Free Delivery on all orders over £50

hello time mobile site
Search
Close
  • Shipping & Returns
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
Your Current Basket
No products in the basket.
0
Sale
  • Shop
    • Planners
    • Stationery
    • Officewares
    • Greeting Cards
    • Prints
    • Freebies
    Menu
    • Planners
    • Stationery
    • Officewares
    • Greeting Cards
    • Prints
    • Freebies
  • About
  • HT Blog
  • Contact
Search
Close
Your Current Basket
No products in the basket.
£0.00 0

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I do happen to think that the term’ time management’ is old fashioned and outdated.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 It’s an old, outdated system, developed years ago when life was quite different.”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.

If you liked this blog, please ... thank you!

Share on facebook
Share on pinterest
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

five × one =

I posted these tips last week, so if you’ve seen I posted these tips last week, so if you’ve seen them excuse the repetition...for those that didn’t - TA DAH!!! 🙌-I deleted the original post because the design of the post was bugging me it didn’t look ‘on brand’ and feel like us. Even though I was using my fonts & colours the balance of how I used them didn’t look like us!-So it was back to the drawing board to be ‘more HELLO TIME’. -I wanted to share this little marketing mishap with you to say it’s ok to just delete it and re do it if you feel it’s not right. Your posts need to be recognised as you when your audience is scrolling.  It’s no different to traditional advertising. You are up against so many other messages you need to show up looking like you so your audience know it’s you & will stop & look!-Just shows even designers who bang on about brands being consistent 🙄 need to be pulled back in line to stay consistent, I just got a bit excited!!! I can well imagine you can easily do the same in apps like Canva  so be mindful you don’t get too distracted by all the amazing designs and own your own x
We’ve been busy today working on a new collectio We’ve been busy today working on a new collection of cards... can you guess what they might be celebrating? -We are here to help you manage your time but to also celebrate special times. Can’t wait to show you next week 🖤
In the early 2000s, Starbucks was expanding like c In the early 2000s, Starbucks was expanding like crazy, both in terms of locations and their product offerings. While the chain had built up a loyal following of coffee fans through recreating a neighborhood coffeehouse vibe, Starbucks' quality of service couldn't keep up with its rapid expansion.  What's more, by investing in non-coffee-related products -- most notably, music -- Starbucks was diluting its brand. In the eyes of the public, Starbucks was abandoning its local coffeehouse roots and turning into a cold, calculating corporation.  By 2008, driven in part by the financial collapse, Starbucks was in dire straits -- its stock price shriveling. Some analysts predicted that the coffee juggernaut would fade away into obscurity. In an effort to stay afloat, the once seemingly unstoppable coffee chain ended up closing more than 900 of its stores, laying off a huge chunk of its workforce in the process.  At a time when cash-strapped Americans were viewing coffee more and more as a commodity, and increasingly turning to cheaper alternatives (e.g., McDonald's), Starbucks needed a new game plan. They needed to convince folks that Starbucks was worth the extra cost.  