12 ultimate hacks
Most of us learn time management the hard way: piling too much on to our already full plate, becoming overwhelmed and stressed about that deadline, maybe even missing a deadline!
Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, breaking down your ‘to-do’ list into manageable-sized chunks gets you on your way to working smarter.
The key thing to remember: simplicity matters.
- Who’s going to be your “cold call of the day”? Every day commit to making one cold call and one follow-up call. When you know you have to do it as part of your daily routine, and only make one call, it doesn’t become so cumbersome.
- Take the shortcuts. Most of us spend our workday in front of a computer screen. Make that time as efficient as possible. Use our Computer Shortcuts one-pagers – print and post near your keyboard – and soon you will memorize and cut minutes off your composition times, as well as keep your flow going.
- Delegate to experts. Hire out what takes too much time to do or that you’re not proficient in. Not convinced you can afford it? Calculate what your time is worth and how much time and effort it takes to complete the task. You may find that what takes you 4 hours takes an expert one. And if the cost is comparable, and as experts they may yield better results, it’s worth it. Some of the best investments are in bookkeepers, accountants, graphics, copy-writers, marketing, PR, social media management, web management.
- Dictate it. Voice note your ideas and memos rather than typing them. It’s easier to capture ideas on the go, especially content for your website or blogs. Most mobile phones have a voice note option.
- Plan and leave. Plan for your day at the end of each day, before you leave. And if you can, plan for the week on Sunday night. You’ll be more productive and ready at the beginning of the workday.
- Schedule free time! Seriously, make sure you schedule a 15 minute break once or twice each day. Research has proven that you need to recharge and reset. Go for a quick walk, close your eyes and meditate, stretch, anything to get you to de-stress and clear your head.
- Walk and talk. Walking meetings – whether in a small group or over all call, especially when discussing ideas or providing updates is a good way to get clarity while stretching and boost your productivity.
- Don’t be a slave to your phone. FOR THOSE WHO CAN: Practice NOT answering the phone and even better set special ring tones for those individuals who you may have to give priority to like major clients, your boss or your family members.
- Get your head in the Cloud. Create cloud-sharing drives so everyone can collaborate on work – cuts down on composing emails, searching and attaching files and automatically backs up your work.
- Checklists are your friend. Especially with repetitive tasks. Create one with one of the many apps out there that you can use as a daily reminder for you, and in some cases your core team. Our favourite is the ToDo App (appigo.com).
- Use the technology available to you to manage your time. Tech truly is your friend and a time-saver. Use screen sharing for meetings and save hours of commuting and set-up time. You don’t always have to be in-person to be face-to-face. This is best for giving reports, sharing proposals and updates but not for creating documents or programs, or brainstorming.
- Schedule YOU time. Set aside time to develop your own messaging and brand as well as setting and building intentions for what your desired outcomes are for both your business and your personal life. If you don’t have a plan or don’t know the path you need to take, you wont know where you are going. You will be most productive and manage your time better if you know exactly who and what your brand or business is, what and who it represents, and what your goals are. Taking time each week and month to review will help keep you on brand, on track and will lead you to greater success.
For more efficiency and productivity hacks, visit my blog on 10 Great Ways To Reignite Your Productivity.
