your desk so they don’t automatically sit down when they come into your office or workspace. Tell colleagues that if your door is shut, you are undisturbable for that short time period.

Requests for information: Make sure the people you delegate work to have sufficient information and authority without having to regularly refer back to you. If you say you will get back to people, keep to your promises.

Email: Have specific times during the day when you check email. Make those times generous but controllable. Turn off the email notifier so you can concentrate on your real work instead of being controlled by the incoming mail.

If you follow out these suggestions, you have to take responsibility for the quality of the work you complete when you are not unterruptable. If you do, you’ll find you are more productive and less likely to be at the beck and call of interruptions that are within your control.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Do you waste time planning? Many managers do, because they spend too much time trying to organise things that are un-organisable! What I mean by this is, if you spend time trying to organise other people, you run the risk of that time being wasted because of your inability to control other people.

People don’t want to be managed. This is the oxymoron in the title ‘people manager’. A good definition of a manager is someone who plans, controls, directs and organises. How would you feel if everything you did during the day was planned for you, organised for you, directed for you and you were controlled every step of the way? I can imagine your answer!

So, when you do your daily planning, make sure you focus on things that you can control or, at least, influence. Here are some ideas:

Create a ‘to do’ list and, alongside it, a ‘will do’ list. These lists are your focal points of productivity. Take your ‘to do’ list and write down from it those items you categorically must, must, must get done today, no exception. This will be your ‘will do’ list, and shouldn’t cover more than half your day. That way, you will be able to top up from your ‘to do’ list without having to buy more time. The ‘will dos’ are those things that are crucial to get completed today. And from our experience, not everything on your ‘to do’ list falls into that category.

When you are about to start a task, ask yourself: “Is this the best use of my time right now? Is there a more efficient way of handling this task? Could it be delegated? Or am I the best person to carry this out?”

Work out the hourly rate you are paid by your company. Then ask yourself “Would I be willing to pay someone else that amount to do the hour’s work I’m about to do?” This often brings you to your senses as to the best use of your time.

Look at the next appointments you are about to handle over the next three days. Is it a valuable use of your time to meet with these people? Or would it be more suitable to phone them, conference call with them or email them? Sometimes a meeting is most suitable, but plan that out first to make sure.

Many people make mistakes when they prioritise their tasks. They start off with ‘Priority 1′ then move onto ‘2′, ‘3′, ‘4′ and so on. Let me ask you a question. How seriously and with how much passion do you tackle a ‘Priority 8′ task? Be honest!

Most people take something that’s 8 or below on their list and treat it like it’s not that important and often procrastinate with it. Here’s a simple technique…don’t view your lower-priority tasks with less enthusiasm simply because they are lower on the list. Having completed ‘Priority 1′, treat ‘Priority 2′ as the new ‘Priority 1′ !!!
That way you are taking all your tasks seriously and are less likely to procrastinate. Taking your ‘Priority 8′ seriously means you get a lot more done more effectively and efficiently.

So,don’t attempt to control others’ time…just work on what you can control and you’ll see your personal effectiveness improve dramatically.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

We’ve all been there…the meeting is going ok, then someone takes it off track and you end up spending a long time on subjects that are not part of the agenda and wasting everyone’s time. You need to be assertive and take control. What’s the best way?

Firstly, when you’ve become aware of the digression, simply say, ‘What’s the connection between this subject and our agenda item?’ This will bring the group back to what you were initially discussing and help people to see you’re interested in results and good time-keeping.

If the discussed subject is of importance and still off agenda, you might wish to ‘park’ it for another time, either at the end of the meeting if you have time, or make it the subject of another meeting, but only if it’s really important to do so. You may find some people bring obtuse subjects up simply so they can control the direction of the meeting, or set an agenda for another meeting.

Outside the meeting environment, you might want to raise this tendency to drift off subject sometimes, and get the team’s agreement to stick on the agenda items so the meeting isn’t hijacked.

You also might want to have a quiet word with the people responsible after the meeting, just to ensure they recognise that keeping the meeting on track is for everyone’s benefit.

Remember also to think back on why the meeting might have digressed onto different subjects…maybe not all attendees had agreed to the original agenda, or maybe there are pressing issues that need visiting and you haven’t addressed them efficiently yet. Whatever the reasons, be aware of people’s time and don’t allow the agenda to be ignored.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

It’s possibly the most puzzling and challenging decision you may have faced in a long time. How do you cope with a situation where a colleague has been promoted to be your boss? You might have put your name in the frame, yet, on this occasion, it didn’t work out. So what can you do to ensure the working relationship between you and your new boss starts off and continues in the right way?

Firstly, ask yourself, ‘what kind of working relationship do I want and need with my new boss?’ This proves you are acting proactively and want to establish a good foundation for working together in the future. Remember that, if you worked together well in the past, there is no reason why that shouldn’t continue…you just need to decide what kind of tasks you can complete now things have changed.

Then, discuss with your boss what you can do to make them appreciate your help. Their role will be different now, and it would be unwise to try to prove to higher management that they made the wrong decision in promoting your colleague. Higher management may well be watching your reaction to your colleague’s promotion, to see if you are also promotion material too. So if you approach the situation with an attitude of helpfulness to your new boss, you’ll be seen as promotion material in the future.

Discuss with your new boss where he or she sees you in the next five years or so. This gives you an accurate picture of how they perceive your contribution within the team and helps you identify the things you need to focus on in order to be in the frame next time.

Although you might see your new boss in a different light now, assisting them to be successful in their new role can only help your future prospects. Learn from their skills and you may see further opportunities open up for you.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Personal and professional development is one of the most valuable uses of your time in your career as a manager. It’s only by growing and developing your skills within your current role that you convince others you are worthy of investing in for the future.

So, how much time do you devote to the development of your skills, knowledge and talents? And how regular and consistent are you in carrying it out?

Top managers recognise the need to expand their knowledge about their industry and products regularly. Zig Ziglar says that “Just 15 minutes a day reading books would enable the average reader to complete 15 books each year.”

But there’s so much development material out there, you have to be selective.

First, set aside quality time for this. It’s your career we’re talking about, so it’s worthwhile spending time solely devoted to this important task. A regularly-planned short period is better than leaving it for a large chunk of time once in a while.

Then, be selective in what you choose to read. Determine the areas where you must keep up-to-date, and select only those magazines, journals, books and websites that currently serve your particular areas of need.

When you find an article of interest, especially if it’s in a journal or magazine, take a copy of it or rip it out and put it in your reading file. A fabulous piece buried in a thick magazine will stay buried unless you make a conscious effort to make it more visible.

Consider joining your local Institute of Management library, and taking advantage of the wealth of material available there.

When you’ve spent some time reading, reflect on how you can use this new knowledge in your job and company. Is there something you can immediately apply? Can you share this knowledge with someone else? Is there someone in the organisation who would value this information as much as you?

Spend your commuting time reading or listening to new material that will improve your value to the company. Just 30 minutes listening to a development CD in the car or on your mp3 player on the train each day will give you over 100 hours of learning each year. That’s the equivalent of attending over 14 days’ training each year! Try asking your boss for that much time off to develop your skills! Yet you can easily do it in dead-time on the daily commute.

JJ McCarthy said that an organisation’s continued progress will partly be based on managers’ ability to increase their knowledge and skills and to keep pace with progress and change – through professional literature.

So, lead by example in this. Set the pace for change in your organisation by keeping up to date with reading material that will set you apart from others. Then you will improve your value as a manager, now and in the future.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”