Reclaim Your Time: The Most Effective Ways to Leverage Your Time To Increase Your Productivity
By Andrew Amaechi Original: 11/21/2020
‘I wish I had more time to hang out with friends.’ ‘I wish I had enough time to pursue that hobby.’ ‘Ughh I’m late on delivering that project (yet again).’ If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because you’re not alone in the struggle to maximize time.
It’s a struggle virtually everyone contends with, or so you tell yourself. The truth is, while we all get 24 hours to do the most with our lives, some have mastered the art of productivity. Achieving what it takes others a year to accomplish in a matter of weeks. Sounds like rocket science? It’s not.
There’s a difference between doing things and getting things done, the same distinction that segregates motion from action. One signifies a definite effect; the other is a step in one direction (could be right or wrong). Getting things done means you’re working with and meeting set objectives, rather than just being busy. Productive individuals get things done.
Unfortunately for most us, the latter is our usual tendency– WE ARE CAUGHT UP IN THE SPIRAL OF BEING BUSY WITH VERY LITTLE TO SHOW FOR IT. Think about it, the most productive individuals you know, are they necessarily the ‘busiest’ workers? I’ll take a guess for you, No. Instead, they are smarter workers who have perfected a sustainable framework that allows them the opportunity to leverage time effectively, with the ultimate goal of ramping up productivity.
Wondering how you too can be a master of time and productivity? Follow the below steps:
Take charge of your workflow
To be a master of time you have to first organize your schedule into an actionable roadmap that clearly outlines all you need to do and how you plan on doing them within a designated time frame. In figuring out what to do, remember the 80 – 20 rule; only 20% of the tasks you engage in will yield 80% of the results you need. What happens to the remaining 80% of work done? One word, unproductive.
Factor this in when devising your workflow. Snip out unnecessary tasks and FOCUS on what is objectively important. Even after sorting out what’s relevant from what’s not, remember to prioritize. You want to get going with activities that matter more, less important tasks can wait since their lack of completion will have less of an effect on your overall productivity.
Other strategies you could leverage to maximize your productivity are the practice of keeping journals and utilizing technology/Apps. Start with three journals; one on your phone, another on your PC and the last one in a portable notebook to make sure there’s someplace to write something when the need arises.
Journal keeping is beneficial in that aside from helping you organize your thoughts; it sharpens you to be more proactive – WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR GOALS/TASKS DOWN YOU’RE 42% MORE LIKELY TO COMPLETE THEM.
In regards to the use of applications, ones such as Asana and Trello (which are project/task management based), can help you keep a firm grasp on your daily tasks, schedule and workflow.
They both allow users to readily set deadlines, prioritize objectives and seamlessly assign and manage tasks. Each has web based features as well so you can also gain access from your computer if you want a more robust functionality experience.
Focus more on what you love
Ever tried taking up a new hobby or sport you weren’t really into after a friend’s suggestion? Remember how easy it was to find an excuse to quit, or how easily distracted you seemed to get when you managed to overcome procrastination. It’s essentially the same scenario when you commit to activities that don’t excite you. You’re going to waste valuable time (and effort) ‘doing things’ rather than ‘getting things done.’
The ‘boring pit’ as we like to call it is one productivity pitfall many people succumb to. Escaping it starts with the realization that by yourself you can’t possibly do everything that needs to be done. You need other people, and the best way to incorporate others into your workflow is to master the subtle art of delegation.
Delegation saves you the stress of burning through unproductive tasks. It gives you the freedom to focus more on what you enjoy doing and perhaps more importantly, falls within your forte of expertise. Do it well enough, and you also add a renewed perspective to your traditional workflow. You know the old proverb, two heads are better than one.
Take shorter assured steps
For many of us, some tasks appear all too daunting at first glance. And that’s because we’re picturing them form an intimidating perspective, one that emphasizes the sheer extent of what needs to be done and that will likely lead to procrastination.
A better way to approach your workflow would be to ‘split’ activities into several parts that you can work on one step at a time. Set reasonable short-term objectives to keep clear sight of what you need to achieve in the long term. For an added boost of morale, treat yourself to a reward every time to you reach a milestone.
Finally, take a breather
In today’s corporate minded world where there’s a renewed emphasis on dedication and selflessness, it’s easy to get caught up in a suffocating web of hard work. When we say hard work, we’re talking late nights, extra weekend shifts and everything else carrying the ‘extra’ tag. But how many times does this hard work actually translate to heightened productivity? Very few times one would guess.
What you do get each time you push your body to the limits is burnout. Burnouts are unhealthy. Worse still, they depreciate your productivity quotient by many tiers. The whole situation with overworking yourself is like taking one step forward and then two steps back.
Create time to rest and recharge. Clearly differentiate between work and relaxation time. And when you relax make sure the only thing you’re doing is relaxing. Although multitasking sounds like a smart way to bolster efficiency, in most instances it’s counterproductive.
Conclusion
In the end, if you’re going to count time as a valuable asset to scaling productivity, you have to balance out pretty much every aspect of your workflow and an extension of your life. Understand when it’s right to involve others, take the time out to develop a strategy for undertaking tasks, and always remember that rest is as valuable as work. When you stick to this essential guideline, you’re well positioned to make every second count. And when every second starts to count you’ll start to make leaps and bounds in your productivity.
What are your secrets to productivity? Do you feel that they have been beneficial in you getting tasks completed lately? What from the above tips do you think you could add to your normal routine? Sound off below.
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