10 Time Saving Tips To Make You More Productive

Our typical strategy when we have too much to do, is to put more hours in. However, this cannot be a long term solution, because of the impact on health, as you will see below. Also, once we engage in longer hours, it can just become a habit; what do you do when you really need to ramp things up – move your bed into the office?

The first thing to say is, think of the long-game as you read this article. Time invested now will free up your time in the future. If you’re screaming, but I haven’t got time! What are you going to do? Keep doing what you’re doing and expect a different outcome? (The definition of insanity).

Not knowing the extent of what tasks we actually need to do can make us feel out of control and stressed. Take stock. Tidy your work area. Anything that represents work should be added to your To do list. If it takes less than 2 minutes to complete, do it there and then. Get rid of any post it notes or multiple task lists. Store to do’s in one place: a good old fashioned notepad, use an app on your phone or Outlook Tasks. I like Outlook because I can schedule tasks in advance, which prevents me from feeling overwhelmed. Additionally, you can delegate tasks through this programme. Finally, prioritise the list and add realistic deadlines.
Mark any items you can delegate with a \’D\’
- Excuses for not delegating:
  - I haven\’t got anyone to delegate to. Fair enough. Do you have a friend or colleague that is prepared to help out?
  - It\’s quicker to do it myself. If it\’s a repeat task, invest time showing someone for a longer term gain.
  - The person I\’m going to delegate to is also busy and they won\’t want to do this job. How far would you have progressed if your boss hadn\’t delegated and trusted you?
  - You like to be in control because you\’re afraid they\’ll make a mistake or they won\’t do it your way / as good as you. That\’s how people learn. What is the worst that could happen? Work out how you\’d deal with that. Sometimes we have to just drop our ego and accept that people will do things in their own way. Who says our way is right?
What are the time wasters in your life? Mindless internet surfing, excessive social media, cc\’d into everything, certain people? What changes could you make?
Are you a perfectionist or detail person? Accept that these behaviours will make you less efficient. Notice when you engage in the habit. Then set yourself a time limit for completing the task or meeting.
Stop multi-tasking and start mono-tasking. Daniel Goldman has written a book about how the most successful people are able to focus. Multi-tasking is like having too many programmes open on your computer – eventually performance slows down. Studies have shown that it damages grey matter and that it can take 15 minutes to get back into a task, when we flit from one thing to another.
Stop trying to squeeze so much into your day, it only leads to disappointment because you didn’t achieve what you set out to and you end up rushing. Booking time for certain activities can make a big difference, e.g. administration, exercise, thinking time…make an appointment with yourself. Often we run out of time, because we don’t allow for the small things. For example, when we’re getting ready for the school run, it can take 5 minutes for my daughter to walk down stairs, put her shoes and coat on and get into the car.
To be more efficient, try to do activities when it suits your body clock. For example, are you better having meetings in the morning or afternoon? When does it suit you best to carry out your concentration tasks?
Keep the Pareto Principal in mind, i.e. we get 80% of our results from 20% of our activities. For example I get the bulk of my business from networking with a certain group of people. This is where I invest my time.
Be assertive. If you’re a generous person and have a tendency to over-help, we can end up with too much to do. Think of the aeroplane oxygen mask analogy: put your mask on first, before putting someone else’s on – otherwise you’ll be no good to anyone. Learn to say no, without using the words NO. State your position, e.g. I am currently working on x, y, and z until the end of the week, so I am going to struggle to fit that in. Or simply explain that you have too much to do at the moment.
When you\’re rushing from one thing to another, you are probably triggering your sympathetic nervousness system. Your body produces stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. This results in increased heart rate, respiration, perspiration and tightens your muscles for \”fight or flight”. Did you know that if you work for more than 90 minutes, you initiate the stress response? Counter the stress response, by activating the relaxation response, which is responsible for the body’s ability to recuperate and return to a balanced state known as \”homeostasis\”. The body can only heal itself when this system is in use, hence more illness when we are stressed. Therefore, engage in activities that make you feel more relaxed. Take a break.