Store Associate Performance Review

I never thought something this simple would make such a difference in how I work and manage my time. This 15-minute weekly habit changed everything for me: The weekly review. This is one of the most simple yet powerful practices I've built over the years. It helps me reflect on what’s working, what’s not, and what needs adjusting. The concept, introduced by David Allen in “Getting Things Done”, emphasises the importance of closing open loops and staying on top of commitments before they pile up. Over time, it’s become a cornerstone of my productivity system. Here’s what my weekly review looks like: - Review the past week – I list the dates from the past week and, using my calendar and notes, jot down key events and tasks. - Reflect on achievements and challenges – Take a moment to celebrate what went well and spot areas for improvement. - Plan for the upcoming week – Adjust goals and priorities to make sure I’m focusing on what really matters. It’s a small investment of time, but the impact is huge. Every week, those 15 minutes give me clarity, keeps me on track, and make decision-making easier. Instead of constantly chasing the next thing, it gives me a chance to pause, take stock, and plan with intention. Do you have a system for reflecting on your week, or is this something you’d want to try?

For all of us, time is the most valuable asset. In an organisation, where the leaders spend time signals the priorities, shapes culture and determines whether the organisation executes on what truly matters. Great time management, I have found, isn’t about squeezing more tasks into a day; it’s about aligning your time with critical outcomes and creating leverage through people, processes and decisions. Those who are good at this make the hour last longer. Why is time management key? It converts strategy to action. Your calendar is the operating system of strategy. If this calendar doesn’t reflect the company’s priorities, the organisation isn’t likely to achieve its goals. It frees time for what matters. Leaders create impact less by doing and more by enabling. Ensuring time availability for the right activities multiplies output. It improves decisions. Unrushed thinking and focused reviews improve judgement, reduce rework and prevent “urgent” fires. It is the signal for direction and culture. Teams copy leaders’ calendar management style. When the leader models deep work, prioritisation, preparation and learning, others in the team follow. What are the common obstacles? Tyranny of the urgent: Unplanned demands, whatsapp pings and what gets classified as “urgent” crowds out important work. Meeting creep: Meetings accumulate without a clear purpose or decision rights Ambiguous priorities: Undefined, unprioritized goals produce reactive calendars where everything feels equally important. Delegation gaps: Work gravitates upward when role clarity or trust is low; leaders become doers, choking bandwidth Context switching: Too much activity especially in different contexts leads to poor focus; 60 minutes of activity is then only 10 minutes of progress. Saying “yes”: Without guardrails, leaders accept more than their calendar can bear. What’s the fix? Define the focus. Translate strategy into key quarterly outcomes. If an activity doesn’t advance these, it’s a candidate to decline, delegate or delay. Design your ideal week. Time-block for people, performance, thinking and certainly for buffers Run meetings like decisions, not rituals. Ask for a pre-read with the question to be decided, options, data and recommended next steps. Start with the decision, then discussion. End with the owner, deadline and success metric. Schedule Important/Non-Urgent work first each week. Deal with urgent/important issues and define what “urgent” means with your team. Delegate for outcomes, not tasks. Reduce context switching. Batch similar work so you don’t have fragmented focus. Silence notifications during deep work. Install guardrails for what you say “yes” to Audit and iterate. Review your calendar monthly: What created impact? What can be eliminated? Your calendar tells a very important story. Read it. As someone said, "When you invest your time in what truly matters, balance follows and happiness becomes the dividend"

Do you have a time management problem? Or is it really an investment issue? It doesn't matter how perfectly organized your calendar is if you're spending your time on the wrong things. Remember: Busy does NOT equal productivity. There's a simple shift that changes everything: Stop managing time and start investing it. Every hour has a return. Ask yourself: “Is this the most valuable use of my time right now?” If you want to apply this principle, start here: 1. Track your time (2–3 days). Write down what you actually do. No judgment. Just data. 2. Separate your work into two buckets. ⬆️ MVAs (Most Valuable Activities): highest impact ⬇️ LVAs (Least Valuable Activities): low return, busywork Be honest. This step is where clarity begins. 3. Deal with your LVAs. For each one: ✅ Eliminate it ✅ Automate it ✅ Delegate it If you don’t decide, it will keep taking up your time. 4. Protect your MVAs. Don’t just "fit them in.” Schedule them first. Guard that time. 5. Budget and focus. Group similar tasks. Reduce switching. Focus creates speed. 6. Review weekly. Ask: 1. What gave me the highest return? 2. What wasted time? 3. What will I change next week? Small adjustments lead to big results. One more truth: Every “yes” is an investment decision. When you say yes to one thing, you're saying no to something else. Choose wisely. Don’t spend your time. Invest it.  ♻️ Share this post if you found it helpful. 👉 Follow Dave Crenshaw for more productivity and leadership tips!

