I need three hours of focused time per day to complete — and feel proud of — my week’s work. It’s just how my brain works.
As a coach and facilitator, I’ve become convinced that everyone, regardless of their role, needs uninterrupted work time every day. Engineers need to write code without errors. People managers need to synthesize a day of one-on-one calls. Support and sales roles need to manage their pipeline after a day of context-switching between customers.
When my clients get this dedicated work time, they’re more motivated and focused. But uninterrupted calendar blocks are hard to design into your schedule. We balance meetings, messages, and family members who need our attention. Working for three focused hours per day might sound impossible to do — that means it’s worth trying. Here, I’ll share with you how I practice this skill.
Manage your expectations about what you can accomplish
I’m an introvert. I need time to recharge after working. On meeting-heavy days, I can’t effectively spend evening hours finishing my work. Most of us can’t sustainably do this and maintain our energy.
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When I have a heavy meeting day, I can’t productively attend those meetings if I’m thinking about all the work I need to complete later. I need to focus on the meetings, and only the meetings, because these are topics and people I care about.
On these days full of meetings, I only handle urgent requests (instead ofimportanttasks) that I’m capable of doing between meeting breaks.
Structure your work life to balance energy and goals
Meeting all your goals without burning out is a skill. A few things have helped me and my coaching clients:
Like anything, these skills are about balance. Priorities can shift in a dynamic workday. My team’s needs matter too. That’s why I prioritize their requests to chat if they need me, and I make myself available in the afternoon a few days per week to accommodate their time zones. The goal is to balance my work commitments, care for my team, and for myself.
Build systems for these skills
These steps require behavior shifts. Most importantly:
People make organizations successful. You’re a person, too. Treat yourself that way.
This article was originally published on theZapier blogand is republished here with permission. You can read the original articlehere.
Story byDanielle Meinert
Danielle is part of Zapier’s learning and development team. She loves to help people grow and learn. You can find her in Atlanta taking long(show all)Danielle is part of Zapier’s learning and development team. She loves to help people grow and learn. You can find her in Atlanta taking long walks with her adopted miniature poodle, Rosie.
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