Five things you can do this month

Not everything needs a big programme. Five practical steps for more focus and less wasted time, which you can introduce yourself right away.

Not everything needs a big programme. Below are five steps you can introduce yourself right away.

1. Replace separate meetings with a short weekly kick-off

Often there are too many short meetings with too many participants, or managers keep interrupting the work. Start the week with one short team kick-off of fifteen minutes: what is the priority this week, where are you stuck, who needs help? Share status updates in writing.

2. Make time for focused work

Teams have a lot of distractions. When someone is pulled out of their concentration, it takes time to pick up the thread again. Agree on fixed blocks per team without meetings and without email. That way everyone can work undisturbed on the work they were hired for.

3. Make results visible

A lot happens, but what was achieved this week? Look back briefly on Friday: what worked, what carries over and why? That gives focus and a sense of progress.

4. Support per task, not per person

Someone can be junior at presenting and senior in their profession. Agree per task what support is needed. That way someone grows where needed, without micromanagement where they are already capable.

5. List recurring tasks

Recurring tasks take a lot of time and often remain invisible. Put them in one overview, with the number of minutes per week. Choose one task every month to improve or automate. The work becomes more enjoyable, the employee feels heard and quality often goes up.

These steps are a start. They work best when they become part of a fixed rhythm, with clear goals and one best way of working per process. That is what the HELDER method is about.