HAPPY 2022! | WHEN IS YOUR WHITE SPACE?
We all need time to think and have uninterrupted time to plan and be innovative in looking at a problem or challenge. For years I prided myself on the ‘busyness’ of my job. There was no white space in my schedule. I went from one meeting or project to another with no unscheduled time in between. Now I pride myself on the opposite, and I ensure there is white space in my schedule, unscheduled time to enable a strategic pause that increases my productivity and focus three-fold.
I encourage you to look at your schedule for the month of January and into February and make some significant changes to how you are spending your time. If there is a meeting that you do not need to be at, decline. If you do not have an agenda associated with a meeting, reschedule until you do. Introduce white space in your calendar between meetings, block off focused time to work on projects, allow whitespace in your calendar. This pause in your time will allow you to follow up on items and circle back on any special action items that require your attention.
For every ‘yes’ you make throughout the day on a work item, ensure you have a ‘no’ or delegation of action to another. These simple actions will assist you in beneficial workflow changes, improved communication, and reduced weekly stress.
Enabling white space in your week provides you with time to think, plan, strategize, implement, execute and reflect – all items that we never otherwise permit time for in our schedules. When you look at your week differently, you will see that you will consciously move low-value tasks from your schedule and spend more time focusing on what is important that will give you increased bottom-line results.
When planning your week, focus on high-value tasks and assess what you can delete from your schedule. If you are a perfectionist, assess the time you require to complete a task and determine what is good enough. Turn your notifications off and allocate time to respond to email queries rather than perpetuate ‘reactive’ mode when notifications are received 24/7.
Your New Year Professional Development Goal
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Ensure there is white space in your calendar!
If you want to learn more about, leadership coaching, and how your can prioritize your high-value tasks to maximize your success throughout 2022 for you, your team, and your business, reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.
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