I've tried 100s of time management techniques.  This is by far my favourite: I used to work 80 hrs/week and call it "productive." When really I was: - Attending pointless meetings - Fighting countless small fires - Being involved in every decision Now I work less than 70% the time and get 4x as much done. The Eisenhower Matrix helped me get there.  It teaches you to categorise tasks by importance and urgency. Here's how it works: 1. Do It Now (Urgent + Important) Examples: - Finalise pitch deck before investor meeting tomorrow. - Fix website crash during peak customer traffic. - Respond to press interview request before deadline. Best Practices: - Attack these tasks first each morning with full focus. - Set a strict deadline so urgency fuels execution. 2. Schedule It (Important + Not Urgent) Examples: - Plan quarterly strategy session with leadership team. - Map long-term hiring plan for next 18 months. - Build a personal brand content system for LinkedIn. Best Practices: - Protect time blocks in advance. Never leave them floating. - Tie them to measurable outcomes, not vague intentions. 3. Delegate It (Urgent + Not Important) Examples: - Handle inbound customer service queries this week. - Organise travel logistics for upcoming conference. - Update CRM with latest sales call notes. Best Practices: - Build playbooks so your team executes without confusion. - Delegate with deadlines to avoid wasting time. 4. Eliminate It (Not Urgent + Not Important) Examples: - Tweak logo colour palette again for fun. - Attend generic networking events with no ICP fit. - Review endless “best productivity tools” articles. Best Practices: - Audit weekly. Cut anything that doesn’t compound long-term. - Replace low-value busywork with rest, thinking, or selling. If you are always reacting to what feels urgent,   You'll never focus on what matters. Attend to the tasks in quadrant 1 efficiently,  Then spend 60-70% of your time in quadrant 2.    That's work that actually builds your business. Which quadrant are you spending too much time in right now?  Drop your thoughts in the comments. My newsletter, Step By Step, breaks down more frameworks like this. It's designed to help you build smarter without burning out. 200k+ builders use it to develop better systems. Join them here:  https://lnkd.in/eUTCQTWb ♻️ Repost this to help other founders manage their time.  And follow Chris Donnelly for more on building and running businesses. 

Time Isn’t the Issue. Priorities Are. After 30+ years in the corporate world - leading turnarounds, scaling global teams, surviving crises, and launching innovation - I’ve learned one unshakable truth: Time management is a myth. What we really need is priority management. In my early days, I thought I could "manage" time - color-coded calendars, detailed to-do lists, 12-hour workdays. It looked productive, but I was often exhausted and chasing the wrong things. Here’s what decades in leadership taught me: Not everything urgent is important. I used to respond instantly to emails marked “high priority.” Now I pause and ask - is this aligned with my long-term goals? If not, it waits. The 80/20 rule is real. 20% of your efforts lead to 80% of your outcomes. Identify your “vital few” and go deep. Delegate or delay the rest. Saying no is a leadership skill. Every “yes” is a “no” to something else. I've declined high-profile panels, investor meetings, even partnerships - because they didn’t align with my or my company's true north. Protect your deep work zone. My mornings are sacred. No meetings before 10 AM. I use that time to think, write, plan, and build. Leaders aren’t paid to be busy. We’re paid to think clearly. Review your calendar like a budget. Every Sunday, I audit my calendar. Does how I spent last week reflect what I claim to value? If not, I correct course - ruthlessly. Here’s my filter: Does this move the needle on our purpose, people, or performance? If yes, I invest time. If not, I reassign or release. The higher you rise, the more people want a piece of your time. The challenge isn’t finding time - it’s guarding your energy, focus, and intention. To any emerging leader reading this: You don’t need to do more. You need to do what matters more.

