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attention grabbing

Master prioritizing tasks and time management using this simple technique

prioritizing tasks and time management

Not one of us is powerful enough to stop the march of time or slow it down, but we can make the most of it. After all, it’s our most valuable asset along with our attention & energy. Being the master of our time means getting more done, staying focused, and being aware of the distractions around us. Why can’t we do prioritizing tasks and time management effectively?

After all, isn’t the objective to spend as much of our time doing the things we love and enjoy, things that make us whole and our hearts sing?

So effectively managing time is why the term ‘Time Management’ is such a hugely talked about subject. How to hone your time management skills is the holy grail, right? 

Some of the battle, of course, is coming to terms with the fact you’ll never get everything done. One of my most favourite quotes which I try to live by is:

 “We can do anything but not everything!”

So, if we accept this fact, we need to look at prioritizing our tasks and getting the most important stuff done. Completing a task gives us some clear headspace, great satisfaction, and a brief recovery from the mad modern world.

I do happen to think that the term’ time management’ is old fashioned and outdated. 

“In a world where we are constantly connected, buried under apps, emails, social media and are overloaded with information. It’s an old, outdated system, developed years ago when life was quite different.” – Graham Allcott

time management overload

I’m going to share with you an exciting discovery I made recently, an activity that will help you with prioritizing tasks and time management. I know it will help you because it’s personal to you.

 Let’s take a look to see what we’ll be covering in today’s post:

What we'll be covering

  • 1 There’s a new game with new rules; it’s called attention management
    • 1.1 Productivity Ninja
  • 2 Productivity isn’t about time management, it’s about attention management
    • 2.1 Two examples of attention management
  • 3 The three main types of attention
    • 3.1 Proactive Attention
    • 3.2 Active Attention
    • 3.3 Inactive Attention
  • 4 Utilizing the right tools
    • 4.1 The scent of productivity
  • 5 So, where do you start?
    • 5.1 The right time, the right task
    • 5.2 Tips to start prioritizing tasks and time management today

There’s a new game with new rules; it’s called attention management

Productivity Ninja

I read a book recently ‘Productivity Ninja‘ by Graham Allcott.

It was all about attention management (I didn’t even know it was a thing), but boy did it make total sense. It opened my eyes to a simple technique we can all do daily. I think it could be our new secret weapon in time management.

As the name suggests, it’s all about managing our attention better. Keeping our focus and protecting our time from distractions, marrying up our attention levels with different types of day to day tasks. 

Managing our time in this way enables us to have the best quality thinking time to get the most difficult tasks done and suggests using the time when we have less focus or energy to do the easiest tasks. Making the most of every hour, we have at work to get the job done.

This is why, in my opinion, Attention Management is one of the most effective tools for prioritizing tasks and time management effectively. In an age of information overload, this should be our tool of choice. Your attention is more precious than your time. If you run out of attention to give, then it doesn’t matter how much time you have or haven’t got. 

Productivity isn’t about time management, it’s about attention management

Two examples of attention management

The other day I was designing a logo for someone. After the craziness of the day, I’d not got around to starting the project so at 5 pm I began to look at ideas. It was hard work.

My energy for that day had already been zapped, but I stuck with it. Three hours on and the big idea still hadn’t surfaced. I called it a day. However, the next morning, I got up early to get ahead of the game, and within half an hour, I’d got the idea, the creative concept was in the bag. 

It was clear that my attention in the morning was on fire, but at the end of the day, for me, it was just a waste of my time!

Graham Allcott uses an excellent example in his book, which I’m sure you have probably experienced at some point in your working life.

“You have back to back meetings and get to your desk at 4 pm, you might not have run out of time, but you will have run out of attention. Complex and challenging meetings take a lot of your attention and focus, so you’ve got little left at the end of the day. It’s a massive drain on your resources.”

