Are you working long hours, but not getting enough done? Ever wonder how you can be efficient, stay productive and manager to work only 7hrs a day? I wanted to share with you few tips on how to stay focused and block out distractions so you can get more work done.
1. Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize : This is the key to an effective work day. The best advice I can give you is tackle those difficult projects first than you will have the entire day to do the things you love the most.
- Create a short list of tasks, once you have all of your tasks arranged, organize by projects, deadlines, timelines and dependencies. Your priorities will become apparent. I always light to add a * next to those tasks that are most important and always highlight those that are finished.
- Each day review and update the list before you open your inbox, before you attend your meetings and before you get sidetracked by personal calls.
- Next morning, copy any leftovers tasks from the previous day and then throw out the note.
- Always go through your inbox add/subtract tasks based on incoming messages.
- Respond to your e-mails promptly, do not read the e-mail and not reply. Make sure if it’s something that you have pending add it to your to-do list and give it a deadline. If you don’t follow this you will find yourself with unanswered emails and other’s waiting.
2. Se times of the day for answering emails, holding meetings and for doing creative work. Different people are able to focus better hours so do what works best for you. I recommend you answer 30 minutes of e-mails early in the morning, plan meetings early and set some time for creative thinking and planning later on in the afternoon.
3. Exercise find a hobby. It can be challenging to stay focused with all the digital distractions, twitter, facebook, emails, videos ect… Find something you love and hold yourself to it. This will make you more organized and stay focused during the day.
4. Delegate- or I like to call it duplicate yourself. Often we find ourselves swamped with work that sometimes we wished there we had a twin to help us. Mentor someone else, teach them what you know and how to do it. They will be honored to be your right hand and take off that load that is piling in your desk. Remember that often a task can be completed by someone else and it may get done sooner than doing it yourself.
5. If you have creative work to do, like writing documents, creating project plans, building presentations, or writing a speech, here are some practical suggestions that work for me:
– Find a quiet place outside the office. Go to the park, library, or any other place you like to focus and not be disturbed. My quiet place is either the boat or my family room.
– Shut off your cell phone, disconnect from the internet, close your applications until you have completed your tasks. Make sure you are away from all the distractions.