The most common lie people tell themselves: "I don't have time." I say that with some self-awareness. I run multiple businesses across 18 countries, a family office, and philanthropic projects in Uganda. If anyone had grounds to claim they were too busy, you'd think it was me. But a few years ago I started tracking my time properly. What I found was a bit uncomfortable. Yes, the big stuff was there: the calls, the decisions, the travel. But buried between all of it were hours of low-grade distraction: - Scrolling through news I'd forgotten by lunchtime - Half-watching things I didn't care about  - Saying yes to things that didn't deserve my attention I wasn't short of time. I was just spending it badly. And I'd bet most people reading this are in the same position. So here's where to start: 1️⃣ Track your time for 3 days ↳ Write down everything in hourly blocks. Be honest. The results will surprise you. 2️⃣ Name your time leaks ↳ What shows up every day but adds nothing? Identify it and write it down. 3️⃣ Build a "not to do" list ↳ Alongside your to do list, write what you're committing to stop. Both lists matter equally. 4️⃣ Protect your first 90 minutes ↳ Before the emails, the messages, the requests - that window is yours. Guard it. 5️⃣ Do a weekly time review ↳ Every Sunday, 15 minutes. Ask yourself: where did my time actually go this week? Simple stuff. But it does require a level of honesty most people aren't used to applying themselves. Chances are, the problem was never time. It was always priorities. ♻️ Repost for the person in your network who's always "too busy." 🔔 Follow Gareth Lloyd for more.

What is your relationship with time? This isn't just a rhetorical question, but a gateway to understanding and mastering one of the most precious resources in our lives. As entrepreneurs and business owners, the value of time is immeasurable. It’s the canvas upon which dreams are painted and goals are achieved. Yet, how many of us can confidently say we are making the most of every tick of the clock? Optimizing time isn't just about squeezing every second for productivity; it's about intentional living. It’s about making choices that align not just with our business objectives but also with our personal values and aspirations. In the words of a renowned motivational speaker, "Time management is life management." This perspective shifts the focus from merely managing schedules to managing life itself. Here are tactical strategies for entrepreneurs and business leaders to optimize their lives and harness their time effectively: Start with Clarity: Define what success means to you, both in business and in life. Without a clear destination, time is easily lost in aimless activities. Set specific, measurable goals that align with your vision. Prioritize Ruthlessly: Recognize that not all tasks are created equal. Identify activities that have the highest impact on your goals and prioritize them. Learn to say no to tasks that don't align with your objectives. Break Down Goals: Large goals can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Break them down into smaller, manageable tasks. This makes it easier to track progress and maintain momentum. Embrace the Power of Routines: Establishing routines can automate decision-making, saving mental energy and time. Develop morning routines that energize you and evening routines that help you unwind and reflect. Practice Mindfulness and Self-Care: Time spent on self-care is not wasted. It rejuvenates the mind and body, leading to more productive and creative work hours. Mindfulness practices can help you stay focused and reduce time lost to stress and anxiety. Reflect and Adjust: Regularly review how you spend your time. Be honest with yourself about what's working and what's not. Adjust your strategies and routines accordingly. Find Your Peak Hours: Identify the times of day when you are most productive. Schedule your most challenging tasks during these hours to make the most of your energy and concentration. Remember, time is the canvas, but you are the artist. How you use this canvas determines the masterpiece of your life and business. By being intentional with time, embracing continuous learning, and aligning your daily actions with your broader goals, you can transform the way you live and lead. The journey of optimizing time is not just about doing more; it’s about being more - more present, more engaged, and more fulfilled in every aspect of life.

