4africa’s Post

Many people don't like their Mondays, often because unexpected events disrupt their smooth routines. 😖 Unplanned meetings, an angry client, or a CEO with brand-new ideas from a dinner with a significant B2B customer can quickly turn your week into a chaotic snowball. 🌪 By Thursday or Friday, you might be left wondering what you were originally supposed to do. 🤷♂️ To avoid getting caught up in unplanned activities and cleaning up after others, it's crucial to create a plan (for you and your team): 📅 - Review Last Week's Results: Check the task/project dashboard from the previous week. 📊 Celebrate accomplishments and integrate unfinished tasks into this week's plan. 🎉 - Refer to Your Roadmap: Look at the company and technology roadmaps. 🗺 Identify what's planned for this week or upcoming weeks and integrate these elements into your weekly plan. - Meet with Your Team: While there's a risk of getting caught in a cycle of meetings, your team needs direction, support, and planning. 🤝 - IMPORTANT: Plan for Flexibility: Fill your schedule to only 70-80% capacity. This leaves room for unexpected tasks and ensures you can complete your planned activities. 🕒 With the right planning, your week can be successful, no matter the circumstances! 💪🌟

How Most People Plan Their Week: - They don’t. - They blindly commute. - They ignore daily checklists. How Winners Plan Their Week: - They use daily checklists. - They dedicate Sunday to planning the week. - They follow their tasks without hesitation. If you’re growing an online business, mastering the fundamentals is essential before tackling more complex challenges. If you can’t even sit down and map out your upcoming week in Notion, then good luck. Structure is what keeps you aligned. Focus on tasks that move the needle every day, and success will quietly but surely follow.

Week Notes 26/04 As another week wraps up, I find myself hoping for warmer days and some much-needed sunshine. The team pushes through the complexities of our current projects. Positive steering group meeting at the start of the week and good progress on initiatives around data, training and planning. Highlights of the Week: This week's spotlight has been on our Business Analyst, who has tirelessly led workshops and the thinking with key business stakeholders to unravel the intricate layers of our system's setup and user journeys. Although the process feels like a tough climb right now, there's a palpable sense of purpose in sticking with the method, trusting that each step brings us closer to clarity and efficiency. Challenges and Learnings: A significant theme this week has been encouraging proactive thinking. We've focused on not just reacting to issues as they arise but anticipating them ahead of time. Personal Responsibility is key, I'm encouraging each team member to take ownership of their roles and the outcomes of their actions. As a result of a more product led approach we are learning to identify our priorities clearly and act on them decisively. Looking Forward: Next week, we plan to further deconstruct our project into manageable parts, focusing on detailed plans, risk assessments, and training needs. Personal Touch: On a lighter note, my weekly step count hit 11,268. I've played pickleball for the second week running, and my tennis game at Wednesday's social was surprisingly good - for me :). Is there a correlation between these activities? Time will tell! Meanwhile, I'm planning to channel Usain Bolt's victory pose before every big meeting, inspired by Amy Cuddy's insights on power dynamics. Useful Links: - Watched Amy Cuddy on "Diary of a CEO" during my commute. Her 20-minute TED Talk inspired me to adopt a victory pose for confidence in meetings. Check it out here: [Amy Cuddy's TED Talk](https://lnkd.in/enkjFZ_D). Here's to a proactive, productive week ahead!

Try this weekly routine to set yourself off for a focused week. Preparation is the key to executing your most important tasks with clarity and purpose. Over the past couple of years, I've tried different ways to prepare for my week. This simple Sunday night process has made the biggest impact on my productivity: Review Yearly Goals I start by writing down my yearly goals. These don’t change much—they’re set in January and guide me throughout the year. Set Quarterly Goals Next, I write down my quarterly goals. These shift every three months but align with what I want to achieve for the year. Outline Monthly Goals Then, I note my goals for the month. These align with my quarterly focus and ensure I’m moving forward step by step. Plan Weekly Goals Finally, I outline my key activities for the week ahead. These weekly goals align with my monthly, quarterly, and yearly objectives, but they help me zoom in on what needs my attention for the next five days. This simple routine connects me back to my main mission for the year while allowing for adjustments each quarter and month. It keeps me laser-focused during the week. The best part? It takes less than 30 minutes and sets me up to tackle the week with confidence and purpose. Want my template? DM me and I’ll send it your way! How do you stay focused every week? #ChangeMindset #FindingFocus

