Derval O'Rourke: How to set manageable targets to make meaningful change

Plus a healthy recipe to help kick-start your new year

A new year is a great opportunity to switch things up at work.

At this time of year, it’s great to be thinking about what you want to achieve for the year ahead. I like to set myself meaningful, manageable targets that will definitely improve my day-to-day. I recently chatted with Niamh Brady, a Productivity Coach, founder of Better Workday and author of Remote Working Essentials. I asked her for her advice on how to be realistic and contribute to genuine change. She will challenge you to think differently about managing your time, energy and attention at work. She has some great advice on returning to work after the holidays.

The festive season has come and gone, and if you are like me, you will be looking forward to starting out a whole new year afresh! It’s a great opportunity to switch things up at work.

Here are some great tips to start your new year off strong:

Review your workload

Before you get stuck into anything, take some time and review everything that is on your workload.

• Meetings: Are there recurring meetings that are no longer relevant or add value to your day?
• Delegate: Are there items on your desk that could be delegated to someone else on the team?
• Traffic Lights: Break your workload into three categories, Green, Amber and Red. Red items are priority and need to be actioned first. Amber items are in progress, and you have taken them as far as you can for now. Green items are low priority and do not require your attention right now.

Proactively reviewing your work allows you to do some things differently and manage the expectations of both yourself and others better.

Sorting through the noise

Emails can be the dread of everyone when returning to work.

• Sort your emails by who they are from – the repeated junk emails can easily be identified quickly and deleted.
• Set a target. If you have 100 emails, aim to have say 30 sorted by the end of the day.
• Respond to priority emails first.

Working from Home

There’s something nice about going back into the office after a break and it’s all nice and fresh and tidy! That’s not the case when you work from home!

• The day before you return to work, tidy down your workspace, set yourself up for success.
• Make sure your desk, chair and screens are ergonomically set up properly.
• Put time in your diary to step away from the screen for 15 minutes, take in some fresh air and hydrate.

I really enjoyed chatting with Niamh and her insights have really helped me. You can learn more about Niamh’s work at abetterworkday.com

Wellness Tip: Make one promise to yourself about you for the new year. Whether it’s carving time out, some self-care, looking after your health. Write it down and place it somewhere that’s visible for you. Whenever you see it, ask yourself “Have I done anything about this promise today?”

Exercise Tip: Sit Ups - There are so many ways to do this. So please adjust to suit your fitness level. 10 reps and repeat three times is a great start to the New Year!

Asian style turkey stir-fry

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

Kick off the new year with this healthy dish

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 6 mins

Cooking Time

 9 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Asian

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 2 turkey breasts, cooked

• ½ packet Asian Stir Fry mix

• juice 1 lime , plus extra wedges for serving

• 1 tsp chilli powder

• 1 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1 packet straight to wok noodles

• handful coriander, roughly chopped

Method

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan add the turkey and the stir-fry mix.

2. Stir in the lime juice, chilli powder and fish sauce, then cook for 7 minutes, stir regularly.

3. Stir in the noodles and mix well, cook for 2 minutes.

4. Serve with the coriander and enjoy.