Body Language | | Effective L&D

https://effectivelearning.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/elms/audios/top_tens__time-management.mp3 | 2022-03-14 | https://effective.vision/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1_time-management.png | 1670307692:1 | 11.91M | 10661372 | default | audio | https://effectivelearning.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/elms/audios/top_tens__time-management.mp3 | pod_videos | download | youtube | aspect_16-9 | podcast | stop blamingtime | ‘Time Management’ is actually a misperception: we can’t manage time – it reliably looks after itself – 24/7/365. It’s an equal opportunities provider – everyone on the planet gets the same allowance. The difference is – what each of us does with that allowance. We ‘manage time’ only in the sense that we have to decide what to do with it. So really it’s about managing our priorities, rather than managing time | consider opportunity costs | Consider that you have 3 tasks you could do in the next hour (one of which might be reading this, or listening to the podcast!). Let’s call them tasks A, B and C. Suppose you decide to do A: then the opportunity cost of doing A is not taking the opportunity to do B or C. Doing tasks B and C presumably contribute some value – to you and/or your family or organisation – so you are foregoing this value by doing A. So the opportunity cost of doing A is what you miss out on by not doing B or C. So really, you’d better do A (if it’s your choice) only if it provides more value than would be the case if you did B or C….You can only spend time once, so be careful where you invest it.. | see interruptions as service enquiries | Do you get interrupted most days? Are ‘interruptions’ pretty much a given? And do you get frustrated by them? If so, here are two key tips: firstly, put the heading ‘interruptions’ on your to do list – otherwise you are spending time on an activity that never appears on your list – so you can’t account for it. Secondly, many of these ‘interruptions’ may be part of your job role – people are coming to you for information or advice – so interruptions are really ‘service enquiries’. Thinking of them in this way may make you feel more comfortable about them… | the brick, splash & bucket | If you feel overloaded, it could be due to one of 3 factors, each of which requires a strategy
do you get given additional ‘bricks’ to put into your already full bucket?
if so, do you have to manage the ‘splash’ that results from accepting the additional brick?
or do you accept the brick and avoid the splash by building a bigger bucket?
| challenge the ‘T’ | I often hear people say: “It didn’t work”. ‘Challenge the T’ means remove the ‘t’ in ‘it’. As a result, the line will now say “I didn’t work (at it)”. This makes sure you take ownership for anything that doesn’t work that’s down to you. In the same way, we tend to blame time: it’s a convenient scapegoat – it can’t answer back. So we can get away with saying: “I meant to do it, but didn’t have the time”. So try instead: “I meant to do it, but it wasn’t enough of a priority” – less blame, more ownership, of time… | urgent & important | They are not the same thing. Urgent means there is an imminent time deadline; important means there is a significant cost if you don’t do it. If you tend to prioritise by urgent, then what if so-called ‘important’ never becomes urgent..? | the three laws of urgency | Following on from the previous point: if you prioritise by urgent –

everything you do will be urgent
some important will happen too late
some important will never happen at all (because it never becomes ‘urgent’)
| delete urgent & asap | We know that ‘urgent’ means there is an imminent time deadline. So if that’s true, surely we can give the person that specific information – eg “can I please have this before 2pm this afternoon?” rather than ‘please let me have it, it’s urgent…”

Not only is giving sensible information more courteous and less oppressive, it also is more likely to ensure compliance. If someone returns to their desk with 6 post its, all asking for something ‘urgently’, it’s a lottery as to which gets attended to first. If they all had the deadlines as information, the receiver is much more likely to do their best to meet them in order, as best they can… | separate deadlines from durations | A deadline tells you when something has to be completed by – but it doesn’t say anything about how long the task should take. So two people could hit the same deadline, but the work quality would be different because of the time spent on completing the task. And, generally speaking, quality improves with the time invested. So letting people know how long the task should take – the duration – might produce a better result than simply giving a deadline… | use sensible email headers | The email header should reflect the content of the email – for two reasons. Firstly, a busy person with lots of incoming emails might simply be able to scan the headers, to decide which to open now and which to hold till later. And secondly, if the reader wants to find the email that (for example) had details of the Shawcross Application Grant, they can find it more easily if the header says ‘Shawcross Application Grant’…! | numbered | https://effective.vision/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/top-tens_time-management.png | podcast | /finder/?_sfm_resource_type=podcast | top tens | https://podfactory.effective.vision/collection_series/podcast-top-tens/ | effective | /resources/top-tens/time-management/ | _self | published | published | default | resources | published | 1665766937 | time-management | _validate_email | Tips to help you deal with key issues such as interruptions, emails, overload, deadlines, and opportunity costs | aspect_16-9 | publish | top-tens/R4709-TOP-TENS-time-management.png | top-tens/R4709-TOP-TENS-time-management.webp | publish

