Hi there. I'm Graham Allcott. Every Sunday, I send out an upbeat idea for the week ahead, directly to your inbox.
"But I haven't had time"
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Hi Reader, You haven't called your mum. Or booked the tickets that might sell out. Or got your emails sorted. Or started on that big project. Or spoken to so and so. Or sent back the silly admin form. Why not? "I haven't had time"... I want to call bullshit. You have had time. The real problem is something else. So why don't you tell it like it really is? "I've made different choices" - you've prioritised other things. Maybe better things, maybe not. That doesn't matter. But it is a choice. When you own your choices, you make better ones. "I don't care enough" - sometimes we use "I've not had time" because "I don't care enough" isn't socially acceptable. The reality is you probably shouldn't have committed to it in the first place, or been more realistic about its' place in your priorities. "I've been too busy in reactive mode" - you've had time, but you spent it in emails and Slack messages. The stuff that matters needs space, and the only person who's going to make that space is you. "I'm out of the habit" - sometimes we've just forgotten what we value. Make time and call an old friend if you want to know what I mean. "There's more work on my to-do list than I can manage" - sometimes the issue is undoubtedly structural. But before you raise the alarm, get it all down on paper, do the thinking, and figure out in quantifiable chunks how many days behind you are, and what tactics or tools might halve that number. I guarantee you there will be ways to improve your current position. Quality thinking is always a better input than more stressed-out busy effort. We all have time. Lots of it. The real issue is spending enough of it on the quality thinking that leads to better choices. Have a great week, Graham PS - If you're new here, this is Rev Up for the Week, where every Sunday I send one productive or positive thought for the week ahead. If you enjoy these emails, all I ask is that you 'share the secret' and forward to other people who might need to read them. |
Rev Up for the Week
Productivity and Kindness at work
Hi there. I'm Graham Allcott. Every Sunday, I send out an upbeat idea for the week ahead, directly to your inbox.
Hi Reader, I was at a networking event this week (my first in many years!), when someone asked me what I did. I said I was the author of How to be a Productivity Ninja. "Wow", she said, "I've read your book!". We had a brief chat about what I was working on now, including the new book coming soon (October - and you'll hear about it here first!), and I mentioned how proud I am of what I'm about to share with the new book, and that when I occasionally read back snippets from 'Productivity...
Hi Reader, It’s often said that time is our most precious resource. I don’t think that’s true. I think attention is our most precious resource. Attention is a more limited resource than your time. Your productivity and indeed your mental wellbeing depends heavily on how you choose to ‘spend’ your attention. In an average day, you will have 3 different levels of attention: 1. Proactive attention: This is where you are fully focused, alert, in the zone, and ready to make your most important...
Hi Reader, Welcome to this week’s Rev Up for the Week, where each Sunday I deliver you an idea to help supercharge your work week. I moved house recently. It was my first house move in nearly a decade. I’d forgotten how much there is do, and how it disrupts little habits that you didn’t even know you had. For example, in the new house, I no longer eat bagels, I sit down and just relax more, I've stopped playing chess or looking at my iPad, I’ve taken some pleasure and even joy in tidying up...