Ready to get 10% of your time back? Time is the ONE RESOURCE that we want more of, but will quite happily waste it without thinking about it.  This 30 day guided challenge will help you: - Not think about work 24/7 - Take charge of your schedule  - Figure out what success really looks like for you - Learn how to set boundaries - Identify where you're wasting time and then help you put a plan in place to make that change How it works: - Once you're signed up, you'll get an initial email to welcome you to the challenge, and then we get started the very next day! - You'll get an email in your inbox every day with 2/3 questions to answer. It will take maximum 10 minutes to do, maybe 15 at a push. These questions are literally magic and will help you take stock of what's happening, what needs to change and then how you can change it. - At the end of the challenge, you'll be sent a shiny action plan to help you take charge of your time, once and for all! Join me today! Use the link in the comments below to secure your space.

168.... That's the number of hour each of us has each week. So how do we optimize or create the best use of our time? This is especially true for those of us who are small business owners or sales leaders. Because you're likely pulled into a variety of "meetings" throughout the day. I don't think of these 168 hours as needing time management but more as needing time allocation. Based on my personal Vision and Values, here's how I think about allocating my time: 1. Do the Big Rock stuff first - these are the main items I want to complete this year or over the next few years. I focus on completing whatever tasks I need to move closer to completion of these tasks. 2. Family first - my family is my top priority above all else, so these are the ways I want to invest in my family. I have both scheduled and unscheduled events in my calendar for my family. 3. Clients first - these are scheduled and unscheduled tasks that I must complete in order to serve my clients proactively. 4. Myself first - these are events and tasks that are both scheduled and unscheduled that help me be better every day. 5. Creative first - these are tasks and events that are almost always scheduled to help me build my creativity. If I don't schedule these tasks then they usually don't get done. 6. Team first - these are tasks that I perform in order to help my team be better. Often I'm the blocker in getting work done, so I ensure that any such tasks that will allow for other team members to complete their work without me. 7. Everything else. Some times it's hard for me to motivate myself to do 1 through 6 because I've got other stuff to do (why is there always laundry to do or dishes in the sink). I find that when I just decide to make a first action of any size then I can start working on anything. Because each decision about how to "spend" time is a trade-off in terms of these priorities. I use the power of time blocking to help me allocate time to specific priorities but I'm not ODC about it. I frequently ignore a calendar notifications when I'm doing something else that is of higher value or priority to me at that moment in time. When you plan your week, month, quarter and year, you then set the stage for the upcoming period and that sets your mind in motion towards the next thing. If you've never through about time allocation I suggest you do the following: 1. Set aside a small amount of time to think about your upcoming week 2. Look at your calendar and decide when it would be best for you to complete your most important tasks and schedule them into your calendar 3. Be true to yourself and follow these schedules as best you can. If you've got a better way to think about time allocation, feel welcome to leave a comment.

✨ "It's not about finishing everything we started this year; it's about finishing what truly matters." ✨ As we head into November, it's easy to feel like time has slipped by and some goals may be left behind. But remember—every step, every twist, and every detour brings us closer to where we're meant to be. 🛤️ Sometimes, a shift in direction leads to new opportunities we never expected!   ✨ "It's not about finishing everything we started this year; it's about finishing what truly matters." ✨ As we head into November, it's easy to feel like time has slipped by and some goals may be left behind. But remember—every step, every twist, and every detour brings us closer to where we're meant to be. 🛤️ Sometimes, a shift in direction leads to new opportunities we never expected!   So, how can we make the most of these last few weeks before the holiday rush? Here are a few ways to channel that end-of-year energy:   Prioritize Your 'ONE Thing': Focus on the one goal or task that would make the biggest impact if you completed it. (Inspired by The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan—a must-read!)   Set Micro-Goals: Break down that 'one thing' into smaller, achievable steps. Consistent, small wins boost confidence and momentum.   Celebrate Progress, Not Perfection: Reflect on how far you've come this year and acknowledge the small victories along the way. 🎉   🤝 As a Virtual Assistant and Event Organiser, I'm here to help lighten the load—whether it’s streamlining your admin tasks, preparing for year-end projects, or helping to pull off that perfect office celebration. Don’t hesitate to reach out!   What’s one small step you’re planning to take to finish the year strong? Let’s inspire each other to keep going and make these last months count! What’s one small step you’re planning to take to finish the year strong? Let’s inspire each other to keep going and make these last months count!

