“A plan is what, a schedule is when. It takes both a plan and a schedule to get things done.”
Let me guess – you’re busy, right? You have a To Do list that you never seem to get to the bottom of. You have unfinished projects, people to phone and ideas for your business pinging around your head.
Sit back, relax with a cuppa and enjoy a 5 minute read – let’s see if there’s a way we can get more stuff done and be more productive with these 5 tips:-
When are you at your most productive?
We’re all different. The trick is to identify when you are at your best in terms of productivity. Personally, I’m a morning person so it makes sense for me to “give it my all” first thing in the morning. I’d opt for a breakfast meeting over an after-work event any day of the week and on non-networking days I’m usually at my desk by 7.30 am as that’s my best time. Maybe you’re a night owl, or get more done during the middle of the day – identify what time of day works for you and work it. It’s pointless saving all the heavy-duty tasks for the time of day your heart isn’t in it.
Schedule A Series Of Power Hours
Once you’ve identified when you’re at your most productive, grab your diary and schedule some Power Hours. A Power Hour is that golden 60 minutes where you focus on one thing – it could be a blog you keep meaning to write, it could be getting your bookkeeping done or scheduling all of your weekly social media posts – but you really need to stay focused. Switch off all other distractions such as your emails, social media and news alerts and just knuckle down to that one task you’ve scheduled for your Power Hour. Stick to the Power Hour appointments, treat them like client meetings – no cancelling them for something more important or you’ll never move forward.
Batch Similar Tasks Together
Jumping from one thing to the next and back again can be a massive time waster. Allot time slots to common tasks such as phone calls, email replies, filing – so that your headspace is in one place for all of those types of tasks and not failing as it tries to keep up with you jumping from one thing to another.
Automate
Don’t be afraid to utilise your Out Of Office – even when you’re in the office, and apply auto responders on your Facebook Page. You really don’t have to reply to everything the second it hits your Inbox, or during the evening or at the weekend. We all need to rest and sleep occasionally!
Stop Striving For Perfection
We all want to deliver perfection, but perfection can take time. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes – will they know the difference between perfect and OK when they receive that email from you, or read that blog you’ve just spent 6 weeks putting together? Sometimes we can be too close to our businesses to see when good is good enough. For those of you who know me well enough, my mantra is JFDI – it’s a lot more productive than sit on it for weeks and never get it finished!
So there you have it – 5 simple ways to get more stuff done! I’d love to hear your productivity tips – feel free to comment below.
