Anything that makes you stop doing any of your A Priorities should be considered an interruption. Your goal during any working day is to get as many A Priorities done as possible; the activities that stop you from doing A Priorities must be controlled and tightly regulated to do as little damage to your productivity as possible.
I'll list 5 tasks that are part of your day and show you how you can limit there impact on your productivity for the day.
1. Checking e-mails Limit this addictive disruptive habit to 3 snorts a day, notice the subtle sly reference to a drug habit, for those new to this page, one of my favorite targets for Time Waster Of The Year is e-mails. 2. Returning phone calls Yes, your phone, cell and landline MUST at times be turned off 3. Receiving phone calls Yes, your phone, cell and landline MUST at times be turned off 4. Reviewing and receiving real mail, paper 5. Written responses to co-workers, pre set responses to outside correspondents These are just 5 interruptions that can help destroy a day's productivity and results. Instead of allowing these 5 activities to stop and restart your day up to 10 times or more, lets batch this group of interruptions in one time allocation time block, allowing 10 to 20 minutes for activity, for a total time block of 1 hour 15 minutes.
You will be able to accomplish all 5 activities within one time block and reduce the times you have to stop and restart by a factor of 8 or more, a huge savings to you in time and a major reduction in stress. Another advantage to putting these 5 tasks in the same time block, you can now "play" with the time allotment, using unused time from a task that took less time to complete and ad that time to a task that took longer to finish than originally thought.
To gain the most from this technique, try the following:
? Always start this time block on the hour, use it as the "start" to a fairly fast paced time block, I always try to beat my record, get as much done as I can in the shortest time frame as possible. Believe it or not, you can actually turn these time wasters into fun activities.
? Be fanatically strict about ending this time block on time. If you allow these time wasters to win, take more time to do than you had allotted, they win and you lose.
? Practice makes perfect. Keep the same grouping of activities together in the same time block; you will get better at getting more done in less time if you keep them together.
? Do as many "mini tasks" as you can during this time block.
? Schedule this time block into a time frame where you are more likely to be interrupted, its easier to keep working through these kinds of items, housekeeping items, than higher Priority tasks.
? Be sure to continue this routine for at least 10 tries, 10 working days to give yourself and this technique a fair trial.
We teach this in our seminars and it's in the Power Time System. The feed back from the participants in the seminars and from the users of the Power Time System is unusually high.
Be sure to give this one a shot.
Perfectionism, like a siren's song, can lure you into dangerous waters. Your ideal hovers just out of reach while your day slips away. Regain your productivity! Learn to identify the 3 stages of poisonous perfectionism. You can call on these tips to exercise the freedom you deserve over your time.
With mild perfectionism, you may waste time fine-tuning things that only you will notice. Then you scramble to finish the rest of the day's work. Consider creating a mantra that opens a fresh view as an antidote. For example, "That'll do for now," or, ""It's good enough."
If you suffer from moderate perfectionism, perhaps you were told as a child, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right." You may spend twice as much time as others on the final stages of a project, and rarely convince yourself it's really complete. Do you make several false starts and never feel satisfied with your finished product? Or work so intently on some projects that you never get around to other ones?
If so, it's your responsibility to yourself to stop an endless cycle of revisions. In addition to creating a positive mantra, establish a reasonable time frame to complete a project. Set an alarm, if you need to. When the time is up, change activities, no matter what. This becomes easier with practice.
Also, consider broadening your perspective by asking a supportive friend or co-worker to review your work. The more actively you replace your all-or-nothing messages with your chosen mantra, the more you'll welcome feedback that dilutes the harshness of perfectionism.
Severe perfectionism requires the most sustained effort to overcome. If you often lose sleep at night rehearsing what you will do the following day, perfectionism threatens to undermine your health. And if you are so afraid of not being good enough that you become immobilized, your daily performance suffers, as well.
You must squarely face that your excessive standards are padlocking your productivity and taking over your life. Fortunately, the more comprehensively you explore your assumptions and values, the more you can reclaim your power and your time.
Instead of putting your project under the microscope, examine your expectations of success. Do you cling to a distorted perception about "perfection" and what it can give you? When you replace them with a clear overview, you can whittle down those looming fears of failure.
If perfection remains a deeply ingrained value, substitute ideals of a perfect performance with a vision of perfect balance in your life. The essence of balance is learning when to let go. By participating in a balanced life rather than performing for impossible rewards, you will cultivate new strengths, and take genuine satisfaction in regaining control of your time.
"Getting the thing done, whatever it is, in time to actually use and enjoy it is what matters the most." Ken McCarthy
What other ways can you benefit from time management skills?
Both Gen Wright & Paula Eder are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Gen Wright has sinced written about articles on various topics from Terrier Dogs, Acne Treatment and Lose Weight. Bryan Beckstead is the creator and developer of the and the Power Productivity Maximizer and has been involved in the Self Improvement and Self Empo. Gen Wright's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.
Paula Eder has sinced written about articles on various topics from self improvement and motivation, Health and self improvement and motivation. Paula Eder, Ph.D., The Time Finder, has 35+ years experience guiding individuals and organizations to effectively align values with time choices. For free weekly time tips & award-winning monthly Ezines, visit. Paula Eder's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.