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Take a Time Audit. Use a calendar spreadsheet to record everything you do for a week and how much time is spent on each activity. Most people are surprised to discover that they aren’t spending most of their time where they think they are. This is a great way to discover time sinks and assess how much of your time is actually productive activity that is progressing your important goals.
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Apply the 80/20 Rule. As a corollary to Pareto’s Law, 20% of your activities are probably producing 80% of your results. Prioritize your daily schedule to maximize the amount of focus you are able to give to those important, productive, results-oriented activities. Those are the things you should be spending more time on, if possible!
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Discard the Waste. Chances are that you are spending more time than you’d like to be on time-wasting activities. Identify the things that seem to be sucking up most of your time and determine who is expecting them to happen and whether they’re actually necessary. If they’re not accomplishing anything worthwhile, stop doing them!
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Set Appointments with Yourself. Activities and tasks that are goal-oriented and important to you are the ones that need to get done… so block out time in schedule to make it happen. An item that is sitting on a to-do list can get pushed back; one that is scheduled for 2:30 PM on Wednesday is far more likely to really happen! Make an appointment with yourself – and keep it.
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Set Boundaries. Block off your productive time periods and self-appointments so that you can focus without being interrupted. If you let everyone in your office know not to disturb you during certain hours of the day – and enforce that rule – they will adjust. If you have calendar software that lets people see your schedule, setting self-appointments is key to preventing people from setting up calls, meetings, or other events during your focused time.
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Expect the Unexpected. Build time into your schedule to deal with interruptions. They’re going to happen, but if your plan for them, you don’t have to let them derail your day. If you plan some cushion time into your schedule, you can afford to be pulled away from what you’re doing for a few minutes, and then you can get back to it afterward.
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Take a Message. Just because the phone is ringing or your email inbox is filling up doesn’t necessarily mean you have to respond immediately. If you’re being productive, don’t come out of the zone just to answer a phone call. There’s no reason for everyone else to expect your instant attention – let your voicemail do its job, and schedule a specific time at the beginning and end of the day to answer email and return phone calls.
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Log Off. Unless social media or other Internet content is business-critical for you, eliminate the distractions of online browsing, Tweeting, or posting pictures of your lunch on Instagram. Schedule some breaks during which you can check in, or just wait to catch up on all of that after you’ve met your goals for the day.
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Draw a Line. Most of us hate to tell anyone “no” when they ask us to help – but nobody can do everything. Other people will tend assume that you have time because they don’t see your life from the inside. If others are making unreasonable – or just impossible – demands on your time, you will have to start drawing a line somewhere. (If it’s your boss, ask them to prioritize your projects for you, so you know which one to set aside.)
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Turn ON or Turn OFF. When you have a lunch, take a break, or go home for the day, use that time to recharge – not to get more work done. Studies have shown that overwork is a self-defeating behavior that results in serious health problems. There’s no point in putting in 60-hour weeks if it’s just going to land you in the hospital! Make a practice of either being 100% “ON” and focused on productivity, or 100% “OFF” and truly relaxing. The less time you spend in a muddled, stress-inducing in-between state, the better.
Baker Communications offers leading edge Management Training solutions that will help you address the goals and achieve the solutions addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that leads to better performance and greater productivity, click here.
