For many businesses, June is often a time that focuses largely on the tasks necessary for the EOFY, sometimes to the detriment of the bigger picture. But it doesn’t need to be that way.
So where do we begin?
We can begin by looking at increasing our productivity. If we can do that, then we can look after the EOFY obligations AND continue to build our business into the New Year.
Increasing productivity usually comes down to effective management of time, controlling your workplace culture and improving your leadership within the workplace.
Focusing on your leadership should be the most important aspect. If you sort that out, the other aspects of your business will often fall into place. Most issues in a business come down to leadership or lack thereof.
Productivity will be greatly increased if you address delegation, organisation and time management. Let’s take a quick look at each individually:
Delegation
The first thing we need to do is to make a current to-do list. This will have the biggest impact on time management and productivity. If you don’t know what needs to be done then how can you address it effectively?
Work through the task list, prioritise items and then delegate those tasks that others can do just as well. This will not only increase your productivity, but it will work to improve the culture within your workplace. Staff tend to appreciate the opportunity for the professional growth involved in learning new tasks and you will have time freed up for other things.
Organisation
There is no question that every business needs systems and processes. Does your business have them in place? If something is worth doing twice, it is worth having a procedure. Systems make it so much easier for a business owner to be organised and on top of things, they are a key ingredient to productivity. If you are organised you can delegate very easily, which free you up to do the important things that only you can do.
Time Management
Keeping track of what we do with our time is the first step in managing our time efficiently. Try putting together a table with 15-minute increments to see where your time goes. You’ll be amazed at the results. We lose so much time checking emails, looking at social media, talking to staff members etc. Use time blocks to deal with items on your list. Check emails and social media at set times and close them down the rest of the time.
Work for set periods of time; spend an hour to 90 minutes on a task and then have a ten minute break. Allocating those ten minutes between tasks will not only give you a little breathing space it will also give you time to touch base with your team, have a chat or a laugh. A small injection of humour or a personal chat will often go a long way in setting up a strong culture at work; as well as setting a great tone for the new financial year.
For more tips on time management, download Alison’s free time management eBook here.
While there is no question that EOFY is a busy period with many deadlines, it is also a great opportunity to think about the bigger picture and how you can start the new financial year off on the right foot.
Happy New Financial Year!
