Do you spend too much time in a state of 'busyness'? Speakers at this week's CIPD Conference and Exhibition will argue that 90 per cent of managers are lacking the skills to avoid getting trapped in a cycle of non-constructive action.

According to Alan Hooper and Heike Bruch, results of a three year study they conducted into the working habits of more than 120 managers in a large global company showed that the majority of those assessed spent large amounts of time procrastinating about work and lacked a clear focus and route to channel their energies at work. Instead, they spent much of their time making sure targets and outcomes which were already going to take place happened, rather than concentrating on pushing through work objectives which would otherwise be left to one side.

Hooper and Bruch do argue that it isn't entirely the fault of the manager that this happens: "People have to deal with enormous pressure and dilemmas and it's a natural human reaction that this leads to time-wasting", says Hooper, who also maintains that it's possible to learn effective skills for taking purposeful action by managing interruptions and taking time to take stock of their own productivity during busy times. He adds, "In the busiest times, (effective managers) slow down and reflect on what they want to achieve - and focus on doing what is important."

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