3 Main Time-killers That You Didn’t Know You Were Encouraging
Have you ever had this situation when you run around the office whole day, overwhelmed with tasks and information… but in the evening you realise that you didn’t do much? Though you were so busy that didn’t even have time to pee! Where did all that effort go? I’ve been there too, so I exactly know what to do.
And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun
But it’s sinking
Pink Floyd, Time
Here are 3 main time-killers of all time that you didn’t know you are encouraging:
1. Inbox. After you made your to-do list, you open your inbox instead of starting with tasks right away. Or you are trying to create your task list from your incoming mails. Anyway, you tend to jump into replying those emails. Another time and productivity killer is ass-long email threads. If you see this happening, it’s simply time to schedule a meeting or jump on the call.
Don’t read your emails in the morning. Morning hours are the most productive. Even if you don’t feel very energized, your brain is the freshest in the morning. More here >>
Allocate specific time slots when you reply and/write emails. If an idea of an email comes to your mind, write it down and email later (unless it is really urgent).
If an email is really urgent or a part of your task, work on it but STAY STRONG. Don’t soak in replying other emails.
2. Colleagues. There are requests coming every now and then. People texting, emailing us; they even come in person to ask something. And you start doing what they’ve asked for instead of your tasks. Even if you’ve fought back the request, you wasted your time. Sometimes they just wanna chat. Being rude, or ignorant, or flipping the table at someone won’t create a healthy atmosphere.
So turn off notifications and focus on a task for a certain period of time (use pomodoro technique). If something is really urgent they’ll walk to you.
Don’t attend meetings or calls if you don’t understand what it is about or if it is not really related to you. It’s ok to say no (but double check first).
Saying ’No’ is also fine if someone approaches you personally while you are working on something. Be polite, but ask a person to catch up later when you have more time.
And the most important, if people are asking you to do something — quickly evaluate it: is it aligned with your daily goal, is it align with most important thing you need to do today, do you have time for it, is it part of your scope, can you delegate it, how urgent it is. Don’t add to your list of daily tasks if there’s no way you can do it or you have more important stuff. Add it to a “waiting list”. In this case your daily tasks on’t grow, you will accomplish everything and will feel satisfied.
3. Multitasking. And finally, as your list is growing you are trying to multitask (the curse of modern self-management), do a bit of everything. You end up exhausted but frustrated as you didn’t accomplish much. Focus on one thing at a time for a 20–30 minutes. Take short breakes in between. Don’t try to write in multiple chats, plus email, plus talking to someone. If you’ve got an idea or remembered something — write it down to come back to it later.
Very simple advice but require quite some effort and staying strong to stick with your plan. It may not workout immediately. It’s ok, it will work over time. The most important — don’t quit immediately if it didn’t work at first.
Stay productive,
Olga
