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Brisbane, Australia–based speaker and author Sally Foley-Lewis has worked with more than 20,000 middle managers across industries to help them become more effective leaders. The professional development expert, who will present a keynote at PCMA APAC’s The Business of Events conference on April 15 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, shared a simple approach to becoming more efficient in the workplace:
Pressing Pause — “One big hurdle to productivity and self-leadership combined is a lack of prioritizing,” Foley-Lewis told Convene via email. “In a very busy work environment, tasks, demands, decisions, and requests can come at you from all directions, constantly.”
Sally Foley-Lewis
Stopping periodically throughout the day to reevaluate priorities may seem like a luxury when deadlines are looming, but Foley-Lewis said taking these pauses is a crucial habit for employees looking to work smarter, not harder.
“Just two to three minutes scanning your daily to-do list and reflecting on your most important work helps you to stay on track and do the most valuable work at the most valuable time,” she said.
Finding Your Rhythm — “Are you a morning person or a night owl? At what time of the day are you at your most switched on and able to focus? Paying attention to this allows you to prioritize your work so that you can do your most important work when you are at your best.” This also means that individuals can do their more menial — but still required — tasks when they have less energy.
“If you’re a morning person, it’s in the morning when you can really focus and deliver your best,” she said. “This is not the time to catch up on your filing!”
Casey Gale is managing editor of Convene.
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