Five ways to Be More Strategic When There’s soooo much to Do
Let’s be honest, ‘being better at time management’ is rarely the only thing that’s making this a struggle.
So, start here.
1. Make a decision. I will focus on the strategic things (name them specifically – your top three) starting today. You might not have all the answers yet – but taking that first step is crucial (And I’m here to help you with the ‘how’). Remember, what you believe you achieve.
2. Shift your Thinking. The thought ‘I don’t have time’ creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of not having enough time. Choose a different thought. Something like: ‘I’m choice rich – what strategic choices can I make this week? Write that phrase somewhere you can see it. It activates your reticular activating system, (RAS) helping you prioritise the strategy over the noise.
3. Pause before reacting. Before you rush to respond to that email or take on a piece of work your team members could do, pause. Five seconds is enough to recognise you have a choice – To ‘default’ or to make a different decision. Cultivating this ‘pause’ habit will rock your world. It helps to have a picture of a big pause button somewhere you can see it – again, it gets the RAS working.
4. Time Blocking. Allocate dedicated time in your calendar to do said strategic work. Don’t overthink it, just block it out consistently for the next twelve months. Be unavailable, turn off notifications and get going.
5. Honest self-reflection: Be real with yourself – we often do the ‘busy’ work because it’s familiar and comfortable. Recognise any personal fears like fear of failure or not knowing or being enough. No judgement here – my big block back in the day was ‘I should know this stuff’. Once we recognise those limiting thoughts, we can work on changing them (I can help you with that, too).
There’s more I could share but do these five things first and get in touch if you’d like your next step.
Start here, and you will see results like Jennifer did when she attended my 90-Day Lead with Confidence programme. This is an intimate no-fluff space for like-minded leaders to learn, grow, reflect and take the right action step by step.
