If you keep yourself insanely busy, it does not necessarily mean you’re being productive. Or effective.
It can feel like an uphill battle to stick to priorities, bring clarity to your activities and create mini moats around things of value in our high-paced world.
But it is possible if you consistently and persistently put some habits into place for yourself
- Realize someone’s “urgent” may not really be important – Evaluate if something labelled as urgent is truly that. Or if it really warrants YOU changing your agenda for now
- Eat That Frog! – do the hard (yet truly needed/necessary) tasks FIRST in your day to create that momentum. This is also known as Eat That Frog …
- Take Breaks – weave these in strategically into your day to keep both fresh and focused once you’re back on task
- Group Like With Like – If you have activities or repetitive tasks that can take a lot time to do (and switch to/from), consider doing them in defined, bounded chunks. Some examples? Meal planning 1x or 2x for the week rather than frantic each meal, each day. Calendar open with phone to schedule all needed appointments for next week or month in one sitting.
- Mute It – turn off electronic notifications or have these devices away from you if not needed for the single task you have front & center. Check things during a planned break instead
- Be Direct – Call or talk with someone directly for important responses rather than a tangled web of email exchanges
- Ask For Help – If you’re looking for a particular kind of research or solution, turn to social media & friends to get data points or ideas. Don’t get too vested in following all recommendation leads but at least get some ideas flowing in to help you with the final solution that you’ll choose
- Plan “Steep” Time Daily & Weekly – Carve out a bit of time both daily and at end of your work week to simple reflect on both the past AND how you’d like to better plan your future. Take that step back regularly so you’re using what’s coming in to constantly refine and adjust what works for you
I personally am still putting this tips into place consistently into my own life but the start has already helped tremendously.
Your High Performance Life is fueled by Clarity, so give these tips a chance to fire up in your life soon!
by Sean O’Meara