Do your days rush past in a flurry of activity, only to leave you feeling disheveled at the end and with no sense of accomplishment?
Instead, imagine working through your day more productively and achieving your goals.
Here are some tips I use to achieve that more productive day:
Write down the goals I am working towards. The “written” part is crucial; goals in my head don’t count. It is only if they are written form that I can “consciously” work towards them.
- Break down my goals into mini goals and the tasks associated with them. Create a project plan listing the tasks to achieve each mini goal (my milestones)
- Plan my day preferably the day before. BE realistic. We all have urgent and important tasks that must be done, but I make sure I still have time for my goals that are important, but not necessarily urgent.
- Schedule in my project work just like I do client work.
- Cut back on meetings. Does it really need to be held at all? If it does, I get to the point quickly and keep on track. If it’s scheduled for an hour, I try and complete the meeting in 40 minutes ~ no waffle.
- Minimise distractions during focus time. I schedule time to work on projects at my best focus time of the day. I turn off the phone, notifications, social media and concentrate and I’m always amazed at what I can achieve during pure focus time.
- Batch tasks together. I do like tasks and like location-based tasks all in one hit – it’s much more efficient.
- Don’t live in the email inbox. Shut it off. I only go in there twice a day, and when I am there I focus and get through the actions. If they are longer time frame actions, I schedule them in.
- Reward myself for great accomplishments during the day. Perhaps it’s time on social media, watching some YouTube videos or coffee with a friend.
Honestly, if you just pick one of these to start you will notice a remarkable improvement in your day. Try it out and let me know.
Do you have any other tips for a more productive day?
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