Almost every morning, one or two of my social media contacts, post about working harder and longer to achieve their goals. We often take our work home, and we even work on holidays. In fact, some of my friends proudly consider themselves “workaholics”.
A case in point. When a freelance graphic designer friend came up with her own routine of working 4 days per week with an extended weekend, her friends labelled her as lazy and unproductive. But she didn’t work less. She evaluated how her days were spent, and realised there were lots of lost hours, and by staying focused she was able to accomplish the same amount of work in less time.
While it is understandable that cramming work schedule into a 4-day week is not feasible for everyone, I do know that working smarter is more important than working longer especially for your mental wellbeing.
When I ventured into entrepreneurship years back, I too was on a work longer mode. I thought that the only way I would succeed and achieve my goals was to work more, sleep less and leave barely any room for recreational activities and socialising. I felt guilty when I had a free morning, and always found a way to keep myself busy. I didn’t give myself time to reflect. My brain was always thinking about work or I was discussing work.
After falling sick, working during my holidays, and feeling burnt out because of the long working hours I invested into my business, I was unhappy, and I knew I had to find a way to work smarter and still achieve my goals. Today, I put less hours than I used to, take more time out for recreation, and feel like I have achieved a work-life balance while realising my professional goals.
This is how I did it:
One of the things that many entrepreneurs struggle with is remembering everything they need to do for work. That is why they may end up spending more time at the office. I used to remember things toward the end of my working day, which made me stay back, and lose out on down time. Jotting down my weekly and daily goals helped me stay focused. It ensured I did not spend unnecessary extra working hours. I personally like to jot my tasks down in a notebook, but there are several digital planners with alerts that can help.
I also knew that I had to get my head in the game and a dedicated space and time were going to mentally prepare me with that. I named my office my achievement zone, and I knew that when I stepped into that room, I had a set number of hours to get things done, with no excuses for unnecessary distractions that could deter me or interrupt my mental flow. Track where you waste your time the most. Is it by browsing different pages on the Internet? Is it by socialising?
Distractions are expensive and not easy to overcome. It takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to a task after being distracted, according to a University of California Irvine study. Mobile phones and social media channels contribute largely to that. When I turned off my mobile notifications at work, I was able to get more work done.
Last but not least, work smarter by not doing all the work. Administrative tasks were what ate most of my time and left me no room to think creatively. If you can’t afford a full-time assistant, hire part-time ones virtually for competitive prices with flexible work options. Investing money on admin help, gave me room to think and I ended up earning more money.
Just like many of my generation, I love working. I love giving back and creating a better world. But what we need to keep in mind is that we shouldn’t pursue that while compromising our health and mental wellbeing. There are ways to work smartly and getting things done without letting work eat up our time.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati journalist and entrepreneur, who manages her marketing and communications company in Abu Dhabi
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2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
