So often when asking clients about their goals and main areas of focus for the coaching sessions, the word ‘productivity’ comes up and goals around utilising time to the best of their ability, getting things done and being as productive as possible are explored. It's not unusual, wanting to be more productive and create more time for ourselves. We all have 24 hours in a day and we want to make the most of them by getting things done in the most efficient manner.
It’s no surprise when the world we live in today is such a hectic and fast paced one. We are always plugged in, switched on and contactable. Lines between work and our free time become blurred with e-mails coming in from the other side of the world just as we should be winding down for bed. And of course we read them don’t we?! Time is precious, when it’s gone, it’s gone and can never be replaced, so it’s only right that we want to manage it as effectively as possible to create more of it. A friend once said to me as I was feeling guilty about cutting our weekend away short because I was unwell, “I’m sad you‘re unwell and I won’t see more of you, but who doesn’t love the gift of time?” So true!
I thought I would share some of my favourite productivity hacks. There are many out there so I’m choosing just three. Maybe they will all work for you, maybe only one will, maybe you will take elements of each. It can be trial and error to see how things fit with you and your lifestyle, but they are yours to take away and explore and I hope they will gift you some precious time!
1. Eat the frog! A Mark Twain quote I’m sure many are familiar with and one I love! There’s even a book called “Eat That Frog“ by Brian Tracy, all about organising your day and getting important tasks done. The concept is that if the first thing you do in a day is eat a live frog, you won’t have to do anything as horrible for the rest of your day. In productivity terms, it means do the most horrible or challenging job first. We all have that one task we dread. We procrastinate on it, but it doesn’t go away. Before we know it, it’s 4pm and we are doing it last minute and with a brain much less fresh and alert than our first thing in the morning brain. Do it first and it’s done. Now you can face the rest of the day knowing the tasks ahead are easier and maybe even ones you enjoy!
2. I have a system of planning, doing, delegating and deleting. I like to brain dump all the tasks preying on my mind on paper and then organise them. First, I have a 2 minute rule - if any of the jobs on my to-do list can be done in 2 minutes or less, I do them - no excuses! If I can delegate any of my tasks, I write down next to them who I will delegate them to. If any of the jobs are no longer relevant or not all that important right now but I would like get back to them at some point, then I will delete them or put them on a ‘Someday/Maybe‘ list that I keep on Evernote. Think of this as your incubation folder. Next, it’s the planning stage. By now, my list is much smaller so I can clearly see the jobs left to focus on. Look at the now shorter to-do list and put the tasks in order of priority and write down when they will get done, who needs to be involved (do you need to bring someone else in on a project, call someone, do you need to part delegate a task etc.) Don’t forget to eat the frog in this list, too... if there is a frog!
3. Speaking of brain dumps, finally I like to do mine last thing at night. I spend 10 minutes before bed to write down all the things I need to do, either the next day, or for the week ahead. I usually split this into personal and professional tasks and I do include absolutely everything. I want it all out of my head so there are no distracting thoughts swimming around while I am trying to sleep. By doing this, I can go to bed knowing I won’t be kept awake or, even worse, be woken up because I’ve just remembered something I need to do. This is a great stress reduction and sleep management tip. It’s also a good idea to keep a pen and notepad beside your bed so you can add any tasks to it, should they wake you from your slumber.
So those are my 3 productivity hacks for today. There are many more time saving strategies out there but why not start with these and see how you go? If you are already doing one of these or if you start them and it goes well, I'd love you to leave a comment with your thoughts and experiences. And if you have any productivity hacks of your own, please share those, too. Time to get things done!
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