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Making Time |
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Here’s one we made earlier - we showed Altius, the Independent Business Intelligence consultants, the art of effective time management.Recently one of our training experts Andy Davies visited Altius Consulting to help make the most of the time available to the business both professionally and personally. Altius is one of the UK’s leading and fastest growing independent Business Intelligence consulting companies. With over 14 years of experience, expansion has been rapid. The business started out with a handful of consultants and now has a team of 40. All consultants have high pressure roles with large demands on their time and the nature of their roles means they don’t spend much of this limited time together.
What did we do?Our time management workshop highlights that time really is the most valuable commodity we have. The more self aware you are about how you approach tasks and activities, the better use you can make of your time both professionally and personally. The workshop is designed to give each participant an individual focus so they can better plan for the future. The workshop provides tips and guidance but primarily aims to shake up participants’ thinking by challenging them to ask themselves – am I wasting my time? Making learning real can involve a bit of provocation.
How did we do it? Are you wasting your time?We kick-started the session by inviting participants to think about areas of their lives where they would like more control over how they spend their time, and to think about the level of satisfaction they have with the time committed to each area. We then asked participants to think about all the tasks currently on their to-do list.
Your focus of attentionThis part of the workshop aims to really focus participants’ attention on the issues that are important professionally by looking at strategy and goals at departmental and at team level, any objectives that were set at their last appraisal, the main responsibilities of their role and the projects and assignments they are currently working on.
The High Performance TriangleThe high performance triangle examines the link between high performance and tasks which are enjoyable and those which are challenging and involve an element of learning.
Getting the balance rightNext we looked at which of their responsibilities and projects have the biggest impact, which have the greatest potential to advance career/main goals in life and, if time was sliced in half, what would they really focus on? What are the real priorities and how do these relate to the tasks on their to-do list?
My Experience – poor time management, excellent time managementThis part of the workshop challenges participants to think about examples of when their time management was both poor and excellent and what impact this had on them and the people they work with.
Time robbers and attitudes to planningEveryone is distracted by something and we often distract ourselves. We asked - What is it that distracts you? And from the other perspective, what energises you? What is your ideal working environment for achieving results? Next, we examined attitudes to planning – are you more organised or more spontaneous? What’s important about how you organise your life and what impact does the way you organise your life have on those you work with?
Saying “No”Saying “no” positively is an art and can be very challenging for some, but learning to say “no” and giving yourself the permission to do so can really save you time and help you to deal with your priority tasks so you are not distracted by other people’s agendas.
What I choose to spend my time on and making well formed choicesNext we revisited the priorities list compiled at the beginning of the session and noted what had changed as a result of applying the tools and techniques delivered in the workshop. We then looked at who else these changes might affect and if these changes would be acceptable to them. What resources are needed to maintain the changes? Who will help? And how will investment in this new time management pay off?
Proven tactics and strategies of excellent time managersAt this stage we shared our 10 point check list of the proven tactics and strategies of excellent time managers. We already revealed these to you back in our April communication.
BuddiesFinally and as with all our workshops we encouraged attendees to partner with a “buddy” who they arrange to meet 4 weeks after the workshop. Setting up this simple support structure with a pre arranged meeting time to ask questions and swap experiences promotes action and helps to embed the learning. Check out our typical training programme format. If you would like to talk about time management training contact linzi@you-unltd.co.uk or call: him on +44(0)20 7407 0044.
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Team focus is extremely important. Everyone at Altius has a training and development plan that is reviewed and set every six months. Each year MD, John Gateley, arranges for the consultants to spend a couple of days together to network and team build. This year we supported Altius’ training and development programme by delivering our Time Management Training as well as our Stress Management Training during their annual event.
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Patrick Johnson, Director of Bayer Consumer Care |
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The continued success of this department is a direct result of the change in behaviours which we worked to implement