Written by: Claudia Romero, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
My mission is to help you adopt practices that make things easier for you and your team. And by “easier”, I mean reducing stresses and increasing productivity. Don’t worry, I'm not championing cracking the whip and making everyone work hours of overtime – just the opposite, in fact.
I believe that implementing key ideas can help you make the most of your time, get more done, realise more of your goals and free up more time for the things you enjoy. And it’s a strategy that you can apply to yourself and your team.
A lifelong lesson
Early in life, I realised that getting things done efficiently and effectively was the best way to give myself time to do the things I enjoyed. In my home county, Chile, parents expect their children to work hard at school, get good grades do their share of chores and help around the house. My parents were no exception – homework and our assigned household tasks had to be completed before we were allowed out to do fun things.
The thing was that I preferred doing the fun things (I still do!), so I focussed on getting the things that I had to do done as quickly as possible. But because my parents had high standards and expectations, that didn’t mean dashing off a sub-standard essay and only dusting the shelves that could be seen. As such, I developed a skill that has served me throughout my life and career – getting things done efficiently and effectively.
Time for some SOUL
Finding ways to do things efficiently and effectively is what led to me developing my SOUL Productivity Method (SOUL stands for: Simplify, Organise/Optimise, Understand and Leverage).
Last time we looked at Simplify (https://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/want-to-achieve-more-with-less-stress-add-some-s-o-u-l-to-your-life), and once you’ve started to simplify things, it becomes easier to start to get organised.
O is for Organise (and optimise)
Organise (and optimise) is the second stage of my SOUL Productivity Method and this is how you can make it work for you and your team. It may seem incredibly obvious that being organised will make you more productive, but true organisation is about more than a tidy desk and keeping your shared diary up to date, it’s about priorities.
What matters to you and your team? What are your key objectives? What must be done for you to succeed? And what’s getting in the way of you doing those things?
You and your team might be busy all day, every day, but are you actually getting anything that matters done? Or are you filling your days with distractions that steal your time and your focus?
Make priorities and act on them
Look at what you’re spending your time on – and what your team are doing. Is a reactive approach to things like emails disrupting your day and distracting you from bigger, more urgent tasks? I’m not advocating ignoring emails (although on the days when your inbox pings every two minutes, it’s tempting to delete your email app and revert to faxes and good old-fashioned memos). Instead, allocate a set time for everyone (whose role allows it) to deal with emails – two or three times a day is plenty. Make sure that people who are reaching out to your team know that they won’t get an instant response.
It may seem counterintuitive to make a customer, client or senior colleague wait for a response, but consider the fact that when they do get a response it will be more focused and thoughtful. Why? Because it was sent in your dedicated email time, not dashed off between other tasks or when your mind was on something else. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Now, think about what else you and your team can apply this approach to.
This meeting could have been an email
It may be the punchline to numerous office-based cartoons and memes, but it’s one of those things that’s funny because it’s true. OK, it can be good for your team to get together face-to-face and share ideas, but not every meeting needs to be a meeting. Save the meetings for the things that really matter, plan them properly, set agendas, and stick to the times. Ask yourself if you’re having a meeting about something because that’s what’s always happened. Now think about if the issue could be dealt with by email, over the phone or during a quick one-to-one catch-up (that’s the other thing, not everyone needs to be in every meeting).
Don’t waste your time – or your teams’ time – on meetings for the sake of it. Not only will this help everyone make better use of their time, but it should help make sure that when you do have a meeting it’s more productive, and that people bring more energy to it because it’s not the tenth meeting they’ve had since lunchtime.
Your team will thank you, leading to increased productivity and overall happiness. As a business owner or manager, making this a top priority is key.
Claudia Romero, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Claudia is a highly skilled consultant with a Business Management background who specializes in productivity, business resilience, and time efficiency. She understands the challenges faced by senior executives, entrepreneurs, and business owners who have to balance their careers, relationships, and personal needs. She has a non-traditional approach to productivity that has been praised for its simplicity and effectiveness in overcoming overwhelm and burnout, helping leaders increase team productivity, achieve consistent growth and increased profits. As a captivating speaker, Claudia delivers top-quality masterclasses on achieving success in all aspects of work and life.
