Strategies that unlock time for professional development

WE are halfway through the working year; a time when many professionals make a critical mistake — they hit pause on their career development. They assume it’s quiet and that the third quarter will be the time to “pick things back up”. But while others pull back, you should grab this moment to move ahead.

- TIFFANY UMAN

Promotions don’t wait for your timing; hiring cycles don’t stall until you feel ready. And better opportunities go to those who are already taking action.

Here are three proven strategies to reduce time-wasting on things that keep you stuck professionally, so that you can make tangible progress on the career moves you're targeting:

Prioritise with urgency

At this point in the year, your time and focus need to be aligned with your biggest goals and not just your busiest tasks.

This means ruthless prioritisation: focusing your energy on what actually moves the needle for your career and not on what feels urgent or what fills your calendar. Prioritising with urgency is what will get you closer to the role, recognition or promotion you've been working so hard towards.

You can’t afford to waste another day, week or month on reactive work that doesn’t serve your growth. Shift quickly into a high-impact mode by using the Eisenhower Box weekly. Sort all your tasks into four key categories: important and urgent, important but not urgent, not important but urgent, and not important and not urgent. Then spend the majority of your time on the first two categories, as this is where real progress happens.

You can also set your daily top three by identifying the three tasks that will have the most significant impact on your career goals or performance outcomes. These become your non-negotiables for the day.