Time Management Part 2

Focusing for Better Productivity

Now that you have read about how to plan your time efficiently, you are now faced with the challenge of focusing effectively and getting the most out of the time you’ve allotted for your tasks. Below are 10 tips to help you reap the benefits of your organization and prioritization.

1. Sleep. Get the right amount of sleep for your body, but only the right amount of sleep. Too much or too little sleep makes you sluggish and destroys your productivity.

2. Exercise. Working out is great alone time to sort out either business or personal challenges and will keep your brain sharp. Schedule some time each day to keep your body a fine tuned machine that provides optimal production.

3. Determine your energy cycle. Determine what times of the day or night you are at maximum productivity. There is a right time for the right task. Work to your energy cycle.

4. Balance your personal life. If your home life is a mess, it is difficult to stay focused on the right things at work. Focus on balancing your personal life first. Seven vital areas include: health, family, financial, intellectual, social, professional and spiritual.

5. Get focused. Fight off distractions and be here now. Although many of us believe we are awesome at multi-tasking, the reality is you can only be truly effective when you are focused. It’s better to be focused on completing one task than multi-tasking with 20 different tasks and not completing any.

6. Focus on results. Everyone will tell you they are busy. People who produce significant results have higher chances of staying fully employed, make more money and have less stress in their lives. Review your productivity at the end of each day.

7. Don’t multi-task. The human mind works best when it is focused on one thing at a time. (Douglas Merrill, Author of Getting Organized in the Google Era and former CIO of Google).

8. Lean into conflict. When there is conflict, don’t send an email. Pick up the phone and talk directly to the person, or better yet, communicate in person. Don’t avoid dealing with conflict. Avoidance doesn’t resolve the problem and often results in escalation. Instead, get closer to the source. Lean into the conflict to effectively address and resolve the issue.

9. Buy tickets. Terry Paulson, past President of the National Speakers Association, recommends to everyone that you buy tickets at the beginning of the year. Terry’s logic is, if you have tickets, you will go. Is there a dream vacation you want to take? Is there a movie or play you want to see? When you buy tickets, you accomplish three goals. First, you always go. Second, you fulfill your Category E, leisure time goals. And third, you will feel refreshed when you return.

10. Don’t sweat the small stuff. The toughest thing I have ever had happen to me is losing our daughter, Brittany, at the age of 14 while waiting for a heart transplant. My wife, Kathleen, would look at this list and probably laugh at me. Kathleen has taught me an important point about life. When you are born, that is big stuff. When you die, that is also big stuff. The rest of the stuff that happens in the middle is just little stuff. Kathleen has a great point. The author of the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff book series, Richard Carlson, had remarkable success selling his books. Unfortunately, Richard died of pulmonary embolism at the young age of 45. Remember, there are no trailer hitches attached to hearses. Build strong life-long relationships; do what is really important and don’t sweat the small stuff.

What are some other ways you organize your time? Leave a comment below and let us know!