Have a dedicated time to focus on goals, tasks, objectives, principles.
Have a schedule with a systematic approach to managing your tasks and projects throughout each day. Be specific and allocate time to long-term projects each day to make the effort for less concentrated and potentially last minute. Add into the schedule your professional and personal blocks of time.
Scheduling key appointments that you actually keep with yourself!
Set a specific time of each day you have just for you- to work on a specific project that is important to you- I know many people that will take their lunch break as an appointment with themselves and this is where they think, dream, read, and sometimes just digest the events of the morning and refocus for the afternoon.
Turn off your automatic email notification.
Why do you have it set to come in every minute? This is the most irritating and distracting feature of Outlook today. You can turn off that little preview notification window that pops up when you get a new e-mail- that is if you wanted to stay more intentional with your time allocation each day.
Ever thought of using the DND (do not disturb or out of the office) button on your office phone? Ever thought of turning off your cell phone for an hour or two- you may think this is crazy today, but yes---DURING THE WORK DAY.
Use email folders and filters.
We can be organized and intentional with our time allocation and by creating a systematic e-mail management plan your e-mail can stay organized and the records can be set aside automatically so you do not have to manually move them to a folder. Set up folders, use rules, and place a copy in the folder that way it will go you’re your “in box” as well as the right folder so if it is not urgent you can delete it right away and check those folders at a set time or after prime work hours. Check those only at dedicated times.
Stop multi-tasking and start focusing on one type of task for no less than 30 minutes at a time.
Multi-tasking is ineffective and there has been study after study that will tell you attention management today is a problem. Focus, take your project or task from start to finish and do not allow yourself to deviate from your agenda. You will soon see how quickly your checklist of tasks and projects are completed and the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Create a time budget. Where did your time truly go? You need to know how to manage how your time is allocated.
The act of saying no can make your yeses so much more valuable. You can call it “The Power of No”. Evaluate your day, be honest with yourself and do not try to convince yourself that the task that interrupted your plan was more important- be tough on yourself. It is no different than a food diet, it is a time management diet and the first few hours, days, and weeks will be very tough on you- stay strong and follow a plan and you will get more done in a week than you used to get done in a month!
Lose the electronic leash! Cell phone, iPhone, Blackberry, etc.
They will own you if you allow them to- do we really need to go into detail here? PUT IT DOWN…WALK AWAY…
Educate your environment.
Let your friends and colleagues know what you are doing and why. They will support you if they understand and may even join you!
Use time for communication effectively.
Some things can be done in person, by email, by notes, etc. You must decide how to efficiently and effectively communicate.
Reward yourself!
After each day of following your plan and using block or zone planning you will not only feel incredible you will have accomplished so take off early on Friday and enjoy your weekend or set aside time the next week to go out to lunch with an old friend. Small rewards are huge motivators
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