policetimemanagement

You won’t read this to the end. Pity.

If you are, or know, a serving police officer or civilian, please read the foreword in my Amazon ‘LookInside’ page (CLICK HERE) before you read further. Is that your experience, or that of your acquaintance? It was certainly mine. I spent years listening to colleagues bemoaning the ‘time/task’ imbalance – too little of the former,Continue reading “You won’t read this to the end. Pity.”

Structure Promotes Freedom

When I retired I made an odd discovery, which I thought was personal until an equally retired ex-colleague made the same observation. We had both discovered that going from 40 hours a week to No hours a week massively reduced the amount of time we had left to get anything done. Read that again. NotContinue reading “Structure Promotes Freedom”

The Christmas Excuse. Bin it.

Here we go again. ‘Tis the season to be merry, and in that spirit I anticipate entry into the annual merry-go-round that is the promise that “I’ll do it when we get Christmas out of the way,” I say merry-go-round because without any doubt whatsoever you know someone who says that and then, immediately afterContinue reading “The Christmas Excuse. Bin it.”

Notice how COVID hasn’t reduced your workload?

How has COVID affected your time management? If you are anything like I was, you are frustrated that the imposition of new work – work which doesn’t necessarily ‘float your boat’ – has meant delaying all those other tasks, appointments and commitments that you (dare I say) ‘real’ police work created nearly a year ago.Continue reading “Notice how COVID hasn’t reduced your workload?”

The Timeless Wisdom – of a Teenager

Yesterday, ten days after publishing my book, I was researching via YouTube and came across a video by a very young African-American lady named Tonya. She was asked a question and her reply was wise, well-considered – and one I hadn’t thought of myself. I wish I’d heard it before I published! The first chapterContinue reading “The Timeless Wisdom – of a Teenager”

Police Request!

I am again asking for help from my 400+ LinkedIn connections. Some of you are coppers, some of you were, and many of you will know someone in the Job. Please share – you don’t have to endorse it, just make your policing and investigation links aware of it so that they can assess itContinue reading “Police Request!”

Work Hobbies – Sub-specialise Away Your Stress.

Throughout my policing career I occasionally found myself wondering why I wasn’t quite enjoying work as much as I’d hoped. You may feel the same way, now and then. Here was my response to that debilitating feeling. During the mid-1990s I had a bit of a wobble. The stresses I suffered resulted, in part IContinue reading “Work Hobbies – Sub-specialise Away Your Stress.”

Are you up to date?

A surprising number of people object to on-the-job training and to attending courses. I know that some of their reluctance is down to a perceived interruption to the work that they are already doing, that mounts up inexorably while they are away and, occasionally, the belief that the training is unnecessary and irrelevant. We hadContinue reading “Are you up to date?”

On Book Learnin’

I’ve long been troubled by the police promotion process, and at the outset have to state that I never went through it. It was traffic law, mainly – I really didn’t care one iota about tyre tread depths. Nor did I want to learn about how to deal with the one theft of a deerContinue reading “On Book Learnin’”

Two perspectives on Goal Setting

Goal setting. The subject of many a seminar, book and audio presentation. Look it up on YouTube and you’ll be overwhelmed with responses. The ‘accepted’ mnemonic is SMART and, to be frank, this is as good a memory-prompt as any when it comes to this subject. BUT. SMART applies only after you’ve identified a goal,Continue reading “Two perspectives on Goal Setting”