Page 86 - Focus Group

important to do and is easiest and shortest since be negotiated. Many times, to show our capabilities
striking it off from the To-Do list would give a sense of to others we tend to take on more work than what
satisfaction. This is somewhat like our professional we can accomplish and thus become Chartered
exam strategy where all questions are mandatory Accommodator!
but attempting question(s) that we know best gives
us psychological satisfaction. Undoubtedly, it does! 2 Hour No Work Rule

Moving on… Want to work the next day? If yes, refrain from
working for the last two hours before you sleep. Else,
4 Hour Rule you will be mentally exhausted the next morning
even after a six hour of sleep. This is because you
Divide the day into parts, usually between pre-lunch are constantly reminding your mind of the work
and post-lunch hours. One may modify it according and deadlines.
to their work schedule. Let me take an example
here: 9:00am-12:30pm (balance 30 minutes as Yes, this is easier said than done, especially during
buffer until 1:00pm) and 2pm-5:30pm (balance 30 the times of deadlines! But, if first 3 rules are
followed wisely, the last rule becomes achievable.
minutes as buffer until 6:00pm to wrap). Going back to our professional exam experience,

Starting something by 9:00am and aiming to finish where every question was mandatory to attempt,
it by 6:00pm surely doesn’t always work. This is BUT, within limited time. When we planned initial
because, when we start our day, we tend to assume hour of our professional examination well, the last
leg of the exam became manageable.
that we have a full day in our hand. If the day is not
planned and utilized well, we realize towards end As the famous saying goes– “What
of the day, the magnitude of work that is left to gets scheduled, gets done”.
be accomplished. When multiple tasks, with close Lack of planning makes work life duller than it is,
timelines are to be achieved, setting hourly target creates unnecessary pressures and imbalance in
would normally keep us on track. This means we work-life. By being sentient, we can always try to

take lesser “needless” breaks (Facebook, WhatsApp, creatively structure our tasks. Hence, Let’s complete
LinkedIn and so on). the work!

4 Work Deadlines Rule

There are days when we have multiple deadlines.
At the onset, we should try and schedule tasks in
such a way that, not more than four tasks have a
timeline of the same day. In practice, it may seem
unavoidable, but with effective communication
with the others involved, timelines can sometimes
Maansi Garg

Disclaimer:
This article and/or write ups and/or any of its content shall not be treated as opinion and/or advice in any circumstances of the author(s) and/ or the Chapter. Reader’s to apply their best
judgement in the best interest of their requirement and should seek a formal opinion on any issue.
86 TAX JOURNAL 2020 The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Dubai) Chapter NPIO