Ten Tips To Improve Your Productivity

We all need good time management skills but if you are feeling that there is too much to do and not enough time then it is especially important to take a good look at your time-management and productivity habits. Most freelancers could do with a little more time in their day, so we’ve asked Clare Evans author of Time Management for Dummies for her top ten tips to help you get back on track and stay in control.

1. Plan

If you want to make the biggest difference to your productivity, plan your time. You’ll ensure you’re focusing on the right things and using your time more effectively.

• Just 5-10 minutes each day planning your tasks and actions for the day.
• Look a few days ahead each day so you know what’s coming up.
• Use just one diary. Keep ALL your appointments in one place — both work and personal.
• Create work time. Book time for all your daily tasks — emails, phone calls, writing a report, research etc.
• Chunk your work. Divide your time into chunks and work on one type of task at a time.

2. Systems and Priorities

When you’ve got to much to do, don’t expect to do it all. Make the best use of your time by focusing on what’s important.

Organise tasks and actions into order of priority. Spend most of your time focusing on the high priority tasks to avoid them becoming urgent.

Get high priority tasks done first and break larger tasks down into smaller ones. If you’re often working on ‘urgent’ tasks, find out why. What causes the urgency — lack of time, poor prioritisation, other people’s deadlines?

Create systems to make life easier. Simple things like files and folders to organise your email and paperwork as it comes in.

3. Delegate

The busier you are the more you need to delegate. Spend your time on important tasks that no one else can do rather than day-to-day tasks.

Delegate tasks someone can do quicker, more easily and possibly better and more cost effectively than you. Hand over routine tasks that aren’t your main skill set.

If you delegate your time, you’ll free up more time for yourself and your business.

4. Distractions and interruptions

We’d get more done if we didn’t keep getting distracted or interrupted. Whether it’s emails, phone calls or people stopping by our office without an appointment, interruptions are part of every working day.

• Switch off the phone, or put the call through to the answer machine or voice-mail.
• Book a meeting room, use an empty office or go to a different location if you want some undisturbed time.
• No meetings without an appointment — this will avoid impromptu drop-ins.

If you do get interrupted, arrange a time to talk later. Put a time limit on the interruption.

5. Learn to say No!

Busy people often say yes to everything. Get back control of your time by saying ‘No’.

If you keep saying yes, you’ll end up working late and have no free time because you’ve filled every minute with things you’ve said yes to. You’re more likely to end up stressed and overworked.

Don’t say yes immediately, especially when you don’t know what you’re taking on. Instead give yourself some time… “Can I get back to you, I need to check my diary?”

Say no before you say yes. Find ways of politely saying no without being harsh or abrupt. Give a reason without the need to go into lengthy, long-winded, rambling explanation.

See also this great post on ‘Saying No’ for creatives [via A List Apart]

6. Manage your emails

Email can be one of the biggest distractions and drains on our time. Particularly if you find yourself constantly checking your inbox. Unless they’re a critical part of your work, they rarely need to be responded to immediately.

• Switch off the ‘new email’ alert
• Check your emails only two or three times a day**
• Set aside time to read and respond to email.
• Use filters and folders to organise incoming emails.
• If you use Gmail try Google’s new ‘Priority Inbox’ tool.

If you need to read and respond to emails, block out a couple of time slots in the day to do that. DON’T check your emails throughout the day and limit the amount of time you spend on emails.

7. Setting Expectations

If you spend time working with other people, it’s important to set expectations. Let them know what it is you want and when. Don’t let other people’s actions create added effort and pressure for you.

If you rely on other people providing you with information in order to be able to complete a task, don’t leave things to the last minute. Leave enough time for yourself to do the work and if you can, schedule work ahead of time to avoid last minute deadlines.

8. Procrastination.

Many people have a tendency to put things off. If the task is worth doing, don’t make it worse by leaving it. Do it sooner rather than late. Here are a few ways to deal with it:

• Break a larger task down into smaller steps: What’s the first thing you need to do? The simpler the step, the easier and more likely you are to do it.
• Quick Bites: Tackle many things by spending just 5 or 10 minutes on it. Give yourself a time limit — a) it’ll be less daunting and b) you’ll be more focused.
• Just do it!: If you’re constantly putting a task off, the next time you find yourself procrastinating, just do it — there and then.
• Dump It: Is it worth the energy you’re putting into it by procrastinating? If it is, do it, if not forget it and move on.
• Delay: Sometimes procrastinating can be the right thing to do. You might be putting it off because it doesn’t feel right, or you don’t have enough information. Leaving it might be the right thing to do.

9. Taking Breaks

Even if you’re busy, you need to take regular breaks. How often do you work through your lunch break or don’t take a break until it’s time to finish for the day?

Take a break every hour for a few minutes and a longer break every few hours. You will be fresher and better able to concentrate. Get up and stretch, take a few deep breaths, get a drink of water.

If you can, get some fresh air and exercise at lunch-time. Don’t rely on stimulants such as coffee and sweet snacks to give you a boost when you’re flagging. Take a break and do something different — even switching from one type of task to another.

10. Keep the balance

Working hard is all very well, but if you focus all your time and effort on work, other areas are likely to suffer. Particularly:

• Your health: make sure you find time to exercise or at least be active every day. Simple ways of increasing your activity every day as well as taking specific exercise in the gym or by doing a sport. Don’t grab unhealthy, high calorie snacks and meals because you don’t have time to eat properly. If you’re healthy, your far less likely to get ill, suffer from stress and you’ll be able to tackle challenges more effectively.
• Your relationships: often when you’re busy, your relationships suffer. You have less time to spend with your partner, family and friends. Make time. You need to unwind and relax as much as you need to get the work done.

Organise your time and manage your hours. Fit the work into your hours and not hours into your work. It’s your time, it’s your choice as to how you spend it.

Take control and if you want to be more productive, be more selective about where and how you spend your time.

For more ideas on managing your time, download free resources on www.clareevans.co.uk.

Clare Evans is a Personal and Business Coach and Author of Time Management For Dummies.  Download her free Time Audit and other resources from www.clareevans.co.uk

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