Hi there Waggledancers! Just an idea I am playing with. I've seen a number of social media presentations which stress the importance of making engagement a disciplined activity not just wandering around on the web looking at interesting stuff - which most of us to be honest don't have time for and take from other more important activities.  But having thought about a working day I started to wonder if there wasn't a way to organise it so that  in 1 hour chunks I could cover the things I need to do. Of course this is a wishlist and a morning meeting could wipe out several hours of this. But the idea is that when I get back to my desk I know what activity I should be focussing on. And it theoretically ring fences priorities which otherwise never happen.

Here's a brief commentary on the list.

9 am Innovating  I'm a morning person so find this the best time to have ideas. The first hour is where I work on projects and inititatives which require creative thinking when I am fresh.

10 am Marketing. Was it Drucker who said that innovation and marketing create value but everything else is a cost. So here's the first hour of marketing. This might be promotional activity making calls and so such. But it might be listening to see what clients and prospects are talking about. And it might be a suitable time to look at the metrics - what are clients up to and how am I doing in blog mentions and so forth

11am Important stuff. I have work to do for clients - which needs doing. Here's an hour for that.

12 pm. Urgent stuff. This is mostly emails and time dependent communications

1 pm mid day break - time for getting in touch with people, for general play and exploration. Supposed to be a bit of a break!!

2 pm Important stuff. There's still plenty to do!!

3 pm Learning. The rate of change is so fast that unless I make significant time to learn things I never get around to it.

4 pm Filing and Tidying.  Never given enough time. That's why my office is untidy and why it takes time to find files. I know where I am supposed to put them but rarely do I make time to put them there.  This could include general tidying - reading and disposing of trade press and suchlike.  But the goal is to clear space. It is also a time of day when I am less alert so is suitable for lower grade activity.

5 pm Marketing. the second hour of marketing activity for the main reason that this is a good time to make phone calls. To send out mailings which are more likely to be read as people are winding down for the day. And it is a reminder that marketing needs to be continuous. It can't just happen 1 day a month.

Do I only work from 9 to 5? Of course not. But this gives a structure to the day and ensures that I cover a range of activity and don't get stuck in one area only. I should also add that every day before 9 requires a planning session so I know what I need to put into each hour.

So there's my rainbow day. Which I am going to try. What do you suggest as an alternative and how would you choose to structure your day if you had the choice?