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6 Actions for Planning Your Work Week As A Manager -Boost Productivity · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Planning your work week as a manager is the difference between doing a great job and doing an okay or even a poor job.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: The more people you manage, the more moving parts, demands and deliverables that you have to stay on top of.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Always reacting and firefighting is a stressful place to be and rarely results in great work.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Planning ahead gives you, firstly, more time to create good solutions to problems.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, more time to get the right resources in place for when they are actually needed, and thirdly, the vital ability to carefully manage the expectations of others.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Other very good benefits of planning your work week include, firstly, better prioritization of tasks, activities and projects so you and your team spend more time working to reach your more valuable goals.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you typically get better outcomes and results because you are more focused, have less interruptions, and encounter less problems.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Third, you have less stress and pressure because you are solving problems well ahead of when those problems start impacting the team's output.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, you have better relationships and a stronger reputation as you're able to proactively manage expectations and give those relying on you more time to plan and adjust to changes.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: In short, you'll be mad not to plan ahead as a manager, in my view.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: The benefits you get, the reduction in stress and pressure, and the time saved far outweigh the time spent planning.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Always plan out your day, week, and month as much as practical in any management role.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: I take six actions every week to ensure that I know what is coming up, what challenges I'm likely to face, and what tasks, activities and projects I or my team need to undertake so that we can meet and beat the goals that mighting has been set.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: The first action for planning your work week as a manager is checking alignment with the bigger picture.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Alignment of yours and your team's work to the department or functional goals, and if you're in senior management, to the company goals really does matter.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: The more time you can spend and get your team spending on work that creates the most progress towards achieving functional company goals, firstly, the more likely those important goals will be reached, and secondly, the more valuable your work will be perceived as by your bosses.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: So every week when you are planning out the following week, keep asking yourself how is what you are planning helping reach team goals?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: If there is good alignment, bump up that task, activity or project up the priority list.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: If it has poor alignment, push it further down the priority list.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: This exercise creates more team focus on the more important tasks, activities and projects.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't know about or don't understand the company strategy and how your team is helping achieve that strategy, discuss it with your boss.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Do your best to keep the bigger picture in mind when prioritising tasks, activities and projects within your team.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: The work you do will be more valuable as a consequence.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you're new to this podcast, Enhance.training provides resources and courses for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: I've included links to additional resources in the podcast description to help you improve your productivity and time management as a manager.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Do take a look at these.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: The second action for planning your work week as a manager is to prioritize your work based on what is important and urgent.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Any leader of a team has a constant stream of requests, challenges and demands placed upon them and their team members.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Other teams want help, information, tasks to be completed, or output so they can do what has been asked of them.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: On top of this, your team has a list of tasks, activities and projects needed to reach goals and deliver the results bosses expect from you.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: It is really easy to focus on.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, the most urgent tasks so that you can reduce the follow-ups and pressure from others.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Or secondly, what you like doing and what you find easy to do.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or thirdly, you know the quick little tasks that give you a sense of progress, etc.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, concentrate on doing the most important tasks and fitting in the less important tasks around these.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Create a four-box grid with importance on one axis and urgency on the other.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Against each of your tasks, label them or put them on the grid under.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, important and urgent.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, important and not urgent, third, urgent and not important, and fourth, not urgent and not important.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Think of your time as a bucket.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Put the rocks in first which are the most important tasks and fit the sand around the rocks, the sand being the less important tasks.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Focusing more on the important rather than the urgent is a great way to prioritize the work that needs to be done.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: The third action for planning your work week as a manager is to decide whether to delegate or do yourself.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: As a manager, you have a team and you have influence over people outside of your team.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Authority and influence give you the options you delegate or do yourself.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, delegating is not a complete time saving.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: To delegate well, you will have to invest time to ensure the work is done well and in the time frames needed.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: How much time you need to invest depends on who you're delegating to, what you are delegating, and the situation.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, delegating will save you time personally, but not always.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: In addition to time, delegation is also an essential for building skills and experience in the team, which will save you a lot more time later on.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Think carefully about what you are delegating, the skills and experience of the people you could delegate to, and their current availability.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: When you do delegate work, always follow up and check in during the time frame the work is being undertaken rather than just at the end.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: You'll reduce your surprises and stress levels and get a much better result.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: If doing work yourself is quicker than delegating and you don't have the extra time to invest in teaching others, plan to do the work yourself, of course.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: At this point you should have a list of tasks, activities and projects that either you are going to do over the next week or you're going to delegate to team members.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Each of your tasks will be prioritized in terms of importance and urgency.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth action for planning your work week as a manager is booking time in your calendar.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Before booking time into your calendar, take each of the tasks, activities, and projects on your list and allocate the estimated time to complete.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: For work you are doing, you'll have one entry.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: For work delegated, you'll have the time that you need to invest in delegating and the time for your team member to do the task.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: When you have allocated estimated time against each task, activity and project, you can organise when you're going to do each by blocking time off in your calendar.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't block off time, other people will book meetings into your calendar, preventing you from doing the work or creating interruptions.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Interruptions are deadly to high productivity and reduce the quality of your work.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Per Reforbes article, the average office worker is interrupted every 3 to 11 minutes and it can take almost 25 minutes to return to their original task.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Managers get more interruptions than the average office worker.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Book time in your diary to reduce your interruptions.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Find a quiet meeting room to work in.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Put your phone on silent.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Don't look at emails.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on doing the work that you have set yourself.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Taking this approach will create more time for you because you won't lose as much time due to interruptions.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: You will finish your work quicker and do a better job.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Use your calendar and where and how you work to minimize your disruptions.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth action for planning your work week as a manager is plan contingency time for the unexpected.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Organising and allocating every hour of your week to tackle your to-do list will result in you being stressed, under much more pressure, and doing a worse job.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Every manager will have unexpected requests, tasks and challenges pop up daily that need to be dealt with.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Book in time for these unexpected requests and events.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Use your judgment and think about what is normal in your working environment.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: I suggest booking in one to two hours of your day to cover unexpected requests and events.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't use this time for the unexpected, you can do the plan tasks earlier.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Booking contingency time into your calendar is good for your stress levels, your motivation and positivity, and the quality of your work.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Always include contingency time in your planning.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: The sixth action for planning your work week as a manager is to update your plan at the end of every day.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Spend five minutes at the end of each day reviewing what has been achieved during the day and what is still outstanding.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: I used to do this when I was on the train home at the end of each day.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Adjust your plan accordingly to what has happened and what needs to be done still.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Events with a typical workplace will force you to replan regularly to ensure that you maintain a realistic and sensible plan that enables you to get your work and your team's work done.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Be proactive in your replanning.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, when you are a manager, there are too many moving parts, too many tasks, activities, and projects to keep track of in your head.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: To be effective, you must plan out your week ahead and to some extent your month ahead for you and your team to be really effective.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: The six actions for planning your work week as a manager are firstly check alignment with the bigger picture so you spend more time on the valuable work.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, prioritize your work based on what is important and urgent.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Third, decide whether to delegate or do yourself.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, book time in your calendar to avoid disruptions.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then fifth, plan contingency time for the unexpected.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, sixth, update your plan of work at the end of every day.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to take a look at the resources in the description to improve your productivity and time management as a manager.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on six actions for planning your work week as a manager, please leave a comment below and I'll get back to you.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for watching and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to take a look at the resources in the podcast description to improve your productivity and time management as a manager.training and I'll get back to you.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.