How can you create more space in your week? 🕙 This is a question many entrepreneurs ask as they try to balance all the responsibilities of running a business. With so many tasks, meetings, and distractions, it can feel like there’s never enough time in the day. Here are two simple strategies to help you get more space in your week: ✅ Plan Ahead Set aside time in your calendar for important tasks. Whether it’s scheduling specific tasks or grouping similar tasks together (like client work or admin), planning your time helps you stay organized and avoid last-minute stress. ✅ Set Boundaries Distractions can really slow you down. It’s important to let others know when you’re available and when you’re not. Turn off notifications, close your inbox, and say no to things that aren’t urgent. Setting boundaries will help you stay focused and get more done. 👉Remember, you have control over your time. By planning ahead and setting clear boundaries, you can free up more time to focus on what matters most. 💡What’s one thing you can do this week to create more space in your schedule? Write your answer in the comments!

Do you like Mondays? People often dislike Mondays due to the unexpected events that can disrupt a smooth routine. Unplanned meetings, an angry client, or a CEO with brand new ideas from a dinner with a significant B2B customer can quickly turn your week into a chaotic snowball. By Thursday or Friday, you might be wondering what you were originally supposed to do??? To avoid getting caught up in unplanned activities and cleaning up after others, it's important to create your plan, for you and for your team(s): - Review the results and task/project dashboard from the last week. Celebrate what was accomplished and integrate unfinished tasks into this week's planning. - Refer to your Roadmap (company Roadmap, Technology Roadmap). What is planned for this week or upcoming weeks? Integrate elements from the Roadmap into your weekly plan based on this information. - Meet with your team. While there's a risk of getting caught in a cycle of meetings, your team still needs direction, support, and planning. - IMPORTANT: Fill your plan to 70-80% capacity. This leaves time for unexpected elements and ensures you complete your tasks accordingly. With the right planning, your week can be successful, no matter the circumstances!

Have you ever considered how much more you could achieve if you paused to realign every week? Stop spinning your wheels! Discover how you can transform chaos into clarity and keep your goals within reach, with the Weekly Review A Weekly Review is an essential part of staying on track with your goals and commitments. It provides an opportunity to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how you can improve. This process helps you see the bigger picture and adjust your plans accordingly. During your review, go through your 'Trusted Productivity System', check off completed tasks, update ongoing projects, and reschedule unfinished items. This habit ensures that nothing slips through the cracks and that you are always prepared for the week ahead. Research shows that professionals who conduct a weekly review are 30% more likely to achieve their goals than those who don’t. Let me tell you about Ava, a Brisbane-based consultant who felt overwhelmed by her growing client list and never-ending tasks. By adopting a structured weekly review, she not only gained insight into her productivity patterns but also managed to realign her strategies effectively. Now, Ava ends each week with a clear plan for the next, ensuring she’s always steps ahead rather than catching up. How do you wrap up your week to set yourself up for success? Share your end-of-week rituals or any tips you have for conducting an effective weekly review! #ProductivityTips, #TimeManagement, #WeeklyReview, #ProfessionalDevelopment Micaela MacLachlan, Bill McLellan, Jessica Cotter (Balding), Justine Martin, Suzie Veitch, Scott Brown GAICD, Sikder Mohammad Faruk, Michael Kerr, Sally Higoe, James Grace, Matthew Fletcher, Bradley Hooley, Andrew Allen, Deepak Surendhra Mallya, Paul Potma, Dan Nicholls, Anuradha (Anu) Udunuwara, René Deceuninck, Brandon Burns, Dr. Kevin M Reid, Alex Southworth