Graham Allcott

The three main types of attention

Graham describes attention as currency; he categorises our attention into three main areas:

three types of attention

Proactive Attention

My understanding is this is for prioritizing important tasks and time management where you need to be in the zone to work on them. Time for tackling your more complex pieces of work. Solving a problem, brainstorming, writing a proposal. He calls this ‘Boss Mode’ because it’s more likely to be the more challenging important tasks in your day to get done, the more critical, the more demanding you’ll need proactive attention.

Active Attention

Active attention is for tasks that tick along easily for you. For example, responding to emails, filling in forms and internet research.

Inactive Attention

The lights are on, but no one is home, your value is limited. Do the simplest of tasks for work, like sending out invoices, filing, organising the post, or dealing with some calls. Graham calls this one’ Worker Mode’.

Splitting your time using this technique naturally prioritises tasks for the day. Still, of course, there will be the odd exception to the rule when deadlines come in.

I realise I’m more proactive at work in the morning, active in the afternoon and late afternoon, inactive. However, between 5 pm and 7 pm, I sometimes wake up again and can get some more active attention tasks in.

I find that if I start the work day with the most difficult task, or the task I least want to do, avoids building resistance throughout the day. It gives me a real boost, builds some momentum, and I feel I’m off to a positive start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjrjzqOBHFI

Utilizing the right tools

The scent of productivity

Another tool I use throughout the day to help me with productivity and focus are essential oils.

Essential oils are great to boost memory, productivity, and focus – plus they give you more energy, help you to stay calm and manage stress.

Boost Memory, Productivity & Focus With Our Luxury Workspace Candles

Our sense of smell is the strongest of our senses and the only one that is directly connected to the brain. In our noses, we have smell receptors that communicate with the same part of the brain where emotions come to life.

So, it’s not surprising that inhaling an aroma can positively affect our minds at work, too, which is why I designed a range of luxury workspace candles with superior fragrance oils to specifically do just that. It was important that these had long burn times, were vegan-friendly with no paraben or phthalate nasties in them. These are made in the UK for Hello Time by artisan candle maker, Coco & Ginger.

So, where do you start?

The right time, the right task

Think about what your work day usually looks like? If you pick the right time of the day to do the right task, then boom! This simple mindset change could make much better use of your attention and therefore your time. 

Try mapping out your day. Identify the best times to give yourself more challenging tasks and the best time for more manageable tasks. Base it on your work life and attention span; you’ll achieve far more and feel real a sense of satisfaction.

Tips to start prioritizing tasks and time management today

If you’re looking for some simple ideas to help you get those important tasks done and improve your time management, head here to see my top 10 time-efficient tips to increase productivity, effortlessly, and start putting them into practice.

My tips cover all aspects of time management at work that will help you with everyday planning, enabling you to focus on the most important tasks at hand and getting them ticked off your to-do list in no time.

Make it a priority today and start using your time wisely.

