Many of us start the work day with a firm goal in mind, but then the telephone calls and e-mails start rolling in. Can you just help me with this? When the day is done it is easy to feel like you have accomplished nothing.

To help, Ontru is offering a virtual workshop Unapologetic Time Optimisation. Ontru is a human resources and business training company in Hamilton.

“So often managers, employees or teams feel they are very reactive and at the mercy of ad hoc requests,” said Ontru president Jenny Smatt.

The four-hour virtual class teaches practical hacks, and the language needed to break current “busyness” with specific tips for effectively working remotely.

The course encourages participants to think about what they want their day to look like.

“What is the best use of your time and is it possible to be more proactive and productive?” Ms Smatt asked.

She said a lot of workers struggle to effectively plan their day when they are bombarded with interruptions.

“They end up not feeling like their day is their own,” Ms Smatt said. “We did a survey of participants in our last offering. Close to 70 per cent felt like the majority of their day was reactive and often interrupted by urgent phone calls, and e-mails. Our hope is we can invert that significantly so that at the end of the day they feel like they have done what they intended.”

She said the unanticipated requests will come in, but it is about setting boundaries.

Part of time optimisation is knowing your own self. Ms Smatt is a morning person, she tries to schedule tasks that require mental sharpness, for the morning. She tackles administration tasks later in the day.

“Creating a list and managing to a list is one measure of success, but it is also about the value I am adding to my client or business in a given week,” Ms Smatt said. “No one week is the same. One week may be more about developing my business, another might be delivering training or adding values to my clients. I am quite deliberate about where I spend my time. That is a key measure of success.”

When Ontru first offered the course a year ago, there was a real mix of participants. This year kicks off Ontru’s February roster of training.

Since the pandemic began, much of Ontru's focus, from a human resource perspective, has been on helping clients to lead effectively as they manage remote working environments.

“Initially, it was the unforeseen and adapting to the new working environment,” Ms Smatt said. “Now, it is dealing with prolonged working within a remote working environment, and what that means for the individual, team and organisation.”

Ms Smatt said the pandemic and shift to remote working has changed the way many companies communicate internally.

“With peer to peer communication and team communication, we don’t have the proverbial water cooler chats,” Ms Smatt said. “The ad hoc conversations are not as frequent”

Ms Smatt said managers have to make sure that communication is as frequent as it needs to be, and very specific around expectation and feedback. Managers also have to be clear and articulate about performance expectations.

“We suggest more frequent communication but shorter,” she said. “And we recommend leveraging different forms of communication: e-mail, quick telephone calls, but being very succinct. Otherwise, the immediate reaction can be that employees feel they are being micromanaged. It is critical that deliverable’s milestones are clear and agreed.”

Ms Smatt said one positive to come out of the remote working environment is an increased interest in training.

“Employees can fit a half an hour of training into their day a little more easily than they could before,” Ms Smatt said. “There is an increased level of comfort with remote learning. You can, from time to time, take a call or address an issue when training is going on.”

Unapologetic Time Optimisation will be held on February 17 from 9am to 12pm. The price is $195. Diversity Equity and Inclusion will be held on February 24 from 9am to 12pm. The cost is $195. Leveraging LinkedIn to Maximise Success will also be held on February 24, from 12pm to 1pm for $50.

For more information, or to register see ontru.bm/training-sessions, call 236-6878 or e-mail info@ontru.bm.