Kathy Ennis, LittlePiggy
You will often hear “don’t sweat the small stuff”. When it’s about getting things done, small is the way to go! So, let’s look at nine, simple methods you can implement in 2022 to be more productive.
1. Notifications Are Not Your Friend
Notifications. The biggest ‘time thief, of all.
How many times have you found yourself distracted by the ‘ping’ from Facebook, Instagram, WhatApp or email?
Notifications stop you from being more productive by interrupting your thought process and concentration. And, importantly, it will take you at least 15-miuntes to get your brain back to where it was before the interruption.
The worst impact is when you get distracted by a post or an email and, somehow, emerge 20-minutes or a half-hour later with no understanding of where the time has gone.
There is a very simple solution.
Turn them off!
I turned the sound off on my phone three years ago. I have had no distracting sounds and in that time and I haven’t missed out on anything important or lost business.
It may not be the solution for everyone; you may have children or other caring responsibilities, which mean you can’t do a blanket ‘switch off’. However, you can switch off when you need to get your head down and concentrate.
2. Do a Time and Motion Study
What do you REALLY do every day?
When it comes to assessing what we do each day and how much we have achieved. we are our own worst enemy.
We ‘think’ we have been working really hard, concentrating, getting on with things but …
Do a time and motion study.
For the next two weeks – with no edits or judgements made – note down what you are doing in 15-minute intervals. At the end of the two weeks, take a look.
How did you spend your time?
- Did that five-minute task actually take 30-minutes?
- How much time did you spend searching for files and documents you ‘know’ are somewhere, but you’re not sure where (more later)
- How often did you get side-tracked by a WhatsApp or Messenger massage?
- Did you spend far too much time creating social media content because you’re really not sure what you should be saying / doing?
This process will provide clarity. It will show you exactly what you do with your time, what you ‘time thieves’ are and, probably, highlight the things you should be outsourcing!
Once you know exactly how much time tasks really take, and how much time you really have, you can create a much more realistic To-Do list.
More below.
3. Have a Daily, ACHIEVEABLE To-Do List
Following on from getting to grips with how we really spend our time, comes the need to use that knowledge to our best advantage.
What do I mean by that?
Don’t be over ambitious
Once you have completed your Time and Motion study you will have a much clearer picture of how much time things really take to achieve. You should also have learned to break tasks down into smaller, bit-sized, achievable chunks.
Plan for want needs to be done and put it in your diary
Not a To-Do list; a diary. Preferably a diary that has sections broken down hour by hour. If your one doesn’t, write them in. This way you will see how the tasks you have to complete each day will actually fit in and around other commitments.
For example, if I know Friday is all about writing and publishing my blog and preparing my weekly email for the following week, these would be the tasks:
- Write the content
- Create a SEO-friendly title
- Assign a keyword / key-phrase
- Find an image
- Write the metadata
- Proof read
- Publish
- Prepare and schedule the weekly email
But Friday isn’t just about blog writing, that’s just one task. I also have my one-to-one business coaching and mentoring sessions with my clients.
So, my diary will look something like this:
- 08.30 – 09.00 : Deal with email inbox
- 09.00 – 09.45 : Rough draft blog content including keyword / keyphrase, headings and main content ideas
- 09.45 – 10.00 : Prep for client (tea)
- 10.00 – 11.00 : Client session
- 11.00 – 11.15 : Notes from client session (tea)
- 11.15 – 11.45 : Tidy up rough draft into first draft
- 11.45 – 12.00 : Prep for client (tea)
- 12.00 – 13.00 : Client session
- 13.00 – 13.15 : Notes from client session
- 13.15 – 13.45 : Lunch
- 13.45 – 15.00 Prep for client session (tea)
- 14.00 – 15.00 : Client Session
- 15.00 – 15.15 : Notes from client session (tea)
- 15.15 – 15.30 : Source blog image
- 15.30 – 15.45 : Write the blog metadata
- 15.45 – 16.00 : Create the SEO-friendly blog title (tea)
- 16.00 – 16.30 : Final draft, proof read and publish
- 16.00 – 17.00 : Create my weekly email and schedule
- 17.00 – 17.30 : Plan my diary for following week (tea)
- 17.30 – 18.00 : Deal with email inbox
I would not get this clarity from a To-Do list!
Yes, and my day would include all those cups of tea (herbal, of course). Why? They keep my hydrated (along with a litre of water each day too) and they aid my concentration.
Final point. Look at the last item on my planner and remember this mantra
