Re: get unstuck by better managing your time!
Jan 18, 2018
I hope you are off to a great start of the year. What I love about January, besides the crisp mornings and the (casual) rain is the perspective of a brand new baby year that I get to imagine, and create.
But, as an entrepreneur running two different businesses and a single mom, time scarcity is a real thing. Unless I organize my schedule in a particular way and avoid the traps of distraction and procrastination, I get stuck and often overwhelmed.
A few years ago, as I trained myself to read one book a week (in addition to doing everything else I loved, like work, working out and taking care of my dog!) I discovered some three simple and extremely effective ways to manage my tasks and get more done in less time. I will share the steps with you here, and offer you a downloadable time-management sheet you can start using today, to help you also get more done in less time.
Step No1 - moving from multi tasking to single tasking (as much as you can)
This may seem counterintuitive but science has definitely shown that we are significantly more efficient when we inject greater focus on the activity at hand. And you know this because you have experienced in your life these rare and amazing moments when you are so completely absorbed by what you are doing that time feels like it is expanding. In other words, you get a ton done in less time! Known as the flow state, or, more popularly as 'being in the zone' you can only achieve this heighten state of performance by doing one thing at a time. In order to accomplish this, I started breaking down my schedule into two hour blocks so that I focus on one thing for two hour, and then take a break to do all the other distracting things, before jumping back on and focusing again for 2-hours. Fun fact: According to science, it takes between 11 and 30 minutes to get back into a state of total focus, whenever you allow a distraction to pull us away from our tasks, as checking an incoming email while writing a report, for example. Turn off your notifications, specially on your computer. Emails can (almost always) wait.
Step No2 - how you start your day matters most
This is another one that often seems counterintuitive to many of my super high achiever clients (most of them!). Busy as we are, we want to get on with our days from the moment we wake-up. And, this usually means tackling our to-do list. BUT, if you give yourself a chance to get one thing done in the morning, however long it takes, not from a to-do list but from a love list...the rest of your day will be more productive. Here is why - starting the day doing what we love, immediately puts us in a state of accomplishment. We will, for the rest of the day feel like we took care of something that really matters. This, consequently, helps us to focus on the other stuff with more positive and enthusiastic energy. Fun fact: try this simple practice and start your day doing one thing you love (is it listening to music? playing lego? watching a TED talk? making a yummy breakfast?) and journal at the end of the day how you genuinely felt about the day. Chances are, you will shift to a more positive life outlook. So simple, yet, so powerful!
Step No3 - get rid of your long to-do list
Ugh, another one that feels hard to imagine for most people. Like my daughter has a lovey she carries around, my adult and successful clients have a to-do list that they would rather die than give-up. BUT, again, here is the deal. A big to-do list does nothing to improve your time and task management. As a matter of fact, a long to-do list makes us feel overwhelmed. Move from a long to-do to three items a day, must do. Then once these three items are accomplished, tackle the rest as you wish. These three items should be based on this simple question: by accomplishing this [fill in the blank] will I get closer to getting to where I need and want to be? Chances are, three things a day is exactly the amount you need to tackle to get more done, in less time. Fun fact: Spend time each morning focusing on this question: by accomplishing this [fill in the blank] will I get closer to getting to where I need and want to be? and make sure that, no matter what happens, these three things get done that day. Choose wisely, because an overly laborious task will likely not be completed in one day, so break the tasks into smaller increments such that you can, for sure, complete the task before the closing of the day.
These simple practices have changed my life. I live by these and would highly recommend you give them a try. To get a head start, download this FREE time-management sheet.