Tried and True:
12 Time-Tested Productivity Tips
That Never Go Out of Style
I’m an avid reader. I never stop reading and learning. Over the years I’ve realized that some of the books I’ve read have the same message from an earlier book I’ve read. However, I never get tired of reading about a topic repeatedly because it’s presented in new ways by different authors and it reinforces a certain lesson, message or theory I enjoy, and I’m never far from the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors I want to have.
So here are my Top 12 Time-Tested Productivity Tips for you so I can reinforce my message about reaching for and achieving peak productivity. Take a look… Are you practicing all of these? Which ones work best for you? Do you have 3 or 4 favorites? Let me know what you like and be sure send me an e-mail at Leslie@ProductiveDay.com.
1. Return messages when it fits into your plan according to priority, not as they come in. Be courteous by returning calls in a timely manner, but be sure you rank these calls with your other tasks to ensure your priorities are getting your attention first.
2. Don’t manage tasks and e-mails as they show up and still try to keep up. If you try to keep up with these as they appear, that just means you’re treating everything exactly the same and there’s no sense of priority.
3. Plan to return calls during a certain time period each day, except in cases of emergency. If you’re always pressed for time and find it difficult to return calls in a timely manner, try returning calls every day during the same time period, maybe between 2:00 and 4:00 each day or before noon by the following day. Record an outgoing message on your phone(s) telling callers when you’ll be returning calls. Then they know what to expect when they leave a voice mail and you know you’ve built in time each day in which to return calls.
4. Be inaccessible for small periods of time so you can use focused, productive time each day for getting things done. You can’t be reachable all the time by everyone. You and your priorities are important too.
5. Reflect often throughout your day and ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time?” Or “Should I be doing this right now?” If the answer is “yes” then you’re on the right track, but a “no” should be considered carefully. Take steps to hit your priorities well before final deadlines.
6. Take deliberate action based on a deliberate plan. Take your time to think about what you want to do next instead of jumping at every e-mail, phone call, cell
phone call, instant message and interruption you get. Think about when you want to entertain interruptions and when you would rather focus quietly to get your work done.
7. Don’t go to your e-mail first thing in the day. Instead, go to your Task list first. Spend time on your most important priorities first for a period of time. Then check your e-mail. And emergencies shouldn’t be in your e-mail. Tell people that if they have an urgent matter, they should call you.
8. When interrupted, don’t forget to make notes about where you are on your task. Then when you revisit that task, you’ll know exactly where you left off and you won’t waste time trying to find your way back to where you were.
9. Use Favorites or Bookmarks on the Internet and keep them organized by category in folders for easy reference later. You’ll save time and paper when you can keep Favorites on the Internet instead of printing and trying to figure out where to keep all the paper.
10. Don’t forget to take breaks and switch the kinds of tasks you do throughout the day. Alternate heavily focused thinking with less strenuous thinking and you’ll keep your brain sharp as you exercise it in different ways.
11. Avoid procrastination by scheduling time to get a task completed that’s less than exciting. Decide ahead of time if you will not be answering the phone, looking at e-mail, answering instant messages, addressing visitors, etc. Then you will surely get some quiet time to get this unpleasant task off your plate and you won’t be able to say, “I ran out of time!”
12. Clear your brain’s cache! Clear out all the tasks, ideas and reminders you have on your mind and type them into an electronic task list. Then prioritize and take action according to how soon each task must be accomplished. You’ll feel so much better when you don’t have to keep trying to remember something you might forget!
