The last three episodes have focused on productivity – finding your focus using Warren Buffett’s process, tracking your time to see where you could be losing hours, rethinking your to-do list to get more accomplished – so to round out this series on productivity, this week’s biz hack offers a few more productivity tips and tools I’ve found helpful. Continue reading…
1. Build Habits to Get You Going
Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. Typically if you’ve planned your to-do list and schedule correctly, this helps mitigate some of this because you have a clear direction and know where to go. Another way to get yourself motivated to get started is to create a routine or habit. That could be waking up at the same time every day, going for a power walk to get energized, getting your morning cup of coffee before you sit down to work, or even playing music that gets you pumped up (or relaxes you…whatever you need). This works really well for me. I love the mornings. I get up around the same time every morning, walk my dog, then sit down at my desk with my coffee and breakfast and dig into my most important tasks (MITs). It’s funny, but it’s kind of like a treat for me, because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I look forward to this routine. This is a lot like training a dog. I take my dog to an agility class and one way we teach them to get over fears with a new obstacle is my rewarding them with treats. So for instance on the teeter-totter obstacle, which freaks a lot of dogs out, we sprinkle treats along the teeter and lure them along it. They then associate the teeter with something positive. So work some positive reinforcement into your life to build some fun new habits and positivity around certain tasks you might be finding hard to get started.
2. Breakdown Your Tasks
In the last episode I talked about breaking down tasks into subtasks, this helps you create more “completable”sections. I recently read about this approach in a post on Inc. by Jeff Haden. As an example, he said he breaks the task of creating blog post into sections and small tasks like adding images, or writing a 200-word section. It builds momentum as you cross of these smaller tasks and is more achievable.
3. Maximize Down Time
Just as we talked about building flex time into your schedule for unexpected delays, you should also plan for the opposite – canceled meetings, wait times for appointments, shorter-than-expected meetings (wishful thinking!), and the list goes on. This tip comes from Erik Sherman, also an Inc.com contributor. He suggests keeping a productivity kit with you, or a list of the small, quick things you need to do that may be a part of a larger project. I love this. Your list could include writing an email, doing some quick research, returning a phone call, and the like. How many times have you found yourself with a few extra minutes and didn’t know what to tackle, so instead you just sat there? This approach helps keep you on track and working towards completing your MITs.
4. Plan to Stop Working
Have you ever noticed when you set a specific cutoff time or have something planned later in the day, you become extra motivated to complete your work before heading out? Too often, as entrepreneurs we don’t create this “shutoff” time and instead continue working through the evening. I’ve found when I have this mentality, I’ll spend more time on projects than typically necessary. So plan something for after work so you are forced to shut it off. This ties back to tip #1, creating a positive habit. You’ll be motivated to get done, plus your brain will thank you.
5. Sleep
Last, but not least, make time for adequate sleep. This is one I need to work on. This is where that superhero syndrome kicks in again – we stay up late to finish something, then get up early to get back at it. We’ve all heard the reports about the importance of sleep, but it really is true. This is when your body rebuilds itself and your brain recharges. Kind of like shutting down a computer at night. Not enough sleep slows you down in so many ways – things seem overwhelming, small projects seem larger than they are, you won’t be as decisive, and so on. So try to allow yourself the recharge time.