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BUYING TIME - NEW BLOG POST! - Whah! This one’ BUYING TIME - NEW BLOG POST! - Whah! This one’s been some time in the making. I’ve had the idea for a while of writing a blog using my small business network (you’ll like this @hollytucker )to provide amazing time saving tips but it has been a mission and I must say blogs take me ages to write! That’s why I draw for a living! ✏️  I thought what better way to help each other than to share how we all save a bit of time each day in a bid to get everything done. It doesn’t matter where we are in our business or careers, how successful we are or how many followers we have, none of us has the power to slow down time, but we can make the most of the time we are given. ⏰  How we manage our time has a significant impact on our lives and our success. From our morning routine to running errands to getting dinner on the table, we all need some inspiration. 🤩  So head to our blog, LINK IN MY BIO for your tips and my mine, 52 to fact, of our best time-saving tips to help you save some time every single day. From the simplest of small daily habits to tackling a busy workday, employ these time saving tips and you’ll complete everyday tasks in a fraction of the time!  Thank you to those who shared your ideas & tips I loved reading them all, especially one from @emmathemindsetcoach which involved a toilet & a toothbrush! I’ve tagged as many of you as I can here. And @samanthapearceisaacs who could literally write a book on the subject!  As a thank you I’ve added your name & website link in the blog 🥰
AND THE SURVEY SAID… - Oh my goodness I am gobsm AND THE SURVEY SAID…-Oh my goodness I am gobsmacked at the positivity that’s come back from our recent planner survey from you guys, our customers. 🤩  The responses are in and we are in the process of going through everything with a fine tooth comb but I wanted to share with you some of the top line results.  When asked…  Would you purchase the HELLO TIME Planner again?  An incredible 97% of you said yes you would. How amazing is that!!! 🙌  Surely I’m on to something here? So I think this is a sure sign I must carry on!? 🤔  I am so pleased this is the reaction. It means I can help more of you make the most of your time, manage the overwhelm and organise your day. Whoop Whoop.  I just need to get the message out to more people (I’m desperately on it!) and develop more time-gifting stationery (doing that as we speak!).  Thank you again to everyone that took the time to help me  with my survey and I look forward to sharing more findings next week!  PS. bit later today but check out my stories for my weekly Instagram Monochrome Monday round up!
MAKING TIME PRESSURE WORK FOR YOU! 👍 - If we ge MAKING TIME PRESSURE WORK FOR YOU! 👍-If we get in the habit of feeling chronically short of time the price can be high.  A 2008 survey found that only 6% of respondents who identified ‘as busy’ cut back on time at work, while 57% cut back on hobbies and free time and 30% on family time.  Those irreplaceable things that restore us and make time feel full and rewarding. That time that gives us our energy, our ideas and our happiness. 😊  I’m not sure why I was surprised with these numbers given that I am totally guilty of giving up my own time in favour of working but working does make me happy so it’s not all bad, right?  I was talking in @southwoodsocialhub facebook group last night about this very subject. Finding that work/life balance and how I manage it. The point is I don’t, it’s just life for me, it’s fully integrated because I love what I do, it’s exciting. @hayleysouthwood called it ‘Flow’ which I love. 🖤  How do you find you manage the juggle? Have you found that illusive work/life balance yet?  As I get older, I find I do need to carve out more moments to relax. I make sure I get lots of sleep, I make sure I take regular breaks throughout the day and Sundays really are my day of rest! As long as you make time to restore yourself this will give you energy and focus.  Here’s some tips to help make time pressure work for you from the book ‘ENJOY TIME’ by @catherine_blyth_is_on_time  1. Plan your schedule when you are relaxed and you’ll make better choices  2. Track your time, how much time do you spend with friends, family, hobbies or ‘me time’ versus working. Can you re tip the balance a little bit? Tracking your time can be so enlightening to see where you can make better choices. Experiment with your time. What happens if you finish work an hour earlier for a week or spend an extra 20mins over a family breakfast, does it make you less effective or productive?  3. Be mindful of time pressures. Why is there a deadline and who’s convenience is it serving?