How executives spend their time is an underrated concept. People talk about time management, but they think about it on a day-to-day or even week-to-week basis when they should consider it comprehensively. As an executive at Amazon, I learned how to set my schedule of recurring and one-off meetings on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis in a way that stayed consistent for years.  I learned how to set my calendar and allocate time intentionally – how to drive and own my calendar rather than letting other people and events drive it for me. I learned how to do this from Jeff Wilke, former SVP of Amazon’s WW Operations and CEO of Amazon Consumer.  I reported to him for four years. He is one of the best, if not the best, operators of his generation.  From Jeff, I learned how to establish an operating cadence and the recurring meetings that drive it. Here is how this works. The first step in setting your calendar is to establish the recurring meetings, which enable you and your team to audit and review current business results and progress toward annual operating plan goals.  These recurring meetings all include the word “Review (e.g., Weekly Business Review, Weekly Initiatives or Project Review, and Weekly Recruiting/Hiring Review). I had three separate one-hour Weekly reviews for each of these three topics, for a total of 3 hours per week. Each month, I conducted a Monthly Business Review of each business or function I managed. The number you need depends on the composition of the company or organization you lead, but there should be one of these for each major business unit or function. Some business units or functions may be placed on a quarterly rather than a monthly review cycle, depending on the level of risk and/or importance.  In my case, I had approximately 5 of these per month, each requiring 1-2 hours, for a total of 10 hours per month or 2.5 hours per week. Another recurring meeting type is the Exec Team or Staff Weekly meeting (typically one upward and one downward).  These meetings require 2-4 hours each week. I also conducted 1:1s, as did my manager(s) – either 30 minutes per report per week or one hour every other week.  If I had five direct reports, this would require about 3 hours per week. In total, recurring meetings (reviews, staff meetings, 1:1s) accounted for about 13 hours per week. Next come ad hoc meetings, which primarily consisted of three types: Working Backwards PR FAQ Reviews, candidate interviews, meetings with external partners, and “other” meetings on topics such as root-cause analysis (COE) or a deep dive into a portion of our operation. PR FAQ reviews were the most common ad hoc meetings because of the number of iterations we would go through for each new initiative, and my role varied in each meeting: leader, peer, or presenting upward to Jeff Bezos and the S Team.  I spent 5-15 hours per week on PR FAQ reviews. (cont. in comments)

Most people think time management is about getting more done. But is it? A meta-analysis of 150+ studies (Aeon et al., 2021) found... Time management has a moderate impact on performance…but a stronger impact on wellbeing. Read that again. We’ve spent decades positioning time management as a productivity tool. It’s not...It’s a regulation tool. Here’s what’s actually happening: Time management doesn’t dramatically increase output. It changes how people experience their work: 👉 Less stress 👉 More control 👉 Better emotional stability 👉 Higher life satisfaction Performance improves… but almost as a secondary effect. Even more interesting... The strongest predictor of time management isn’t training...It’s conscientiousness (r ≈ .45) This isn’t just a skill gap...It’s a behavioural system interacting with personality and environment. So what? If you're in L&D, leadership, or operations… Stop treating time management as: → calendars → prioritisation matrices → productivity hacks Start treating it as: → behavioural readiness under load Because performance doesn’t break down when people forget to plan. It breaks down when: 😶🌫️ cognitive load spikes ⚡ emotional pressure rises 🫣 competing demands collide Time management works because it stabilises those conditions. The shift is subtle, but critical: From: “Help people manage their time” To: “Design conditions where people can access their capability consistently” That’s where the real performance gains are. If you’re rethinking capability, performance, or training strategy… This is a lever worth pulling.

Here’s the time management advice nobody gives entrepreneurs: “Busy” doesn’t mean productive. Your calendar might be full, your days packed. But if your business isn’t growing, something’s off with how you manage your time. Why? Because time management isn’t about working harder. It’s about making strategic choices that maximise impact. Here’s what actually helped me shift from doing everything to focusing on what really matters: 1/ Know your peak hours → Do your most important work when your energy is at its highest. 2/ Reduce decision fatigue → Plan tomorrow before today ends. Save your mental energy for decisions that truly count. 3/ Create systems, not endless to-do lists → Instead of juggling countless tasks, build systems to handle repeated work. One well-designed system can replace dozens of daily actions. 4/ Protect your focus time → Block out one clear 3-hour window each day for your most important work. 5/ Apply the 80/20 Rule → 20% of your work delivers 80% of your results. Find that key 20%, and focus on it relentlessly. 6/ Batch similar tasks → Calls on Tuesday. Focused work on Wednesday. Admin on Friday. Switching between tasks wastes time and drains energy. 7/ Energy > Then more Hours → Work with your natural rhythm, not against it ( Because it’s not about how long you work, it’s about how well you match your energy to your tasks) The result? I reduced my week from 80 hours to 50, and 3x my focus and output. Time isn’t the problem. Mismanaging it is. P.S. What’s the biggest time-waster in your current routine?