One of the common problems that I see regularly are those company owners and senior managers, who work their guts out, but feel that they leave the desks at midnight with more work unfinished than when they started the day.

And we know the standard responses whenever a solution is suggested.

• What will my boss think?
• Nobody else can do this.
• I can’t be seen to be slacking.
• I promised myself that…..this is the last time, or…….that I will do this before I go, or……..
• etc

This is self-perpetuating nonsense. And for most people, late night sessions often results in poor quality deliverables and which has taken much longer than normal to complete. So what has really been achieved?

There is another approach that I have developed over the years and tried to impress on my clientele as their business mentor and coach. Call it the “5 point Horesh guide” to being commercially successful without thinking about strategy and without preparing a spreadsheet.

1. Exercise. There is increasing evidence that regular exercise jolts us into thinking more effectively and creatively. As many of my customers live in Jerusalem, Israel, they have some inspirational scenery to motivate them. By way of contrast, one of them creates training programmes. So instead of extra running, they took up a course in the arts, which has been equally beneficial.
2. Eat properly. No, this is not a lesson in why to eat broccoli and almonds. Start your day with a full breakfast. Your body is just like a car, which needs quality fuel in it so that it complete its daily journey.
3. Listen to others. That means networking. Find an opportunity to liaise with others in your field and also those outside your direct interests. It is amazing how insular we can become, and so quickly. “We only know best, as far as the information we once learnt is still relevant!”
4. Don’t overwork, continuously! Why? Because you cannot keep beating your body into the ground. Just look around you and see how many friends, family and colleagues have come back from a blood test and been commanded to ‘slow down right now, or else’. If you regularly require more than 10 hours to complete your average work day, then there is a need for an immediate review.
5. After 9.00pm, walk away from the computer. Neurologists have been telling us for years that computer screens often impact negatively on the amount and quality of sleep we strive for.

Little of this has to do with time management. Nor is this blog about strategy. However, if you cannot handle yourself properly and appropriately, do not expect that your assignments will be completed to the standard you desire. You might get away with it once, but it does not work in the long term. That means that the higher up you are in your corporate, the more likely that the organisation may not deliver the correct profit margins, because of you.

And by way of a bonus, here is one last idea. Try to find a way to spend time helping others. It is amazing how this can give you a feel good factor and then how this inspiration can be transposed back to your work space!