MONOCHROME MONDAY🖤 We launched ‘Monochrome M MONOCHROME MONDAY🖤  We launched ‘Monochrome Monday’ a couple of weeks ago (with a break on Easter Monday!) and today we are back with more Monochrome Inspiration from Instagram accounts across the land.
We love black and white (can you tell?) 🙄  Black and white is a classic colour scheme and one that has always remained at the forefront of fashion and interiors. It’s sophisticated, stylish and timeless!  Keep an eye out as at mid-day for our next Monochrome Monday Round-Up. A collection of the best monochrome finds on Instagram. Anything from interiors to soap, trainers to packaging, we’ll be sharing it all.  Grab your lunch, check out our stories, be inspired & let us know what you think 🤔
It was with sadness I heard the news that Prince P It was with sadness I heard the news that Prince Philip had passed away today.  I immediately started to reminiscence about the time I met the Prince.  I was in my early teens Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip were visiting Canterbury, where I grew up.  @archbishops.memes was one of the local secondary schools chosen to line the streets and welcome the royal couple.  My headmaster had bought several beautiful bouquets of flowers for pupils to present to the queen. I sadly, was not one of those lucky kids!  I decided to take matters into my own hands. I took my loose change & put it together with whatever my bestie Victoria and my boyfriend John had. I think it amounted to the grand total just over £1.20! So I went into the local green grocers and bought one small bunch of Narcissus.  Yes, they did look a little pitiful compared to those florist produced bouquets but I was obviously very proud of myself when the prince spotted me waving them around and came over.  I asked him if he could give the flowers to the Queen and he replied “Why don’t you give them to her yourself” 😲  I took one look at the metal barrier between us & thought that’s not going to happen but before I knew it he’d just lifted me over the barrier (obviously I was a lot lighter in those days!). 😳  I was ushered to the end of a long line of brownies, guides, head boys and girls and prefects to give my flowers to the Queen. She got to me and asked me how I was and what school I was from. “What lovely flowers” she said and with that she was off.  Well I was on cloud nine! I was stopped by the local press, at that age I felt like a celebrity.  What an amazing man to give me that opportunity - RIP  My thoughts are with @theroyalfamily at this sad time.
ARE YOU A WINNER?🥳🥳🥳 - The planner survey ARE YOU A WINNER?🥳🥳🥳-The planner survey results are in!  Congratulations to Ramona Harries who’s won our Planner Survey Competition! 🙌🤩😁  If anyone know Ramona please tag her as I can’t get hold of her through email 😳  Ramona have won...  - NEW 2021 HELLO TIME Planner- To-Do List & Notepad- Diary Sticker Pack- x4 Pencil Pack- Handmade Pen Pot- Washi Tape Duo- x5 Pack of greeting cards  Huge thanks to Ramona and everyone who took time out of their day to complete our recent planner survey.  We had an amazing response and this will provide some much needed consumer insight in developing our next planner.  I’m over the moon to say, that the results have been breathtakingly positive - Phew! 😅
I’m looking forward to sharing some of the results on here over the coming weeks!
CREATIVE SPIN - Wow-what a quote! 
Does this res CREATIVE SPIN-Wow-what a quote!
Does this resonate with you?  It has struck a chord with me just lately, especially after spending the last two years working at the rate of knots to get HELLO TIME up and running. Sound familiar to you small business owners? 😳
This year, however, is a year of product development and innovation, and I know I desperately need to slow down to engage my creative side of the brain. 
I earn a living through my creativity, and yet over the last year, it's become a roller coaster of speed. I got my greetings cards out to market, made my website more responsive, improved my customer journey, developed my packaging, packed customer orders and tackled that never-ending to-do list! All this whilst keeping my design clients happy and helping them build their brands @aliliastudio 
Austin writes, "It's impossible to pay proper attention to your life if you are hurtling along at lightning speed. When your job is to see things other people don't, you have to slow down enough that you can actually look."
So it's back to the drawing board this year to give my creativity a chance to do what it does best and give it a breather! Ideas come alive when you are not anxious or stressed or burnt out. 
So this year I'm going to schedule days where I research, look at stimulus and let my mind run free and perhaps it won't be the most productive of days, but it will be the most rewarding.
What do you do to engage your creativity?

