Are You First To Arrive And Last To Leave?

In the modern business world, people seem to be working longer and longer. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of being the first to arrive and last to leave. How do I know this? Well simply because it was an area that I found a challenge when working in the accountancy profession.

So if you are first to arrive and last to leave, what can you do to address this?

    Get clear on your priorities

  • You have lots of things you could do. The question is what should you be doing? Getting clear on your priorities is essential.
  • Focus on your priorities

  • It is all well and good being clear on your priorities. At the same time, you need to make sure that you are focussing on them. That means continually checking what you are doing to make sure you are focussing on what matters.
  • Discover what can only be done by you

  • In my experience, most tasks can be grouped into 3 brackets:
    1. Things that need doing and can only be done by you.
    2. Things that need doing but not necessarily by you.
    3. Things that might not need doing at all.

    Learn to delegate

  • Delegation is not just about getting stuff off your desk. It also provides a great development opportunity. So learn how to and start delegating.

The reality is that if we allow it, work will expand to fill the time we have available. Remember, few things are so critical in management that they need attention right away.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

About the Author Duncan Brodie

Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.

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