Several years ago I worked for a newspaper, and one of my co-workers liked to wear a shirt that said, “I was put on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind I will never die.” All of us in the office thought it was hilarious and quite apropos. It seemed like we were always on deadline and running behind. And the thought of that making us immortal did lessen the stress.
Not much other than my job titles has changed since then. The workday pace certainly hasn’t slowed. My to-do list hasn’t miraculously gotten shorter, although there are an increasing number of books and tools to help me manage it better. I am always pulled in many directions at once. And I don’t think I am alone. This is the reality of today’s workplace. And it’s a tough competitor when you are trying to squeeze in time for training.
If you and your staff you don’t make time for training, it won’t happen. It’ll get lost in that workday frenzy, buried in the marathon list of to-dos. So here are some strategies that have worked for me over the years to squeeze in the training I needed.
- Block out time on your electronic calendar so that you will be reminded to start training and others will know you are busy.
- Put a sign on your door or cube entrance to encourage others to go away until you are finished. Humor is acceptable.
- Use some earphones to deaden the inevitable noise around you. You don’t have to pipe music into them and no one has to know that but you.
- Borrow a vacant office or small conference room for your session. If they can’t find you, you can’t be bothered. Plus you’ll look like you are doing something really important, which you are.
- Schedule time for group discussions and debriefs to ensure that information is shared at the end of projects.
- Declare a training time-out for you and your staff, say a couple of hours on a Friday afternoon each month. (No one is working on Friday afternoon anyway and the time-out is valuable for everyone.)
This list isn’t comprehensive, but simply things that have worked well for me. What strategies have worked for you? How do you squeeze in time for training?
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