So Starbucks teamed up with ad agency BBDO to launch the multi-million dollar "Coffee value and values" campaign -- the largest marketing campaign in Starbucks' history. The campaign made Starbucks coffee the star of the show once again.  Thanks in part to this massive campaign that focused on the quality of its core product, coffee, Starbucks was able to reinvigorate its brand as well as its business. In 2019, the company reported more than $26 billion in annual revenue.  So this tells us just how important BRAND is to a business & that your customers won’t always give you the permission to stray into areas that take your eye off the ball and the core purpose of your company.  It also tells us to ‘keep going’  as my friend Hayley @southwoodsocialhub recently posted.  If you want it enough you can come back from anything 👊🏼 keep going you gorgeous lot!  Source: @hubspot
Well what a year 2020 was, not only for the flamin Well what a year 2020 was, not only for the flaming obvious but because our planners were a sell out!-You guys took a leap of faith & tried the HELLO TIME planner for the first time & some of you are on their third copy which is bloody incredible. There are really no words for how grateful I am but also how excited I am that you’ll be able to get organised, find more focus & become more productive as I did when I started using it.-Many of you have messaged me who didn’t get chance to purchase a copy or have just discovered us for availability.-Our second edition is out in the summer. It will have all the same features & design style but they’ll be some updates.-These will be available for pre-order later this year but if you want to us to contact you as soon as they are available then just comment below or send us a DM & we will pop you on our waiting list.
Thank you to everyone for your greeting card order Thank you to everyone for your greeting card orders. You are keeping us busy which we are super grateful for 😃 @notonthehighstreet -It’s the last week of our sale so we thought we’d share the cards included.-Got a girlfriend who’s had to sadly postpone her wedding, missing a friend or family member & it’s their birthday or need to get a card sent direct to save time. We can help!
First things first, keep up the excellent work. It First things first, keep up the excellent work. It’s been really tough to make that transition from the company office to the home office & now we are back again! 🙄  That commute, that buzzy office atmosphere, the kitchen banter and the stationery cupboard on tap, we know you're missing it all. I really miss the design agency stationery cupboard 🤣  Hang on in there; I've been working from home for 10 years now, so I'm used to it, but I remember all too clearly how it felt when I left an agency office full of creativity, talented people and company all day long to work, for myself, at home.  When I worked from home at first, it was surreal, unprecedented, lonely and strange so I can relate to how you will be feeling. Throw into the mix, your spouse and children in the house. The stress of not being able to go out and voila, the feelings are 100% compounded.  To help,  I’ve put together a blog post with lots of tips, that on reflection have helped me along the way - LINK IN BIO  Thank you Kirsty @rebuildagram for the carousel tips! Marvellous idea 🥰
Tackling to-do’s...want to know how to manage th Tackling to-do’s...want to know how to manage that never ending list & make them work better for you?-Check out episode 3 IGTV directly below for tips and ideas on how to manage all those tasks to keep you on top of 😳 your game and in control of your time.-I hate ticking off things in my to - do list...said no-one ever 🤣

