In the uncertain times brought about by the pandemic, it became very easy to fall into a habit of reactivity. Adapting to the rapidly changing structure of work caused many of us to get stuck in crisis management mode. Whether it’s responding to emails or requests, there has been a constant sense of urgency for many leaders. Unfortunately, this consistent pressure to always react quickly within every element of our work life is exhausting.
The rapidly evolving workforce can be stressful to navigate. But it doesn’t need to be. If we take the time to slow down and shift our focus away from reactivity, we can redirect our energy towards proactivity. These three steps will help you take back control of your life. break the habit of being stuck in crisis management mode, and help you move forward as a leader.
Leaders Need to Give Themselves Time to Think
Constantly reacting to the world around us gives us no time to breathe. Instead of planning the day ahead, many of us feel the need to respond to demands as they come. This tiring habit takes control of your life and makes it impossible to focus on your goals as a leader.
Instead, it’s essential to give yourself time to think. Block out part of the day to create a plan. Even if you just sit for one hour in the morning to strategize the best way to handle your responsibilities, you can regain a sense of command over your life.
It’s equally important that you schedule this hour of planning every day. No matter what your job is, taking the time to strategize new ways to innovate and improve on your work will help you become more productive. Instead of reacting to everything at once, you can think about your deadlines and strategize the best process to meet them. Proactively scheduling your day will help you start to move away from crisis management mode.
Strategize Key Leadership Relationships
Communication is key, and it’s critical to take the time to focus on important relationships in the workplace. Spend time at the end of the day to think about who your colleagues are and how you can best communicate with them to discuss important projects. This strategic delegation time is an essential part of working with a team to achieve goals.
By knowing who you’re working with on a project, you can effectively plan how to share the assignments. Communicating with your team members about task delegation is fundamental to being a good leader and making sure everyone is on the same page.
Strategic delegation is especially important in remote work situations. Networking beyond the office is crucial when your team is spread out across many locations. To break out of crisis management mode, we need to take time every day to strategically think about who we need to communicate with and how to delegate effectively.
Leaders Need Time Off
Even if you take time to plan your workdays and communicate with your colleagues, you can’t fully break out of crisis management mode unless you plan time off. Even when the workday is done, another email may come through. Without taking time to concretely plan your downtime, it may be tempting to instantly react to the new demand.
To avoid getting burned out from working all hours of the night, it’s important that you don’t neglect your personal life. Take some time back to plan things you want to do in your downtime. You can plan time for the evenings or on weekends, but having that time set aside is important to keep you recharged for work.
It’s important not to leave that time in a void either. Whether it’s listening to music or spending time with your kids, having a concrete plan of activities will help you ensure you enjoy your time off. Without knowing what you want to do, it opens the door to re-enter crisis mode the moment an email from work pops up.
Break the Habit
Actively taking the time back to think, delegate with colleagues, and plan time off will help end the exhausting cycle of reactivity. As we continue to adapt to the changing world and workforce, it’s important to keep these time management tips in mind. Instead of continuing to live in crisis mode, we can enter a strategic and proactive building mode.