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YOU’LL FIND US HERE TOO...

BUYING TIME - NEW BLOG POST! - Whah! This one’ BUYING TIME - NEW BLOG POST! - Whah! This one’s been some time in the making. I’ve had the idea for a while of writing a blog using my small business network (you’ll like this @hollytucker )to provide amazing time saving tips but it has been a mission and I must say blogs take me ages to write! That’s why I draw for a living! ✏️  I thought what better way to help each other than to share how we all save a bit of time each day in a bid to get everything done. It doesn’t matter where we are in our business or careers, how successful we are or how many followers we have, none of us has the power to slow down time, but we can make the most of the time we are given. ⏰  How we manage our time has a significant impact on our lives and our success. From our morning routine to running errands to getting dinner on the table, we all need some inspiration. 🤩  So head to our blog, LINK IN MY BIO for your tips and my mine, 52 to fact, of our best time-saving tips to help you save some time every single day. From the simplest of small daily habits to tackling a busy workday, employ these time saving tips and you’ll complete everyday tasks in a fraction of the time!  Thank you to those who shared your ideas & tips I loved reading them all, especially one from @emmathemindsetcoach which involved a toilet & a toothbrush! I’ve tagged as many of you as I can here. And @samanthapearceisaacs who could literally write a book on the subject!  As a thank you I’ve added your name & website link in the blog 🥰
AND THE SURVEY SAID… - Oh my goodness I am gobsm AND THE SURVEY SAID…-Oh my goodness I am gobsmacked at the positivity that’s come back from our recent planner survey from you guys, our customers. 🤩  The responses are in and we are in the process of going through everything with a fine tooth comb but I wanted to share with you some of the top line results.  When asked…  Would you purchase the HELLO TIME Planner again?  An incredible 97% of you said yes you would. How amazing is that!!! 🙌  Surely I’m on to something here? So I think this is a sure sign I must carry on!? 🤔  I am so pleased this is the reaction. It means I can help more of you make the most of your time, manage the overwhelm and organise your day. Whoop Whoop.  I just need to get the message out to more people (I’m desperately on it!) and develop more time-gifting stationery (doing that as we speak!).  Thank you again to everyone that took the time to help me  with my survey and I look forward to sharing more findings next week!  PS. bit later today but check out my stories for my weekly Instagram Monochrome Monday round up!
MAKING TIME PRESSURE WORK FOR YOU! 👍 - If we ge MAKING TIME PRESSURE WORK FOR YOU! 👍-If we get in the habit of feeling chronically short of time the price can be high.  A 2008 survey found that only 6% of respondents who identified ‘as busy’ cut back on time at work, while 57% cut back on hobbies and free time and 30% on family time.  Those irreplaceable things that restore us and make time feel full and rewarding. That time that gives us our energy, our ideas and our happiness. 😊  I’m not sure why I was surprised with these numbers given that I am totally guilty of giving up my own time in favour of working but working does make me happy so it’s not all bad, right?  I was talking in @southwoodsocialhub facebook group last night about this very subject. Finding that work/life balance and how I manage it. The point is I don’t, it’s just life for me, it’s fully integrated because I love what I do, it’s exciting. @hayleysouthwood called it ‘Flow’ which I love. 🖤  How do you find you manage the juggle? Have you found that illusive work/life balance yet?  As I get older, I find I do need to carve out more moments to relax. I make sure I get lots of sleep, I make sure I take regular breaks throughout the day and Sundays really are my day of rest! As long as you make time to restore yourself this will give you energy and focus.  Here’s some tips to help make time pressure work for you from the book ‘ENJOY TIME’ by @catherine_blyth_is_on_time  1. Plan your schedule when you are relaxed and you’ll make better choices  2. Track your time, how much time do you spend with friends, family, hobbies or ‘me time’ versus working. Can you re tip the balance a little bit? Tracking your time can be so enlightening to see where you can make better choices. Experiment with your time. What happens if you finish work an hour earlier for a week or spend an extra 20mins over a family breakfast, does it make you less effective or productive?  3. Be mindful of time pressures. Why is there a deadline and who’s convenience is it serving?
