Page 26 - PWM2026_JANUARY EBOOK

BETTER BUSINESS

Time

management

From fast cars and houses to designer clothing, and
fancy jewellery, money can buy almost anything. It
buys influence and improves the health and
appearance of the wealthy. And yet it cannot pre-
vent the inevitable (even though some will try), by
Adam Bernstein
I how to deal with pressure. While he

t also cannot buy one other
has “a strong sense of responsibility”
thing – time.
Time must be used wisely;
and is comfortable making big deci-
sions, he says that “it’s often the
once wasted it can never be
regained. In a business con-
text, time management –
tasks that can really wear you
especially for those at the top – is daily grind and the smaller, constant
down”.
critical as it can make the difference There’s much for him to think
between corporate failure or suc- about – workload, sales, perfor-
cess. mance, staff, leadership, wellbeing.
And as if to drive the point home, But although he comes from a back-
a recent YouGov survey found that ground of hard physical work and
businesses waste more than £13bn a long hours, he finds the weight of
year in lost productivity as “middle management different – “it sits in
managers lose an average of 7.3 your head and doesn’t always leave,
weeks a year to unnecessary or no matter where you are or what in the office, he’s at his least productive: “The daily interruptions, ques-
repetitive tasks, including unpro- time it is”. tions and general buzz make it hard to focus deeply. But I love being
ductive meetings, email overload, This is why he thinks that it’s there – seeing projects come to life, catching up with the team and feel-
and correcting others’ mistakes”. important to educate others on this. ing the energy of what we’ve built.”
So, where do people go wrong? As he says, “it’s taken me a long time He continues: “Sometimes the best way to lead is to step back, clear
And what do they do to repair any to learn – often the hard way – so I’ll your head, and give yourself the time to think properly.”
And for ‘general headspace’, to avoid the constant distractions
damage caused by poor time man- always pass on advice where I can: Swinson-Bullough seeks solace at the gym, in reading, and in learning to
agement? plan your time, work from home speak Italian and Spanish. On top of that he relaxes by listening to music,
when needed, delegate and, most of fishing, cycling, snowboarding and spending as much time as he can with
Nathan Swinson-Bullough, all, don’t burn out.” his family.
Imageco
Swinson-Bullough describes Making time to think Time is easily stolen
Imageco as “a busy creative print Swinson-Bullough both likes and As any manager will tell, time is easily stolen. For Swinson-Bullough,
and production house, working with needs time to think; he often will the greatest losses can be found in preparing to go to work – even just get-
global brands across the UK and take himself away from the office. ting there – it “can be one of the biggest time stealers of all”. After that,
EU”. “Travel, quiet time, and space to he says that it’s the usual suspects: the lack of focus, poor planning and
He understands the intensity of think are when I do my best work; mental blocks.
He details that for him: “Productivity comes down to clarity. I make
his position and that “a senior man- most of my decision-making hap- lists – lots of them – ranked by importance, from daily tasks to big deci-
agement role, especially as an MD, pens away from the desk, often sions and even personal goals. Once I’ve done that, it’s about shutting
can be incredibly intense”. while travelling or even in the gym. everything else out and getting my head down. If I’m focused, I can be
Swinson-Bullough says that find- That’s when the noise drops and the incredibly productive. But if I let distractions creep in, the day disappears
ing the right balance is hard and he’s ideas come through.” fast”.
had to spend a lot of time learning Curiously, he says that when he’s Finding that balance between discipline and creativity is still some-

24 PrintWeek MENA January 2026 www.printweekmena.com