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What can we learn from the UK politicians?

Eilidh Milnes - Sunday, April 25, 2010

Talk Confidence International                     Time to read:  365 words

A new subscriber to Talk Confidence is Joanne Allday. We've also joined on LinkedIn. (Why don't we do the same?) The current discussion on my LinkedIn "People working in Public Sector Group." was prompted by a parting comment from one of my delegates. "I feel as though I am in a pressure cooker..." at a talk entitled "Your Success is Built on Your Daily Routines..." the discussion continues...
 
Joanne's contribution:
I know it's a strange place to look, but the politicians are actually sharing some great time management tips in their election campaigning. They're focusing their time in the regions that matter - where they stand the best chance of winning and, therefore, meeting their objectives. We can all take lessons from that in our business and work life.

I agree. Joanne is an alternative thinker, getting fresh inspiration from unusual places. And we can learn and do well by imitating her idea. We certainly need to apply new energy and approaches in the current economic climate.
My time time tip is simple - be on time - for all sort of reasons from reducing stress to creating a professional image. Some people think it is OK and rather fashionable to be late. I disagree. There are cultural difference to consider however, being late in many cultures can imply that your time is more important than the other person's.
I personally don't "do" late. Should you find that time is slipping due to circumstances beyond your control, use a tip from friend and fellow speaker of mine Allan Pease. In Allan's book Body Language sold on my Amazon site he suggests this wording when you call your client, "I am running 12 minutes behind schedule." This is so much more effective than calling to say that, "I'm running late. I think I'll be there in about 10 minutes." Allow more time so that you run ahead of schedule. You won't feel as though you are in a pressure cooker. Be creative with your use of words ... and your time.

What are your time tips? You can comment on the new Talk Confidence Zone. (As a newsletter subscriber post as an existing user.) Or just mail me and I'll post for you. And you can read previous newsletter traffic with time tips here.
 
And remember if I can help you in any way you only need to ask...

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So what?

Eilidh Milnes - Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Talk Confidence International: "So what..."         Time to read:  497 words

Speaking involves lots of travel and whenever possible I let the train take the strain. Over the years I've met so many interesting people, I created a forum topic entitled Travelling Companions.

My most recent co-traveller was Diane Dibley; we've subsequently met on LinkedIn and Diane has joined my, "People working in Public Sector Group." (do join us) A current discussion was prompted by a parting comment from one of my delegates, "I feel as though I am in a pressure cooker..." at a talk entitled "your success is built on your daily routines..."
 
Diane commented:
I think you are absolutely right on "success being built on daily routines" and for me prioritising is one of most important routines. Its worth taking time out when "feeling as though I am in a pressure cooker.." to do exactly that but spending 5 minutes at the beginning of the day can really help to put things in perspective. 

And yes, common knowledge is not necessarily common practice! I am sure we all know lots of things that are just plain common sense (don't drink to much, leave time for traffic delays, take an umbrella with you...) but we do the opposite anyway or we just forget about the common sense in all the other "noise" around us. 

Whilst having that 5 minutes in the morning prioritising why not have a few more moments to think about whether you are taking the most common sense approach and that life is not being over complicated because common sense is ignored.  

My reply:
Do you have tried and tested tips for prioritising Diane? I'm glad you agree about the common sense not being common practice. Sometimes when I am coaching I am thinking... this is common sense... just apply it! At such times I usually KISS my clients - well only with the acronym Keeping it short, sweet and simple... or a variation thereof.   
 
Diane responded:
Well the first thing I do is to write down what I have to do. That helps in two ways one is that it allows me "see" just how much I do have to do and it stops it all buzzing in my head. But also simply writing down a list of tasks will often allow some obvious priorities to jump out at you. Next I anticipate how much time it will take me to do each task and I block out parts of the day for each. Again it helps me because in my mind, I now only have one thing to do in the hour instead of 10 and the whole list becomes more manageable and makes me feel more in control. Lastly, is my "so what" test. "So what is the worst that can happen if that job doesn't get done today?" If the answer is "It is going to have an adverse impact on my business or a customer" then it probably needs to be in my priorities for today. If the answer is "well I said I'd do it today but actually it doesn't matter when it’s done" schedule it in for tomorrow or later in the day because it's not a priority. I know these may sound quite simple but the most effective solutions often are.

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