The art of self-management: 4 tips from a Swiss-army knife
May 29, 2020 | People at Mirus Australia
– With Tania Crivellenti from Mirus Australia.
The future of work is changing or has it already changed?
With increased autonomy in the work place, employees have an increased responsibility for managing their work, results and career progression.
Many employees are asked to report on results not just a detailed list of tasks. Therefore you must also be an effective time manager.
Tony Schwartz argues that you must “manage your energy, not your time,” saying that time is finite but managing your energy opens up many possibilities.
He also focus’s on our ability to recharge – the better we use the set time for recharging, the most productive and effective we can be with the active time.
The same amount of hours of sleep can mean very different outcomes depending of the quality of your sleep. In this article they discuss strategies to better re-set your energy levels, and propose that by maintaining certain rituals, you can make the best use your break times to come out much more energised.
In my current position I’ve been called a “Swiss-army-knife” – with many and varied tasks to manage, people to support and my priorities shift constantly.
Sound familiar?
I can be more efficient and effective by managing what to do and when based on my levels of energy at each moment.
TIP #1:
I classify my tasks by the usual methods of importance, urgency, how long they require. However intuitively, what I really use to tackle the order of these tasks is according to how I’m feeling. For example, recently I compiled an operational report on all decisions, activities and processes relating to how we are managing COVID-19 in our organisation. Not a task to start at the end of the day! This was a prime-time activity requiring a high-level of energy. Important to note: starting something new takes much more energy than continuing a project that is already in progress.
TIP #2:
I have on hand a list of “little-things-to-do.” This list is priceless for when energy levels are low – for an easy to-do, quick win list to tackle!
TIP #3:
As part of my own self development I have a goal of improving my ‘self-kindness’ especially when I have low energy. I created the mantra “riding the lows gracefully”. By removing the resistance to feeling low I can reduce the drainage of energy. I can recover my energy levels quicker, either by resting and allowing my body to recover or simply by acknowledging I feel tired at the end of a day, or choosing to accept rather than fight the feelings. It is equally useful to “ride the highs efficiently” by not wasting your highest energy moments in tasks that may be better to do at another time during the day.
TIP #4:
I respect and navigate my levels of inspiration! This isn’t just creative inspiration, but motivation for doing anything – even doing the dishes! When the pressure to work on a task comes from the inside, and you allow yourself the freedom to “feel it” the results will come much faster, and in a higher quality. Alternatively you can try to do the same job when you are not really “feeling it” and it could take much longer and come out flat!
The principles of mindfulness underpin these four (4) tips. To actually rest when I am resting. Understand my energy levels and trust my inspiration which focus’s my resources so I don’t squander unnecessary energy.
Finally, these tips ultimately help me to feel fulfilled and happy with the quality of work produced.
You can connect with Tania on LinkedIn.
If you are struggling with your mental health, here are some useful Australian organisations to checkout:
Lifeline | 13 11 14
Beyondblue | 1300 22 4636
