In today’s ever more rushed climate finding the time to do everything that seems to be needed to be done is one of the biggest problems many people face. There is no place this more true than in the workplace. You know that you need to make time for developing your career and , yet there never seem to be enough hours in the day.
One of the most obvious things that you can do, yet one which seems to escape most people for the simple reason that they find it “hard” to do is to set your alarm clock for half an hour earlier. You won’t miss the sleep and your body will soon adjust to it. By getting up half an hour earlier you will gain an extra three and a half hours a week, which might not seem a lot, but is equivalent to over a week every year. That’s a full seven days, with no time off for sleeping, eating, or entertainment. It equates to more like two weeks.
What could you achieve if you could suddenly take two full weeks off work? Yet half an hour a day is all it takes.
Next is delegate. You don’t need to do everything yourself. If there are tasks which can be carried out by other people then let them carry them out. Why try to do it all yourself? Certainly you may think, as many people do, that doing it yourself will make sure that it is done correctly. Too many people worry about perfectionism.
If a task can be done by someone else they might just surprise you by doing it correctly. Meanwhile you free up some extra time which you can devote to career development and training. This can lead you to promotion which will mean more money and more opportunities to delegate. The subtle art of delegation is one which has to be learned by many people, but it is an .
Next, carry out a SWOT analysis. Look at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. What are you good at, what are you not so good at, what opportunities do you see for yourself, and what do you see that could cause problems for you? It is well worthwhile doing this and you will be surprised at the results.
Another very obvious thing to do is to ask your manager or director if you can have some time off to attend a college course or training to improve your skills and abilities at work. Alternatively, if you work for a large corporation you might well ask whether there are any courses in house that you could attend in order to achieve the same ends. You may very well find that in either case your manager would agree since improving your skills by additional training is only going to benefit his company in the long run.
One other thing that you could do is to enroll at an evening class. Of course, this means that you will miss out on some leisure time but by the same token if your manager can see that you are keen to learn and even so keen that you are willing to put extra hours into it, then the benefits from your point of view will most likely be faster promotion than colleagues who are not prepared to do so.
Either way you should come out a winner, since even if you do not get faster promotion you will have enhanced your skills and be able to command