https://effectivelearning.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/elms/audios/top_tens__influencing-skills.mp3 | 2022-03-14 | https://effective.vision/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2_influencing-skills.png | 1670676744:1 | default | audio | 23.7M | 23175659 | https://effective.vision/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/top-tens-podcast_2_influencing-skills.mp3 | download | Manage the impression you make | we all have 3 key outlets through which others form an impression of us. How we look, sound and act. If we look friendly, sound friendly and act in a friendly way – then others will think of us as…friendly. Over time, and especially if we are consistent, our LSA becomes our DNA. So choose your LSA wisely…and if you should want to be thought of as friendly, but don’t LSA it – you are delusional. | Choose your label carefully | how you introduce yourself means giving yourself a label – so make sure it works for you, and in particular, in any particular setting. People form impressions around labels, before they get a chance to know the real you. Imagine I introduced myself to you as one of the following:

Manchester United fan
Buddhist
Divorced 3 times
Marathon runner
Writer
Northerner

Would you feel positively or negatively disposed towards me, depending on the label? | Put yourself out to put the other person in | if you want to influence someone positively, then they and their needs should be a major consideration – even if meeting them puts you out a little. They’d prefer to eat at a vegetarian restaurant, you wouldn’t. Doesn’t matter – put yourself out to put them in. People tend to be influenced by people who they are closest to – so you won’t have much success if you distance yourself from them, by prioritising your own preferences over theirs. | Think about currencies | if you were going to France for a holiday, what currency would you take? I’m assuming you’d say Euros. But if you’re from the UK, why not take £ – pounds stirling? The answer’s pretty obvious: you wouldn’t get far, and you’d be dismissed as rude and self-centred, arrogant even. Yet this applies in building relationships too; everyone has a set of currencies – ways they prefer to operate; how they ‘spend’ themselves; their ways. And the sooner you can identify them, then match them, the sooner they will be at ease with, and accepting, of you…. | Use cues and clues | listen carefully. Observe carefully. The other person is always transmitting cues and clues – things you can make a mental note of, and refer to later. They may tell you the names of their two daughters; or their favourite food; or the car they drive. Make a mental note, and bring it back into the conversation at some time. It is usually appreciated – often at the unconscious level: it is telling them that you have genuinely paid attention, and listened, and have a good memory…. | people tend to value, and be influenced by, someone’s credibility. Their reputation or track record. And especially if it comes from a valued third party… | you don’t have to be attractive in the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie way. What I mean by this is that people should generally feel comfortable and safe with you; they ‘like’ you. They would be happy to sit at a meal table with you; or get into a good conversation with you.Â You’d put them at ease… | Develop affinity | ‘affinity’ here means common ground – that you share something in common. There are any number of contenders, you just have to seek them out:

background
interests
values
likes and dislikes
experiences

The more common ground you have, the more you are likely to associate with each other, talk to each other, and of course, be influenced by each other. | Understand reciprocity | reciprocity is all about equalising. Most people do not like being ‘one down’, or ‘in debt’ (this is sometimes called ‘indebtedness’). If you’re at the pub, and everyone else has bought a round of drinks, you’ll feel it necessary to buy one – even if you don’t want a drink. Some people can take advantage of this, by giving you a gift, or doing you a favour, knowing you will be under psychological pressure to reciprocate – equalise. So you may give something or concede something entirely because of the need for reciprocity, when under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t have given or conceded at all… | Be interested in their interest in their interest | it’s pointless to pretend to be interested in their interest if you are not – they will see through that straight away. However, it is perfectly valid, and helpful, to be interested in THEIR interest in their interest:

how long have you had that hobby?
what made you start?
how many have you now got?
what’s your most valuable….?