My Clever Assistant
Simple Ways To Do More in Less Time
Do your New Year’s resolutions include improving your productivity? Productive people strive to stay ahead of the pack. Enlightenment can be as simple as planning your work day and avoiding distractions. But how?
Today we are surrounded by numerous distractions such as email and voice mails. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can consume a good part of your day too. If we feel compelled to answer right away, the result is fractured concentration and our quality of work will suffer.
How can you make sure that you are more productive during the time you have to work?
1. Schedule your work when you are most productive. Many people find their productivity is strongest early in the day. If you are a morning person, start your workday early. If you are more productive in the afternoons, set aside that time to do nothing but the work you’d planned to do. Block this time on your calendar as if it’s an appointment.
2. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Most of us cannot do everything well ourselves. Look at your responsibilities and single out tasks that someone else can help you with. The time you save can be spent on other activities you need to complete. You are also practicing your team building skills by letting others handle tasks by themselves.
3. Email and voice mail will waste all your day if you are not careful. Someone on the other end wants something that has nothing to do with what you’d planned or need to work on. Schedule a specific time each day when you will deal with these items as if it is an appointment. Let callers know in your voice mail greeting to expect call backs within a certain timeframe. Remember to turn the phone ringer volume down so incoming calls will not distract you. Email auto notifications can be turned off to keep those notification pings and balloons from appearing on your computer screen. Be consistent when you do return calls and answer messages. Use the time you have set aside to respond to them all. Scheduling the time for your social networking responses and automating your posts will help you maintain control of your day.
4. Think outside the box. There are systems, processes or services that can help keep you organized and productive or that can automate time consuming activities. Today, you will find literally all kinds of options to save you time and money.
You CAN be more productive too!
