Avionics News July 2013 - 76

BUSINESS BASICS

Continued from page 75

clear objectives – that they don’t need
you constant input. Set clear priorities
for what needs to be accomplished on
any given day, and what can wait, to
avert manufactured urgency. Evaluate
how jobs are scheduled and managed
to ensure projects progress without
multiple restarts and delays. And
while congenial conversations among
employees build strong teams, gossip
and complaining add little value, so
prune these as well.
3. Own your schedule. Once
you have culled things that cost
energy, schedule activities to create
it. Block time for job tasks you need

to accomplish, preserve pursuits that
advance your career, such as industry
service or networking, and maintain a
closeout period at the end of each day
to tie up loose ends so you can leave
on time. Don’t forget to schedule time
for thinking and reflecting; this is when
innovation occurs. Protect all of these
times like you would a client meeting.
Use the same intentionality at
home to include critical activities in
your day, such as exercise, a healthy
diet and quality sleep. If necessary,
combine several areas and make
family time part of exercise or eating.
Schedule these so you’re less likely to
fritter away your valuable time with
unfulfilling defaults.
You will need a calendar, but
only one. Combine work and home

EXCHANGE INVENTORY

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parts that provides added value to our service relationship. Broad capabilities, competitive prices, high-quality workmanship, quick turnaround time and service. GIS personnel have the ability to meet that challenge to exceed customers’ expectations every day.
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Try us, you’ll be glad you did!

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FAA CRS# GTNR482X • 210 Airport Road • Taylor, Texas 76574

512-352-9000

www.georgetowninstruments.com
76

avionics news

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july

2013

GIS Ad Five
Sep 14, 2008

schedules, and share it with your
family with an app or Google calendar.
Evaluate your results occasionally
to see how your actions match your
intentions. If you see a gap, block time
for what you’re missing.
Consider outsourcing or trading for
activities that drag you down, such as
yard work or housecleaning; you may
find the morale boost is greater than
the cost. Likewise, learn to say no to
things that don’t have a high strategic
return on your personal investment;
give up on the idea of perfectionism
or that you can do it all.
4. Stamp out workaholism. This
compulsion is the bane of a balanced
life, and it messes with your shop, too.
Employees who work past the point
of exhaustion create mistakes that
someone has to fix. Similarly, they
always seem to run at full capacity,
which leaves no bandwidth in reserve.
While they work long days, they may
not generate much output per hour.
Even worse, their ability diminishes as
they wear down; they’re less creative
and more reactionary.
If this describes you or someone
who reports to you, the solution
is working more methodically.
For example, set a timer to work
a concentrated 30 minutes or an
hour between interruptions (the
Pomodoro technique). You also
need to learn to recognize when
you’re wearing down, and take
a break to rejuvenate instead of
plowing through. At the very least,
don’t encourage a martyr mentality,
and certainly don’t reward it.
Instead, encourage employees
to take weekends off, if only for
productivity’s sake. In fact, require
it. If they can’t get their normal work
done in five days, consider that a
performance issue. Expect them to
take vacations and respect their time
away, just as your spouse would
expect your vacation to be respected.

http://www.georgetowninstruments.com

Avionics News July 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News July 2013