Do you feel like you’re constantly falling behind and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you need to get done? In today’s video, I’m sharing my top 3 tips for managing your time and increasing your productivity.
My name is Dana Kaye and welcome to my channel, Branding Outside the Box, where I help driven entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders become more memorable and make more meaningful connections.
As an entrepreneur, I understand the struggle of work-life balance and the constant feeling that there are not enough hours in the day. Balancing the needs of your clients and team members, not to mention your friends, family, and personal well-being, can be overwhelming. Sometimes it seems impossible.
That’s why it’s so important to implement these three time-saving techniques:
First, be proactive rather than re-active.
As entrepreneurs, we know the term “fire drill” all too well. We deal with last-minute client requests, unexpected needs of team members, even software fails. And when these things happen, they take over our day, not to mention our brain power.
But what if, instead of always REACTING to these fire drills, you could be PROACTIVE instead?
Rather than waiting for something to be dumped on you, take time to anticipate the needs of those clients and projects. Create contingency plans. Set reminders. Reach out in advance. The more you can work ahead and anticipate the needs of people and projects, the less time you’ll spend reacting to those last-minute needs.
The second technique is to eliminate downtime. Between each meeting or task, most people take a few minutes deciding what they’re going to work on next. Depending on the work day and number of meetings, that could add up to almost an hour of downtime each day. That hour could instead be spent with your family, working out, or getting a jump on a future project. By taking the guesswork out of “what comes next?” you can save valuable minutes and get more work done in less time.
In my last video, I shared some systems I use to track my to-do lists and map out my 90 day plans. Whenever a meeting finishes up early or cancels, I immediately go to my project management software, pick a project, and get started. I don’t think about what I should do next or worse, waste time surfing the web. I can immediately jump into a new project without hesitation and accomplish more.
The last technique is to disable all notifications. Yes, ALL OF THEM.
Bing-bongs on your phone, dings on your desktop, and pop ups on your browser are all designed to disrupt. Whatever you’re doing is immediately put on hold to tend to the alert, and that often leads to further time wasters. Even if you don’t check the email or Facebook notification, the aural alert in itself is a disruption. It triggers your brain and says, “There’s something else you should be paying attention to!”
I recommend disabling all notifications and pop ups. This goes beyond silencing them; even a simple icon and text appearing on your home-screen can be enough to unravel your flow. If you want to see what’s going on in your inbox or on Facebook, then open the app when you’re ready. Don’t let your phone dictate what you do.
Ok, let’s re-cap! My top 3 time management tips that will increase your productivity are:
- Be proactive rather than reactive
- Eliminate downtime
- Disable notifications
Implementing these tips may be challenging at first, but if you stay consistent, these techniques will soon transform into habits. And once you are habitually productive, you will start to see a dramatic impact on your business.
For more tips and tricks for increasing your productivity, be sure to check out the other videos in this playlist.
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