We had a wonderful turnout for our new Inspiration Circle event last week.
This is all part of our renewed focus on ‘action based’ learning to improve agency businesses. By ‘Action based’ I mean not just coming to an event and leaving with some information but coming to an engaging session and leaving with actions designed for ongoing improvement.
The focus for this session was on time management, a thorny issue that the majority of agency owners can relate to. Our objective for this session was to work out how people could get 2-hours back a week.
Reflection
We had an initial discussion reflecting on our relationship with time Which resulted in some interesting themes especially in relation to the challenges that time puts on us.
These included:
- overwhelm
- inability to say no
- prioritisation
- knowing when to delegate
- feeling of burnout
- having time to yourself (well-being time)
- how distractions and shiny things interrupt us
- the buzz we get when we tick something off our todo list
Short Form Learning
Then we discussed what people had taken away from the bitesize learning videos that were shared before the session. These included the Time Management Matrix, the Pomodoro technique, and and and some time management tips and practical ideas.
(For any member not at the event these are still available in the Members Portal)
Take Action
The final part of the session was for everyone to share their 3 actions that they will implement in order to get some time back by being more in control of their time.
Here are selection of some the wonderful ideas:
- Schedule time to de mails in the day – and stick to it
- Prioritise tasks using the Time Management Matrix
- Turn of notifications when focusing on a task
- Do the important and urgent tasks in the morning
- Block out time in calendar for specific tasks
- Add space between tasks to refresh and recharge yourself
Everyone that attended was sent a short video of them articulating their three actions and were encouraged to Buddy up with the person but they were in the first breakout room with.
Buddying up and checking in on others is a key part of turning learning into action and action with accountability which results in a much higher chance of implementing the actions.
The Feedback
Post session attendees where invited to rate the experience of the Inspiration Circle.
100% rated it as 8 / 10 or more – with 50% respondents rating it as 10 /10.
Some comments were:
“I have to say that was one of the most enjoyable and informative sessions i have had a for a while, great to see everyone and thanks for the tips.”
”Loved this event! I’ve come away with clear and simple actions that I can actually achieve.”
“It worked very well and everyone was engaged, more of the same.”
Next month we are focusing on how to manage change especially through people. This is a fascinating topic and I am sure the Inspiration Circle will be hugely valuable. Please do join in.