Managing workload

Managing your workload means you need to be organised. Here are some techniques that work for us!

Planning

We love an outcome-based plan. A plan that identifies the end goal and the steps required to achieve that goal. A plan that has deadlines set and a weekly check to see if everything is on target. Some people we talk to don’t have a plan, because planning takes time, time people don’t have, but believe us, taking the time out to plan will pay dividends in the long term.

Effective diary use

If you use your diary, be honest with yourself. Are you being realistic or are you underestimating the time activities will take? Another common theme is people double booking their time. Not for client facing work of course, but for behind the scenes work, administration, development work etc! This could be construed as an act of denial, unless of course you are a multitasker extraordinaire.

Empty your head

Some of our clients spend the first 5 minutes in a morning or the last 5 minutes of the day downloading their brain. Simply capturing all the information swimming around and writing it down. Once it’s written down you could formulate a list or a mind map to then structure the tasks. That way you start the day or end the day feeling organised.

Recognise when it’s too much

Call it or delegate when you are overloaded. Sometimes there simply is too much to do. This is the point we can become stressed, flustered and can stop thinking clearly. So, call it out and tell people and get their support, there is no place for hero mentality here.

Have a tidy up

You’ll be surprised how much better that makes you feel. I know tidying up makes me feel better yet I am always taken aback by just how much better I feel. I think we forget sometimes that simple things can make a big difference.

We challenge you to take some time out to get organised today, take just 10 minutes out of your working day and see if that makes a difference to you.

Look after yourself

Get into good habits that help you stay focused and productive. It takes 66 days to create a positive habit which has a stronger chance of sticking! Here are some ideas of things that you can do:

• Doing exercise – this does not have to be hitting the gym, just anything that increases your heart rate for 30 minutes per day (especially good if you can get outdoors!).
• Meditation/ Yoga – some time in the morning even it is just for 10 minutes focusing on what you want to focus on for that day and getting your mind to be focused on the task at hand.
• Family time at mealtimes – no phones at the table and engaging in conversation at least once per week to have that time to connect.
• Having a relaxing bath/ face masks etc (men, this is fun for you to try too!)
• Go for a walk on your own and be in touch with nature.
• Read a book.

For more advice, contact your accountant or the organisation that gave you access to BuBul. They may offer help or refer you to someone they trust. If not, email hello@bubulexpert.com telling us what you need advice on, and we’ll connect you with one of our trusted experts*.

*Our experts don’t pay to be on BuBul, and they don’t pay us commission. They will offer you 30 minutes of free advice.