Transcript
Well I suppose getting a better work-life balance is a challenge for just about everybody in the workforce. And I think time management is a real key and prioritizing what you do.
So, I like to get a "to-do list" each day and I like to start each day sitting down, writing out what my plan is for that day, and then reflecting on what my plan is for that week.
The problem people have with time management at work is that work always seems to override personal things. "I'll be home to read to a story to you," you say to your daughter, and something comes up because your boss wants you to do something and you never get home to do that, so your daughter's disappointed and things get in the way.
So, I'm a great believer in looking at what an employee's issues are in their life, about their family and their own personal developments. So, I like to see in someone's weekly planner when they're going to the gym. I like to see time-out because I'm a great believer that "face-time", what I call "face-time" is I got to work, people were always telling me "Oh, I was at work at 8.30 or 8.00 and I didn't leave until 9.00" or ring you on Saturday morning to tell you "Oh, I just popped into work to do some things"; all those things, are to me what I call "face-time". I'd like to see people who put in these hours and produce things. So, I never really worry about the amount of time someone's spending at work, I worry about their outputs and their productivity.
So, in their weekly planner, I like to see organised time slots for what they're doing and I like to see them telling other people who are in the organisation "I'm sorry, I'll come back to you about that", take a note about that but continue to work to what they've got in their diary, ah ... in their planner.
An open plan is the worst environment for losing time at work because people just wander up to your work station and start talking to you when you're on the phone or you're trying to think, or you're writing halfway through your submission or proposal. So that's one of the big time wasters, just say you've got be really strong, put your hand up, communicate to that other work person that "I can't talk to you now, I'm focused on doing this". And measure your time, measure what your outputs are, and the time you put into those things.
So, just good time management is the best way to get good work-life balance because you weave into your diary through the week, the 5 days that you are at work, things that replenish you as an employee, whether it's a walk around the block, whether it's a trip to the gym, whether it's to the hairdresser's, and I know that's a very important thing for women in the workforce. Guys just rush along and get a hair cut in 20 minutes and back to work, it's really not an issue for them. So I'd like to see those personal things in people's diary.
