Mindmap: Time management
Make every minute work harder.
Barriers
Procrastination: The greatest challenge of all to
milking every minute of the working day. Be frank with yourself.
Recognise it. Stop it. You procrastinate either out of fear of
failure or because a project is too big or too boring. Break it
into the ubiquitously advised bite-sized chunks, and get on with
it. It's not going to go away.
80/20: The good old Pareto Principle - 80% of your
blood, sweat and tears generates a mere 20% of results. The massive
remaining chunk of 80% of results is speed-generated by a
wonderfully steroid-pumped 20% of effort. Keep an activity log for
a couple of days and identify your 80s and your 20s. Then
completely cut out from your schedule everything that falls into
the 80% that's holding you back.
Slug time: Most people have a peak period during the
day when they're at their most efficient - but also a lull when,
however hard you try, you just can't keep your eyelids from
sagging. Know your slowest times and focus on doing your most
important and urgent tasks during your most energetic patches,
leaving the mundane, brainless stuff for your slug time.
Snacks and chats: Cut them out, cut them down or use
them when you're least productive (not most) as a pick-up.
'Task' and 'job': In speech marks because they don't
have to be called that. It's simple cognitive behavioural therapy.
Refer to things you have to do in your mind using said taboo words
and they'll feel like it. Start calling them 'projects' in your
head and, far-fetched as it sounds, you will be subconsciously more
disposed to tackling them.
Techniques
Active to-do list: An absolute must. Don't write
out your to-do lists on dozens of different pretty coloured
Post-its. Keep one active document - possibly a spreadsheet - on
your computer. It needs to be on a computer so you can constantly
rearrange the order of things according to their urgency, then work
down from the top. You can also enter in how much time you think
each item will take, add it up, and decide what you're not going to
achieve today if there are too many items on the list. Update at
the end of days, so you start focussed on what needs to be
achieved.
No: The most useful word in your vocabulary. Use it.
The less workload you take on, the fewer non-strategic and
non-productive meetings you go to, the more time you have to
concentrate on the stuff that really needs doing.
Delegate: Another crucial tool in your
time-management armoury. If something doesn't absolutely require
you to be working on it, pass it down the chain. You should be
focusing on the most important decision-making projects, not all
the fluff. Review progress at set times, don't look over shoulders
every two minutes
Assistant: If you're constantly swamped by a mess of
never-ending admin that really shouldn't be taking up your time,
get one. Consider virtual assistants or part-time help, or even
someone who can do half PA work and half something else needed in
the business (marketing or PR, perhaps), if the cost seems
extravagant.
Super-email: Do all your emails all together only at
certain points in the day - ideally only twice per day - rather
than replying to each whenever they arrive. Email wreaks havoc with
your efficiency. Consider switching off your Outlook completely for
periods of the day. If someone really needs you, they'll call. And
be absolutely ruthless with your inbox. Create folders and
sub-folders and organise everything as you would a filing cabinet,
tucking emails away into their appropriate sections. Delete
ruthlessly and extensively. Never leave anything festering in your
inbox for more than three or four days - deal with it and get it
out. Always aim to have white space at the bottom of your inbox.
Check out our interview with Tim Ferris, author of the four hour week, on
managing email.
Go home early: This might sound counterproductive to
getting more work done, but if you know you have to stop work at a
set point in the day, you'll stop faffing about and force yourself
to complete the day's tasks - plus, rest and sleep are good for
you, remember!
Technology
Mobile: Get an iPhone, get a Blackberry, get any
smartphone that enables you to check your email and work when
you're out and about. The more you can do on the move, the more
time you free up for more important stuff when you're at your
desk.
Laptopita: Spanish for 'little laptop' (almost).
Having a carry-everywhere super-light laptop enables you to finish
off documents, presentations and other computer-dependent work
while you're on the train.
Calendar: Use your Outlook/other operating
system/phone calendar for everything and make sure it'll all
synched. Block out chunks of time for all the various bits of work
you need to do, so you can realistically see how much you can fit
into the day - and what has to be cut out to streamline your work
process. It also indicates when you're spending too long on one
project. Share calendars with key staff members so you can see
who's up to what and they know when - and when not to - interrupt
you.
Broadband: Faster broadband = quicker internet
browsing = less time wasted. Simples.
Bookmark: Your most-used websites, so you can
navigate the web quickly and uber-efficiently rather than fannying
about typing in url's. May save only a few seconds each time you
want to find a favourite site, but when it comes to time
management, every last millisecond counts.
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