stop the clocks for fatherhood, hugh grant and getting stuff done

"If only I had more time..." How often do we hear that? No one is going to hand you a big wodge of it, So how do we manage our time better?

by Andrew Hadfield

It’s early in the morning. Very early. My three month old daughter does not seem to have fully grasped the clock change ­ where both her mother and I are trying (unsuccessfully) to claw back the hour we lost last night (and many more from the past week).

After several verses of ‘heads, shoulders, knees and toes’, many different ‘that’s not my..[rabbit etc]’ books and of course plenty of tickle time, she finally goes back to sleep for her morning snooze just as I have fully woken up. Wonderful timing.

Stop the Clocks

It  is  one  of  the  strains  of  being  a  freelancer  that  you  are  never  really  off­duty  and  with fatherhood, time is now such a precious commodity. Shortly before Matilda (Tilly for short) was born, I was quite content working the many hours under the sun (and also when the sun had gone down). The weather was bleak, my partner was often in bed at around 8pm and well heck I was quite happily working late on a range of interesting projects.

Now my time is much more limited and the value of work­life balance is much different. If only I could  do  like  Noel  Gallagher  wanted  to  do,  and  be  able  to  Stop  the  Clocks.  I  should  also confess at this stage that time management is not one of my strengths ­ and my partner would probably shout is a great weakness of mine. However, I have sought inspiration from differing sources:

The Apple Watch

The first problem that I frequently encounter at work is distractions.  It could be anything ­ but shiny,  new  things  are  a real  angst  for  me.  However, Apple’s  latest  ‘Watch’ could  help  me  at work right?

If your watch can now tell you how fit you are or answer phone calls ­ surely it could help stand still time? Well according to Apple, it is an incredibly precise timepiece and it keeps time within 50 milliseconds of the definitive global time standard.

Hmm still struggling to see how we could save those milliseconds ­ but the makers also say that it lets  you  customise  your watch face to present time in a more meaningful, personal  context that’s relevant to your life and schedule. Mickey mouse is great for weekend but does it actually save time?

About a boy

Guilty pleasure though it may be, put me in front of a Hugh Grant film for a couple of hours and I’m a happy man. [This link is relevant I promise]. In the film ‘About a boy’, Hughie’s character (Marcus)  hasn’t  a  job  but  doesn’t  need  to  work  either  (his  fictional  father  wrote  a  famous Christmas jingle). However, he has a surprisingly useful way of dividing up his day:

‘I find the key is to think of a day as units of time...each unit consisting of no

more  than  30  minutes.  Full  hours  can  be  a  little  bit  intimidating...and  most activities  take  about  half  an  hour.  Taking  a  bath:  One  unit.  Watching

Countdown: Okay...One unit.’

Admittedly,  Marcus  doesn’t  have  the  most  pressing  of  schedules  but  nonetheless  I’ve  found

great solace in focussing on a single project for 20­30mins before moving on to another subject or repeating again.

Be an email ninja and do a 4­-hour work week

Now  I’m  not  a  big  fan  of  the  overall  premise  that  you  can  do  a  full  week’s  work  in  4  hours.

However, Tim Ferris does have some really great tips on how to be an email ninja. Some of his best tips are saved here and including having active spam and junk filters.

For  those  emails  that  require  attention,  he  simply  processes  them  ‘until  done’  ­  including external to­do lists­ rather than skimming and then returning to them at a later date.

Mise­-en­-place

Top chefs are trained to have everything in its place ‘Mise­en­place’ ­ ie the tools, ingredients­before you begin. This planning helps the chefs focus on what they are doing, ie the cooking, rather than having to leave their station to get a knife or a specific type of herb etc. According to Anthony Bourdain, in Kitchen Confidential this is a ‘state of mind’ not just a timesaving device.

Applying  this  mindset  to  the  office­based  world ­  what’s  the  first  thing  you  do  in  the  morning when you start at work? For most people, this is checking emails and suck us instantly into a reactive mode ­ where we respond to other people’s demands for our time. Ron Friedman, says that this is the ‘equivalent of entering a kitchen and looking for a spill to clean or a pot to scrub.’

It would be much better, Ron says, to begin your day with a brief planning session and has a great exercise to ask yourself: If the day is over and I am leaving the office with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. What have I achieved?

Getting stuff done

Now everyone writes a long list of things to do. Often way longer than a day, some longer than a week. So it’s crucial to prioritise by being specific ­ but how? Years ago, I remember seeing an  American relative we were visiting writing her shopping list in order to match the geographical layout of the Wallmart store.

Productivity guru David Allen suggests using a verb with each item on your list to make your intentions  concrete  and  specific.  Instead  of  writing  ‘Wednesday’s  blog’  put  down  each  action that this will involve e.g. research content or source pictures and then promote. Not only does this  simplify  each  task  but  it  also  means  that  you  can  delegate  parts  of  the  project.  Finally, wherever possible you should start the day with tasks that require the most mental energy (as willpower reduces during the day).

Right, I’m off to bed ­ but let me know what you think.

Andrew Hadfield, Director at Mavin Communications, a specialist communications agency that works for public sector organisations, social enterprises and startup companies.