The Best Time Management Tip

Read on Website

Welcome to the Tuesday Trailblazer, my weekly newsletter delivering actionable advice from my personal experiences in 15+ years of people and business leadership.

If you’re looking for my cheat sheet PDF’s, access is at the bottom of this email!

Blaze the leadership trail today by learning;

• How to allocate your time and energy efficiently using the bucket theory of time management.

• How to determine which priorities deserve your full attention.

• To say no to less important tasks to protect your valuable resources.

• How focusing on fewer, more significant priorities can boost your overall effectiveness.

Before I dive in - I’ve been keeping a little secret…
One I’m quite excited about…

If you are following me on Linkedin - you would be across an exciting announcement I shared last week.
(If you’re not, I share leadership insights daily @ 7:15am - get on it).

I’ve recently accepted a NSW regional manager role with Asics Oceania.

Linking back up with a mentor of mine, Phill Dickson.

Phill isn’t just any mentor— he’s had a significant impact on my life and career, and was monumental in my journey to overcoming my addiction to busy.

His guidance and influence has shaped Pathrive and my leadership journey.

He’s also given me the only nickname I’ve liked… Pencil

(If you can figure out why, reply to this email and let me know 😉 - I’ll give you a call out in next weeks newsletter)

Getting the band back together with my fellow sports addict and retail nerd was an easy choice.

For both me and my family.

My inner retail nerd is about to be unleashed once again and I can’t wait!

Whilst this role is an exciting opportunity, I’ve still got a business and a family to continue leading.

So, today’s “time management” theme is very relevant.
This is a theory I use, and will continue to use to keep me focused on what matters most.

Because I WILL continue to lead with impact, not busy - and you can too!

Let’s dive in!

80% of people feel they don’t have their workload under control on a daily basis. For leaders with greater responsibilities, lack of control over their time can be even more pronounced without effective time management strategies.

That statistic is insane.
Here’s some more research;

So today, I want to share what I’ve found to be the simplest theory to supercharge your focus and stay in control of your time.

This theory is such a great way to focus your time, and I came across it from Bethenny Frankel, the reality TV star and Skinnygirl founder.

She explains it like this:

Your time and energy is water.

Your priorities are buckets.

Everyone has a fixed amount of water, and infinite buckets to fill with that water.

So you must make a choice:

🪣🪣🪣 Either pick a small number of buckets, and fill them all the way to the top — therefore maximizing the ROI of your time and energy.

🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣 Or, split the water up among many buckets — filling each only part-way, and making them all less impactful.

"It's very hard to learn which are the right buckets, because we don't look at the big picture," Bethenny says. "We think about 'That sounds good. Oh, and that's fun.' Then all of a sudden, your time is being ripped away.”

When you think of it this way, saying no to things becomes much easier — because you’re protecting the buckets that matter.

Many leaders fall into the trap of trying to do everything, spreading their time and energy too thin across too many priorities. This often leads to burnout, decreased productivity, and a sense of being overwhelmed.

Without a clear focus, leaders may find themselves constantly reacting to urgent demands rather than proactively working towards their most important goals.

This scattered approach can dilute their impact and hinder their ability to achieve meaningful results.

Ready to fire up the “bucket theory”??

By focusing on a few key priorities, you can maximise the return on investment (ROI) of your efforts, leading to greater impact and satisfaction.

To effectively apply the bucket theory to your leadership and life,
simply follow these 4 steps:

• Identify Your Buckets: Determine the top 3-5 priorities that are most important to you and your goals.

• Allocate Your Water: Devote the majority of your time and energy to these key priorities, ensuring they receive the attention they need.

• Say No To Less Important Tasks: Protect your key buckets by declining tasks and commitments that do not align with your main priorities.

• Regularly Review Your Buckets: Periodically reassess your priorities to ensure they remain aligned with your goals and values.

Create impact in just 4 days by completing this weeks “impact challenge”.

Here’s this weeks challenge, Trailblazers.

• Day 1: Identify Your Key Buckets - List your top 3-5 priorities. These could be personal goals, professional objectives, or key projects.

• Day 2: Analyse Your Current Time Allocation - Track how you spend your time and see if it aligns with your identified buckets.

• Day 3: Make Strategic Cuts - Identify tasks and commitments that do not serve your main priorities and start saying no to them.

• Day 4: Allocate Your Time - Create a schedule that dedicates specific blocks of time to your key buckets. Stick to it and observe the changes.

Adopting the bucket theory of time management can transform the way you approach your day, allowing you to focus on what truly matters and achieve greater impact.

By concentrating your time and energy on a few key priorities, you protect your most valuable resources and enhance your productivity.

Remember, saying no to less important tasks is not about doing less;
it's about doing more of what counts.

Lead on Trailblazers!

Until next Tuesday,

I have built and led teams across 3 successful businesses and have over 15 years of people and business leadership experience.

Over the past 4 years, I have grown my business working with “busy” leaders across multiple industries (retail, hospitality, construction, mining, education) helping them igniting their impact and leadership both at work and at home.

Without abandoning their ambition.

Let me share my insights and help you:

• Reclaim your time

• Prioritise your wellbeing

• Achieve work/life harmony

• Improve customer centricity

• Connect & elevate team culture

• Develop beyond busy leadership skills

• Build your business bench and succession planning

Book A 45 minute “Beyond Busy Mentor” Meeting Here

Download today’s PDF here

If you we’re forwarded this email, subscribe and get my
FREE 5 day “unglorify busy” email course here