10 short tips for those who are not enough 24 hours a day
Productivity / / January 06, 2021
1. Build time for relaxation
Newcomers to time management and perfectionists want to cram more tasks into the schedule so that they don't have a minute of free time. It sounds logical, but there are a couple of significant drawbacks to this approach. Firstly, no one has canceled force majeure. With tight planning, the slightest delay is enough for the entire schedule to be hopelessly lost. And secondly, you need restThe Productivity of Working Hoursso you can get more done and do better.
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2. Use forced pauses
Always take a notebook, tablet, or book with you. If you have to wait - at the post office, at a hairdresser, in a bank or other places, you can read a dozen pages, take notes, answer work letters.
3. Write down
Don't rely on your memory - take notes. Record everything that may be useful to you in a notebook or smartphone. Ideas, tasks, important names and contacts, useful links, interesting thoughts. Subsequently, this will save you a lot of time: you do not have to figure out for a long time what was the name of the book that you were advised to read, or what is the name of the specialist you need.
4. Create templates
An office employee spends on correspondenceThe social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies almost a third of the working time. If you are often asked the same questions (how to advertise on your blog, how to sign up for you for a consultation on how to get a job in your company), prepare answers in advance and send them interlocutors. Or create a FAQ section on your page or website.
5. Be double-tasked
But only if none of your activities require deep concentration. Trying to listen at the same time podcast and you probably won't be able to reply to messages. This kind of multitasking only hinders productivity. But there are cases that do not require full involvement and involve different processes. For example, you can turn on an audiobook while you are doing needlework, tidying up, walking or running.
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6. Read, not browse
If there is even the slightest chance that the information from a letter, article or book will still be useful to you, delve into the text, and do not run your eyes diagonally. Otherwise, then you will have to re-read it again and you will spend more time than you could.
7. Unload your brain
If you feel that your mind is oversaturated with plans, ideas, tasks, stop and write them all down on paper. When you fix everything, it will be easier to work: you will no longer be distracted by persistent thoughts like “do not forget to register your child to the dentist”. Try to formulate matters as shortly and immediately as possible. share big tasks steps so they are not scary and you are more likely to complete them.
8. Refuse unnecessary subscriptions
Some mailing lists are no longer interesting to you, some you subscribed to by mistake. As a result, hundreds of unnecessary emails distract you with notifications and prevent you from finding the information you need. To unsubscribe from all unnecessary mailings at once, you can use the Unroll.me service. There is also a Rollup function, with the help of which important mailings can be collected into one digest, which will arrive in the mailbox once a week.
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9. Set rules for yourself
Uncertainty and an abundance of options make you waste time on making decisions. Come up with attitudes that narrow down the choices and make the situation clearer. For example, if you create a menu for a week, it will immediately become clear what you need to buy in the store, and you don't have to think every time what to cook for lunch.
10. Combine small matters
You've probably heard about the two-minute rule: if a task takes a minimum of time, it must be done right away. It's a good idea, but if there are a lot of small tasks, you will be distracted by one thing or another all day. And in order to get involved in work after a distraction, a person needsThe Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress about 23 minutes.
So you can set aside half an hour or an hour each day to do small tasks in bulk. Or choose one day a month to fully devote it to routine tasks that you usually don't want to be distracted by: all of these paying bills, paperwork at the MFC, trips to dry cleaning. By the way, if the MFC and the dry cleaning are located nearby, it is faster and easier to go there and there at once.
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