All of us at some point or at times cannot find the time or energy to do all the things we have planned for the day. It is not a matter of time at all; It’s a matter of energy.
We try to force many hours in a working day, to get something, but ultimately everything depends on less time than we have to spend more focus, More motivation, more fun (all directly related to energy levels).
But there are still a lot of skills available to improve our productivity; Let’s try the following ways to improve our efficiency and productivity in modern life, constantly running against the time below.
There are 21 most effective ways:
- Deciding what is important because, within 5 years, 80% of what we do today will not turn into something great; but just busywork, with no useful results.
- Sleep, eating, and exercising can help you triple your results, because these increase concentration, motivation, and energy.
- The 2-minute rule: if we can do something (like replying to an email, or a chore) in 2 minutes, do it now. If, waiting for that plan, remembering it, then doing it will take us 5 minutes or more.
- The 5-minute rule: the most effective cure against procrastination is to set our goal not only to accomplish a terrifyingly shaggy task, but it only takes 5 minutes to do it. We will realize that most of the next time we will continue to do well with 5 minutes when we get used to the entrainment status.
- Chain of work: if we want to be good at something, do it every day; Even at Christmas, Easter and doomsday are no exception.
- Little habits, highly effective with the 5-minute rules, help us create good habits quickly. It really works.
- Separated from memory. Get everything off our heads, even if we are a genius. Note it on a computer, put it in your to-do list app, make notes on your phone, etc.
- Use as many tools as possible. We should use the management tools: Cultured Code app and Google Calendar (iCal works, but Google Calendar also integrates with Gmail). It doesn’t matter what we use (pen & paper is fine) if we understand the next rules.
- A tool to remind daily routine. We need discipline, and this means giving us two things: We plan the first thing for the morning, and we write a short daily note for each day. This helps us stay alert, have a good priority, get rid of unproductive work, and do what’s important. This saves us a lot of time.
- Timeboxing (is fixing the time to do a specific task and then trying to do the best it can within that time frame. So instead of having to work until it’s “done” in one go, we only need to do it in about 30 minutes. The job can be done at the end of that time or it will be committed to perform another 30 minutes at another time of the day or leave it the next day) . 30 minutes of work is just the main task. Do nothing else: no phone, email, talk to people, Facebook, run out of building in case of fire. Nothing else.
- Always wear headphones. We wear headphones not to listen to music, but this does not welcome others to approach us.
- Check the email schedule and empty mailboxes. Don’t read the first email of the day, don’t read it in the evening (which destroys many of our evenings), and try to do it only 3 times a day: at 11:00 am, 02:00 pm and 05 pm. And our email inbox is not a to-do list. Delete it: each message if it is a task to do (link it from the to-do application), a reference (send to Evernote or archive), or delete immediately.
- Same phone calls Don’t always be ready to answer. We always keep our phones silent and call back at the same time.
- Respond to a variety of small tasks such as mail, phone, Facebook …
- MI3. The three most important tasks (or alternatively by 1 must – 3 need – 5 possible). Start with the most important things first thing in the morning.
- Willpower is limited. Don’t think that willpower will help us when we are in trouble. Make important decisions in the morning and automate everything possible (rep, batch, etc.). American presidents don’t have to choose their menu or the color of their clothes every day – otherwise, their willpower will be depleted a few hours after they should press (or not press) the red button.
- The most influential things. Always ask yourself what are the most influential things we can do right now. Then apply rule # 4.
- Shipping usually. Don’t polish it too much, as they say in the startup world, “if you’re not ashamed of your product, you’ve launched it too late”!
- Pressure can do wonders. Use rewards or social commitment.
- Delay schedule. Our brains need rest, and sometimes it can do miracles that make us talk smarter.
- Erase. Say no. Refuse. Do not commit to the schedule. A lot of people will hate us for this, but we will have time to do the work involved. Do we think we will regret that in 20 years, or doing something for someone we don’t really care about, just to be superficially appreciated?
Hopefully, with these 21 small tips from Nottheworstgift above, you can save you time and improve your quality of work and quality of life.
