As December approaches, it is a great time to reflect on what has been accomplished professionally and personally over the previous 12 months. It can be a fascinating process as priorities change over time, with perceived crucial tasks not coming to fruition or simply falling by the wayside. When reviewing those specific activities, we may cite time, or specifically the lack of it, as the reason for them not making it over the line.

Our time is stretched even further during the holidays as a balance is struck between shopping, catching up with friends and family, and the constant stream of parties. And in 2022, we have a winter World Cup for good measure.

Now I know that not everyone reading this is a football fan (or soccer for my American readers), but over the last week, a new theme has emerged, one where increased amounts of stoppage time at the end of matches. FIFA, the governing body, is having a concerted effort to closely monitor the amount of time the ball is not in play. Covering such situations as goal celebrations, substitutions, injuries, or the dreaded VAR decisions, the minutes are starting to add up.

England faced Iran in their first match, which lasted close to 118 minutes, following an injury to the Iranian goalkeeper, eight goals, and eleven substitutions. Perhaps an extreme case, but that’s 28 minutes of unproductive time across 90 minutes. And that got me thinking.

What if we viewed our own time in the same way?

Where are you most unproductive? And Why?

Unfortunately, unlike the World Cup, adding time to the end of our day isn’t an option. But we can use a straightforward technique to build the perception of additional seconds, minutes, and hours. Which we can use to improve productivity, reduce procrastination, and creates a better balance in our lives. 

I summarise it as the 3D’s; Decide, Delegate, and Dump.

To help you prioritise everything on your daily, weekly, or monthly task list, first score everything out of five across three key areas: 

How IMPORTANT is the task in achieving my goals? (5 = Significant Importance, 1= Significant Unimportance)

How EXCITED are you about completing this task? (5 = Hugely Excited, 1= Hugely Apathetic)

How much VALUE is completing this task going to bring? (5 = High Value, 1 = Low Value)

For this final question, value is as much about the emotional reward as financial results. There is a huge benefit in doing stuff that makes you feel good.

Once completed, you can rank the tasks, highest to lowest, based on their aggregate score. Those at the top are crucial tasks that are enjoyable and add significant value. Completing these activities will be a breeze. All you need to do is DECIDE how far down the list you want to go before you DELEGATE.

Delegation can take many forms, and remember, the list may contain personal and professional tasks. You may allocate jobs to employees and family members or be a solo entrepreneur who requires outside resources for activities outside your skills or experience. Whichever it is, be conscious that not every task needs to be completed. DECIDE what to DUMP.

Those tasks at the bottom of the list are unimportant, unenjoyable, and add no value. Why waste time and energy on them when you can be more productive doing those at the top of the list?

This week try changing your perception of time and how you use it.

And in the interests of time, that’s it for this edition of Unleash The Power.

Have a brilliant week!

David Rogers, Chief Business Narrator, Fuelled Fit and Fired Up Ltd