MONOCHROME MONDAY🖤 We launched ‘Monochrome M MONOCHROME MONDAY🖤  We launched ‘Monochrome Monday’ a couple of weeks ago (with a break on Easter Monday!) and today we are back with more Monochrome Inspiration from Instagram accounts across the land.
We love black and white (can you tell?) 🙄  Black and white is a classic colour scheme and one that has always remained at the forefront of fashion and interiors. It’s sophisticated, stylish and timeless!  Keep an eye out as at mid-day for our next Monochrome Monday Round-Up. A collection of the best monochrome finds on Instagram. Anything from interiors to soap, trainers to packaging, we’ll be sharing it all.  Grab your lunch, check out our stories, be inspired & let us know what you think 🤔
It was with sadness I heard the news that Prince P It was with sadness I heard the news that Prince Philip had passed away today.  I immediately started to reminiscence about the time I met the Prince.  I was in my early teens Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip were visiting Canterbury, where I grew up.  @archbishops.memes was one of the local secondary schools chosen to line the streets and welcome the royal couple.  My headmaster had bought several beautiful bouquets of flowers for pupils to present to the queen. I sadly, was not one of those lucky kids!  I decided to take matters into my own hands. I took my loose change & put it together with whatever my bestie Victoria and my boyfriend John had. I think it amounted to the grand total just over £1.20! So I went into the local green grocers and bought one small bunch of Narcissus.  Yes, they did look a little pitiful compared to those florist produced bouquets but I was obviously very proud of myself when the prince spotted me waving them around and came over.  I asked him if he could give the flowers to the Queen and he replied “Why don’t you give them to her yourself” 😲  I took one look at the metal barrier between us & thought that’s not going to happen but before I knew it he’d just lifted me over the barrier (obviously I was a lot lighter in those days!). 😳  I was ushered to the end of a long line of brownies, guides, head boys and girls and prefects to give my flowers to the Queen. She got to me and asked me how I was and what school I was from. “What lovely flowers” she said and with that she was off.  Well I was on cloud nine! I was stopped by the local press, at that age I felt like a celebrity.  What an amazing man to give me that opportunity - RIP  My thoughts are with @theroyalfamily at this sad time.
ARE YOU A WINNER?🥳🥳🥳 - The planner survey ARE YOU A WINNER?🥳🥳🥳-The planner survey results are in!  Congratulations to Ramona Harries who’s won our Planner Survey Competition! 🙌🤩😁  If anyone know Ramona please tag her as I can’t get hold of her through email 😳  Ramona have won...  - NEW 2021 HELLO TIME Planner- To-Do List & Notepad- Diary Sticker Pack- x4 Pencil Pack- Handmade Pen Pot- Washi Tape Duo- x5 Pack of greeting cards  Huge thanks to Ramona and everyone who took time out of their day to complete our recent planner survey.  We had an amazing response and this will provide some much needed consumer insight in developing our next planner.  I’m over the moon to say, that the results have been breathtakingly positive - Phew! 😅
I’m looking forward to sharing some of the results on here over the coming weeks!
CREATIVE SPIN - Wow-what a quote! 
Does this res CREATIVE SPIN-Wow-what a quote!
Does this resonate with you?  It has struck a chord with me just lately, especially after spending the last two years working at the rate of knots to get HELLO TIME up and running. Sound familiar to you small business owners? 😳
This year, however, is a year of product development and innovation, and I know I desperately need to slow down to engage my creative side of the brain. 
I earn a living through my creativity, and yet over the last year, it's become a roller coaster of speed. I got my greetings cards out to market, made my website more responsive, improved my customer journey, developed my packaging, packed customer orders and tackled that never-ending to-do list! All this whilst keeping my design clients happy and helping them build their brands @aliliastudio 
Austin writes, "It's impossible to pay proper attention to your life if you are hurtling along at lightning speed. When your job is to see things other people don't, you have to slow down enough that you can actually look."
So it's back to the drawing board this year to give my creativity a chance to do what it does best and give it a breather! Ideas come alive when you are not anxious or stressed or burnt out. 
So this year I'm going to schedule days where I research, look at stimulus and let my mind run free and perhaps it won't be the most productive of days, but it will be the most rewarding.
What do you do to engage your creativity?
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