Be In The Know

Get inspiration, time management tips, new arrivals & the latest offers to your inbox.
PLUS 10% off your first order when you sign up.

Get inspiration, tips, new arrivals & the latest offers to your inbox.
PLUS 10% off your first order.

I posted these tips last week, so if you’ve seen I posted these tips last week, so if you’ve seen them excuse the repetition...for those that didn’t - TA DAH!!! 🙌-I deleted the original post because the design of the post was bugging me it didn’t look ‘on brand’ and feel like us. Even though I was using my fonts & colours the balance of how I used them didn’t look like us!-So it was back to the drawing board to be ‘more HELLO TIME’. -I wanted to share this little marketing mishap with you to say it’s ok to just delete it and re do it if you feel it’s not right. Your posts need to be recognised as you when your audience is scrolling.  It’s no different to traditional advertising. You are up against so many other messages you need to show up looking like you so your audience know it’s you & will stop & look!-Just shows even designers who bang on about brands being consistent 🙄 need to be pulled back in line to stay consistent, I just got a bit excited!!! I can well imagine you can easily do the same in apps like Canva  so be mindful you don’t get too distracted by all the amazing designs and own your own x
We’ve been busy today working on a new collectio We’ve been busy today working on a new collection of cards... can you guess what they might be celebrating? -We are here to help you manage your time but to also celebrate special times. Can’t wait to show you next week 🖤
In the early 2000s, Starbucks was expanding like c In the early 2000s, Starbucks was expanding like crazy, both in terms of locations and their product offerings. While the chain had built up a loyal following of coffee fans through recreating a neighborhood coffeehouse vibe, Starbucks' quality of service couldn't keep up with its rapid expansion.  What's more, by investing in non-coffee-related products -- most notably, music -- Starbucks was diluting its brand. In the eyes of the public, Starbucks was abandoning its local coffeehouse roots and turning into a cold, calculating corporation.  By 2008, driven in part by the financial collapse, Starbucks was in dire straits -- its stock price shriveling. Some analysts predicted that the coffee juggernaut would fade away into obscurity. In an effort to stay afloat, the once seemingly unstoppable coffee chain ended up closing more than 900 of its stores, laying off a huge chunk of its workforce in the process.  At a time when cash-strapped Americans were viewing coffee more and more as a commodity, and increasingly turning to cheaper alternatives (e.g., McDonald's), Starbucks needed a new game plan. They needed to convince folks that Starbucks was worth the extra cost.  So Starbucks teamed up with ad agency BBDO to launch the multi-million dollar "Coffee value and values" campaign -- the largest marketing campaign in Starbucks' history. The campaign made Starbucks coffee the star of the show once again.  Thanks in part to this massive campaign that focused on the quality of its core product, coffee, Starbucks was able to reinvigorate its brand as well as its business. In 2019, the company reported more than $26 billion in annual revenue.  So this tells us just how important BRAND is to a business & that your customers won’t always give you the permission to stray into areas that take your eye off the ball and the core purpose of your company.  It also tells us to ‘keep going’  as my friend Hayley @southwoodsocialhub recently posted.  If you want it enough you can come back from anything 👊🏼 keep going you gorgeous lot!  Source: @hubspot
Well what a year 2020 was, not only for the flamin Well what a year 2020 was, not only for the flaming obvious but because our planners were a sell out!-You guys took a leap of faith & tried the HELLO TIME planner for the first time & some of you are on their third copy which is bloody incredible. There are really no words for how grateful I am but also how excited I am that you’ll be able to get organised, find more focus & become more productive as I did when I started using it.-Many of you have messaged me who didn’t get chance to purchase a copy or have just discovered us for availability.-Our second edition is out in the summer. It will have all the same features & design style but they’ll be some updates.-These will be available for pre-order later this year but if you want to us to contact you as soon as they are available then just comment below or send us a DM & we will pop you on our waiting list.
Thank you to everyone for your greeting card order Thank you to everyone for your greeting card orders. You are keeping us busy which we are super grateful for 😃 @notonthehighstreet -It’s the last week of our sale so we thought we’d share the cards included.-Got a girlfriend who’s had to sadly postpone her wedding, missing a friend or family member & it’s their birthday or need to get a card sent direct to save time. We can help!
First things first, keep up the excellent work. It First things first, keep up the excellent work. It’s been really tough to make that transition from the company office to the home office & now we are back again! 🙄  That commute, that buzzy office atmosphere, the kitchen banter and the stationery cupboard on tap, we know you're missing it all. I really miss the design agency stationery cupboard 🤣  Hang on in there; I've been working from home for 10 years now, so I'm used to it, but I remember all too clearly how it felt when I left an agency office full of creativity, talented people and company all day long to work, for myself, at home.  When I worked from home at first, it was surreal, unprecedented, lonely and strange so I can relate to how you will be feeling. Throw into the mix, your spouse and children in the house. The stress of not being able to go out and voila, the feelings are 100% compounded.  To help,  I’ve put together a blog post with lots of tips, that on reflection have helped me along the way - LINK IN BIO  Thank you Kirsty @rebuildagram for the carousel tips! Marvellous idea 🥰
Tackling to-do’s...want to know how to manage th Tackling to-do’s...want to know how to manage that never ending list & make them work better for you?-Check out episode 3 IGTV directly below for tips and ideas on how to manage all those tasks to keep you on top of 😳 your game and in control of your time.-I hate ticking off things in my to - do list...said no-one ever 🤣
  • Shipping & Returns
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
Menu
  • Shipping & Returns
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
  • Shipping & Returns
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
Menu
  • Shipping & Returns
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact
DESIGNED BY ALILIASTUDIO ©COPYRIGHT 2020. BUILT BY JASON NEAL. Registered in England & Wales Registered Company No. 7626503.

10% OFF*

Get 10% off your first order & be the first to hear about our sales, receive exclusive discounts, inspiration & new products.

*Please note that this discount will not apply to sale items.

This website site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website: More Info