How to complete more and work less

Yesterday, I crossed two borders, has completed three ongoing projects with customers, made a deal with great prospects, and in the evening having dinner at home with your partner.

I work 25 hours a week, sleep eight hours a day, do not schedule and still manage to do a lot more things than when I was glued to an office desk for more than 60 hours week.

I is not Superman. Everything described above is merely illustrative example.

You see, being independent of place and working for themselves more than a year, I have received some valuable lessons the effectiveness and management of its own time.

Below - the list of life hacking, which may seem very simple. However, once you really will try to use them, you will notice that your business take less and less time.

1. Take advantage Zeigarnik effect

The brain has a built-intrusive constantly reminded of things that you have left unfinished, thus pushing you to finish the task. That's what it is Zeigarnik effectAnd it will help you to finish the things that you have already started.

It does not matter whether you like the problem to be solved or not, do at least one tiny step toward her.

Faced with a creative crisis and can not write? Open a blank file and start typing anything - whatever you like. You need to start planning a wedding? Start by finding a wedding bouquet. Need for tomorrow to develop a marketing strategy? Write down a couple of ideas on the video to begin.

In 99% of cases you will work on a task to the end.

2. Use project management tools (not only for the workers Affairs)

Our brains do not like challenges. When he is confronted with any abstract goal, say "come up with a monthly marketing campaign", he immediately falls into a depression and prefers to do the usual chores lungs.

That is why it is necessary to share every great deal on a few simple, tiny, achievable steps.

Here, for the project management tools become important. You do not want to miss any important steps, right?

There are myriad and free and paid applications for managing your personal projects. I like the visual approach to management Casual.

Particularly well in this application is that you can structure the information as it comes into your head - in the form of the relationship, rather than linearly. So, instead of drawing the line step plan, you can create a detailed picture of the project with multiple streams of actions that occur simultaneously or one after the other. (Read more about mind mapping and tools for it read here).

In other words, you draw a visual map that allows you to cast the entire project at a glance, plus helps make small steps toward your goal.

Here is an example of such a project:

Why such a visual approach works fine for me (and possibly suitable for work and you):

1. You always know what step should be the next, so do not leave yourself a chance even for procrastination.
2. Do you have a great clear picture of their goals, understandable at a glance.
3. Plan the whole project is as simple as to draw it on paper (which I did before), and use up much more convenient.
4. If you are working as a team it will always be clear what has been done and what is being done now. This means that there will be fewer errors and missed deadlines.

Other popular tools that I liked to use: Basecamp, Podio, Trello and microsoft Project.

3. Change your habits

Today it is easy to find information on how to have time to do their business, but how many of you use these tips into practice? I was also in this boat.

We all have habits and change them very not easy. However, one clever solution to this problem can be found in the book of Charles Duhigg (Charles Duhigg) «force of habit». The author calls it a cycle of habit. Briefly, habit consists of three components: a stimulus ( "trigger" which precedes the normal behavior), habitual behavior (the actual repetition of actions) and reward (external and internal reward that you get for the fulfillment of the usual actions).

Now the bad news - to stimuli you just can not influence. Good news - you can change habitual behavior.

There are many non-productive things I do and do, but I always felt guilty for the fact that the first thing in the morning start to send the posts to social networks and media. The stimulus - to share new posts in his blog - there is nothing wrong. But I know that I can quickly get involved in senseless wandering around the web for several hours, and it will make a confusion in my day.

The decision - to plan what to do in the networks and media, the night before. Set for itself the exact time when to do it and do it every day.

This approach is applicable to any stimuli that lead to negative behavior.

Every time you run your new habitual action, make sure you reward yourself for it. Think for yourself a ritual that will help you to anticipate their negative behavior, such mindless web surfing, spending money or eating sweets, and every time you manage to avoid it, reward yourself with something pleasant.

Repeat for 21 days, until the new habit will stick.

4. Use the rule of 90 minutes

About 50 years ago, neuroscientist Nathaniel Kleitman (Nathaniel Kleitman) discovered that our body goes from the peak of activity to decline every 90 minutes throughout the day. This phenomenon is also known as the ultradian rhythm. Simply put, we can be productive only for 90 minutes.

What happens after 90 minutes? We begin to look for additional fuel in the form of caffeine, candy bar, or their own stress hormones: epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol. At this point, we lose focus, we cease to think clearly and to see a complete picture.

My last day went like this: I got to the airport and worked in a coffee 90 minutes before landing (there is not was Wi-Fi), while the film looked flight and went back to work on the train from Switzerland in France. When I got home, I quickly checked the inbox, dined and worked another 90 minutes.

As a result, in just 4.5 hours, I did most of the work to which I have previously spent 8-hour working day.

5. Prioritize to the last

One leader of the Pentagon brilliantly formulated the essence of this Council:

First, I make a list of priorities: first, second, third and so on. And then I expunged all that is lower than the third.

This is the golden rule for any daily task list. All tasks after the third postponed to the next day.

You can not determine what the problem is more important?

1. Consider whether there is dependency between tasks. Can I take a step A, without making a step B? If not, then the problem is more important B. Choose the tasks that affect your future success.
2. Use a decision matrix.

All that is in the upper right corner, it is worth noting the label "Do it now." Problems with high-impact, which is difficult to do, should be mixed with other, less complex. Problems with small impact, are easy to make, it is necessary to delegate.

6. Arrange "airport the day»

For me sverhproduktivnoe job - Airports and airplanes. In fact, I often choose to fly with a transfer than direct (they, among other things, at least cheaper $ 100), and try to finish as much as possible cases in the days when I was in the way, and not when I work out houses.

And now let me explain.

Do you have a strictly limited amount of time (prior to departure or before planting) and limited free Wi-Fi. This means that you can run sprints for 90 minutes in order to stay on the peak of productivity.

You have nothing to be distracted when you're sitting on the plane: your phone is switched off, and remains the only effective net work to be performed for a limited time. I often try to recreate a similar situation at home: disconnect the internet and 90 minutes doing their work without being distracted to anything else.

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Let's sum up. Here is a plan to complete more and work less:

1. Take the first step in your business and allow the effect Zeigarnik help you complete it.
2. Use project management tools to clearly understand what to do, and always be focused.
3. Track your stimuli and convert them into positive habits.
4. Use the rule of 90 minutes.
5. Prioritize and work on the most important tasks.
6. Eliminate anything that distracts you. For example, make a "airport the day."