Bonjour. Cyril from Work Smarter Live Better.
In this video I would like to make a very simple suggestion which can save you time and improve the quality of your work.
How often have I heard a leader complaining about not having enough ‘time with myself’, ‘time to think’, ‘time to work on my key priorities’.
Many people imagine leaders in large organisations as sitting all day in their large office having lots of time to think. From my experience this is far from the truth. I have worked with many leaders who are running all day: from one meeting to another one, trying to keep up with emails and requests, managing many unexpected requests, dealing with urgency and interruptions.
Many of them are craving time to think.
One of the things we put in place when I work with a leader is developing tactics and strategies to schedule thinking time on their key priorities. This time is precious and essential. It needs to be planned and protected in order for people to engage in deep work and high performance.
When it happens, it’s magic.
One suggestion I would like to share if you are able to protect your thinking time, is to dedicate time to debrief at the end of this ‘meeting with yourself .’
What do I mean by this?
Although not always carried out, there is real value in dedicating five to ten minutes at the end of a meeting with a few people to debrief, to summarize and to decide what needs to be done, by who and by when.
But Cyril do I need to do this with myself?
Absolutely. I suggest you spend five to ten minutes at the end of every meeting with yourself to debrief. What do I mean by debrief? Two things.
First do a draft. You have worked on something. It might not be finished but you should always capture as clearly as possible where you are at and write a first draft.
Second agree what’s next. Write down what needs to be done next by who and by when.
Why? Because if you are working on something important and complex and you haven’t finished it, it might take a few days or a week before you continue working on it again By that time, you have done so many other things that you are at risk of having forgotten where you are, what you have done and what is needs to be done.
By investing these five to ten minutes at the end of the meeting with yourself the next time you are back working on it, you know exactly where you left your thinking and what needs to be done.
This is my work smarter live better tip for this week. Take time at the end of every meeting with yourself to debrief.
Have a great and wonderful day.
A bientôt
Cyril
