9 December Always Busy? Do Something About It December 9, 2020By ICI Administrator Aspire 0 By Josh Hallam, General Manager, The Institute of Civil Infrastructure Recent networking events and opportunities have enabled us to connect again with industry peers, colleagues and friends, after a pandemic-led hiatus. After the usual pleasantries, the common theme I keep hearing when it comes to discussing people’s careers is that they are “flat out busy”. When I push them on what they are doing to change that, following a brief silence, the response is always the same “it will slow down soon”. Actually, it won’t. You will only feel less ‘busy’ once you do something about it. Constant time pressures and competing priorities have us in a constant state of busyness. Feeling like we are ‘on’ all the time and a to-do list that seems to always grow, we resort to taking any available moment to send an email, make a quick call or do a quick calc thinking we are being productive and efficient. Often our busy state is caused through undertaking roles which don’t align to our skill set forcing us to complete them in a highly inefficient way as we learn and execute concurrently. We then fall behind in other areas where we are usually strong causing us to overcommit, delegate incorrectly and complete work of a sub-standard quality. Frustration and fatigue builds fuelling this ongoing cycle. So, what can we do? Take control. Be proactive with your upskilling. Seek micro-credentials. Now before you say, “how can I possibly fit in any training”, take a step back and think about it. Yes, professional development takes time and yes it costs money. However, how much additional time is spent attempting to work it out yourself on the job? How efficient are you when working on something late at night or whilst juggling other commitments? And, your time costs money, right? Spending 3-4 hours upskilling in a certain area ensures a task can then be completed to a high standard in a time-efficient and cost-efficient way. It will not only enable you to produce higher quality but will make you more efficient on the current project and on future projects. This could be upskilling in a technical skill, a business skill or a leadership skill to drive team performance. Being busy is often caused by being inefficient. Be less busy and upskill. Related Posts Confused about COVID-19 requirements in the workplace? Read on as we unpack what the Building Award says Entering into our third year of the COVID-19 pandemic employees continue to ask questions about isolation and leave. How can the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 help? Manners and the Modern Workplace Once upon a time, things were a bit more straight forward when it came to manners and the workplace. The manners that our parents instilled in us prevailed, and we learnt to take our cues at work from the senior and the successful. We learnt about a term called “professionalism”, and generally it was applied and understood by all in a corporate environment. How curious are you? Every CEO and leader faces a period of time where the company is moving along smoothly, but the team feel is a bit flat and lacking enthusiasm. It is important that you create an environment where there are constant sparks of energy in the workplace and that is where curiosity becomes invaluable. Invest In You In 2020 In the following opinion piece, David Castledine, CEO of CCF NSW and the Institute of Civil Infrastructure, shares his personal approach to professional development. In my view, everyone should invest some time in personal learning. It’s good for themselves and their career, and it’s good for the industry. Everyone knows this, but few do it, particularly in the civil industry. Here is the strategy I have honed over my 40-year working career; it has taken me from Apprentice to CEO. Perfectionism, Procrastination and the Power of the Pomodoro Like many others, I have to confess to being one of those people who wants to be really good at everything I turn my attention to. I have driven myself (and probably many others) crazy with this perfectionist streak. Over time, I have learnt to manage it more effectively – and you can too. Overcoming Stress – 8 Strategies That Work As leaders we are often the person others are reliant upon and who people come to get answers. That is perfectly fine as we have chosen that line of work, and we are capable leaders, otherwise we wouldn’t be there. There will, however, be occasions when it really gets to us and it becomes a problem when it starts to affect our performance at work, our life away from work and our health. Here we discuss 8 simple strategies to help you reduce stress and operate at 100%. Comment (0) Comments are closed.