How long is your working week?

MPs reckon they work on average 85 hours a week when Parliament is sitting. How much of that time is spent snoozing in the Chamber or out on boozy lunches I'm not sure (it did include travel/commuting time). Of course my ears pricked up on hearing this

They're voting on how much of a pay rise they're going to reward themselves and obviously feel that they deserve a big pay rise because they work such long hours.

Apart from rushing up to the House of Commons and offering them all time management courses ... can you really have a life when you're working an average 80 hours a week? That's 16 hours a day, so not a lot of time for eating, sleeping and socialising.

We're renowned for working longer hours in the UK than our counterparts in Europe. As many people here run their own business - do you work longer hours than you would if you were working for someone else because it's your own business or are you happy with the hours you're working. You chose your hours, you have the lifestyle you want and have plenty of time for family, friends and to enjoy the rest of your life? Many people who run their own businesses feel that in order to make a success of the business they have to put in long hours in order to make it work.

Even in the corporate world there's an unwritten expectation that if you're only working 9-5, you're not working hard enough. Eyebrows are raised or tutting occurs if you attempt to leave 'on-time'. The threat of job cuts and redundancy means that if you can give the impression that you're working really hard (because obviously if you have to come in at 7.30am and leave at 7.30 every day - you must be) then you'll be so indispensable your name won't be on the list should the worst happen. Say yes to everything the boss throws at you - of course you can handle it - you'll just stay a couple of hours longer. It doesn't have to be this way - unless of course you enjoy working 60-80 hours a week (does that include weekends?).

Learning to say No - whether to the boss or to yourself (the boss) is one way to start cutting back.

Plan your time - appropriately and effectively.

Obvious - but how many of us actually do it or are you just reacting to things as they come in - dealing with them on a first come first saved basis or whoever or whatever shouts the loudest?

Get control of your time and you can reduce your hours.

January Newsletter - Preparing For Success

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is about preparing for success in 2008.

How many of you set New Year Resolutions? How many of you actually manage to keep to them? I think that’s almost part of the tradition of the New Year Resolution is that along with the smoking, drinking, chocolate or whatever you’ve decided to ‘give up’, you’ve also given up the resolution itself by about February or March ...

- if you'd like a free copy of the January issue, let me know and I'll be happy to send it to you or you can just sign up on my website and get free Time Tips.

Sofa of Sickness

I ache all over, hot flushes, cold chills, it's painful to cough, my head hurts and I've lost my appetite and spent most of the weekend on the sofa with no energy to do anything. Yes, I've finally gone down with the flu or a horrible cold at least. Hardly surprising as so many people around me have had the dreaded lurgy.

At least working from home I don't have to struggle into work and can do as much as little as I want - as long as I don't have to talk, I don't think my throat can take it. It's sunny outside, so I will make it up to the shop to restock on lemsip or something to ease the symptoms, having first wrapped up in layers, hat, gloves, scarf as I don't want to make anything worse.

Not a great start to the year and although I'm keen to get going, I'll do as much as I can while looking after myself and not trying to do too much and making things worse or prolonging it.

Easing Back Into Work

If you're easing yourself back into work after a long break over Christmas you might be finding it hard to get focused.

You've only got three days this week, so spend a few minutes thinking about what you need to get done in this time. Don't overload yourself, after all, it's a short week.

Write a list, sort it in order of priority with the important things to be done first and then plan when you're going to get these things done. Actually plan the time out in your day. What are your main goals for this year - what do you need to get done this month to Kick Start the year? People you usually deal with may still be on holiday this week, so it's a good time to clear the decks, plan for the year and set yourself up for the coming year.

Get the email backlog cleared but don't spend all day on it. Spend the first few minutes doing a quick scan of your Inbox. Quickly delete all the spam and things you don't need to read. Pick out and flag the emails you need to respond to and if they're Important - set aside time to respond or do them first. Read my article on clearing your mail backlog.

Unless you've started with great enthusiasm, fully refreshed after your time off - you're unlikely to be hitting the ground running and be able to launch yourself straight into a full day's work. Tackle your action list in chunks. Set mini-targets and spend just thirty minutes on the first task. If you finish it in that time, move on to the next one. Every couple of hours take a break or go and do something different.

Make sure you do one thing that will 'grow' your business each day.
Make sure you do one thing each day for yourself.

If you've had a busy Christmas with the usual activity of friends and family, don't end up at the end of the next three days worn out and exhausted. Ease yourself back in gently. If you're still in holiday mode - decide just to work for half a day or a couple of hours.

If you've planned out what needs to be done, you can be more effective by doing two or three things well rather than trying to do several things half-heartedly.

New Year Resolutions

Resolutions fail because they're a usually half-hearted attempt to make a change without really understanding the reasons and motivation behind them. Losing weight is a favourite and most people will focus on the negative side of 'going on a diet' or watch the scales to closely then get disappointed and frustrated when they slip up or don't lose as much as they want. Far better to think about being fit and healthy for the person that you are.

Few of us are going to be able to look like Kate Moss. Having a healthy, balanced diet is a far better goal to aim for and knowing what you will have once you are healthy and what you are letting go by no longer being unfit and overweight. By all means measure this goal by checking your weight but this doesn't have to be the only measure.

Don't spend out large sums of money on a gym membership with great enthusiasm at the beginning of the year, only to give up as Spring arrives. Find a way of exercising that you enjoy - it doesn't have to mean joining a gym. There are plenty of classes available for everything from dancing to yoga. Swimming and walking are great for all round exercise and there are plenty of ways to increase your activity in each day.

People tend to be too general with their resolutions which is why they've usually given up on them by February. New habits take time to adopt - so if you've spent a lifetime of eating biscuits, processed foods and sitting on the couch - don't expect to have changed all this in just two short months.

Understanding the underlying reasons for wanting the change and also the reasons why we so often fail will increase the chances of being successful.

• Write them down - really, really understand what it is that you want.
• Talk it through with a partner or friend but know that they have their own perspective and underlying motivations.
• Be realistic and focus on what you want not what you don't want.
• If you go off track, don't give up, adjust, modify and get back on track.

Only when the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of making the change will you be ready to do something about it.

Set a resolution this year that you will actually achieve - change just one thing.