Time management & productivity are huge subjects all by themselves. Numerous books have been written & the number of apps, diaries, planners & journals on the market is staggering. Every one of these promises to free up your time, make you more productive & give you the keys to the universe.
No matter what tool you choose to use, you absolutely should use something. Regardless of how the creator designed it to be used, find a way to use it that suits you. There are no perfect tools.
It's been my experience that most feature rich tools make me less productive because I am either overwhelmed by all the features I have to get to grips with or so focussed on using them all to maximum effect that I get nothing done besides planning!
One Single Priority
Setting a priority and working on that & only that will make you more productive than the vast majority of the world. I used to have regular conversations with one of my managers at my most recent employer about why I didn't answer my mobile phone.
I still have those conversations with my wife to this day. My reasoning is simple. Phone calls can always be returned if the caller leaves a voicemail message. If they don't leave a message, it can't be that important.
By ignoring my phone (it's usually off), I can put 100% of my focus on the task that I have identified as my priority. The same applies to email. I treat it the same as a British first class letter: The sender gets a reply in about 48 hours.
Covey Quadrant System for Establishing Priorities
My decisions about phone calls and email are the result of using the Covey Quadrant system that I identified in the video. These items are often mistaken for real work because a ringing phone or email alert seems urgent.
It's very seldom that anyone needs to speak to you that urgently. In fact, a nice little side benefit of my approach was often that the reason for the call or email was resolved before I returned the call or email. They didn't need me after all!
The Covey Quadrant system is a very effective way to assess what you spend your time on & I'd encourage you to download it and use it for a week.
If you're like the majority of people, you'll be surprised at how much of your time is "leaking" through quadrant 3 & 4 activities.
The ability to set one priority and stick to it resulted in a work experience I'll never forget, summed up in this exchange on Twitter.
It's never a case of having no time, it's a case of how you use it. Practise good time-management habits and you'll have all the time you need.
Tasks for this lesson:
1. Assess whatever system you're using to manage your time. Are you actually using it? How effective is it as a tool for YOU? How are you going to use it better in the future? Or do you need to look at other options?
2. Download the Covey Quadrant sheets. Use them to assess your the tasks you choose to do across a week of both work and leisure / family / training time. How much time are you spending on quadrant 3 & 4 activities? How could you change this to make your time-usage more effective?
Disclosure: Some of the links above may be affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.