1. Focus on values.
Instead of going full-throttle at every task, invest time in identifying your core values. Then, schedule selectively. “Take a look at your life and determine which activities are vital: high-payoff, crucial, life- or business-sustaining,” says Trapper Woods, author and time management specialist. How to: Break activities into categories: family, work, friends, home, self. Assign a different highlighter color to each category. A glance at the color-coded schedule will reveal how balanced (or unbalanced, as the case may be) your life is. Then set aside an hour on a Sunday to ask yourself what’s really important. Make a list and grab your calendar. If you love art, schedule museum trips like you would a dental appointment. If family time is key, designate one day per month as a family outing day. Think creatively.
2. Make a game plan.
Take an aerial view of your life—both personal and professional: Target what you want for the long and short term. Dissolve long-term goals into smaller, more manageable bites. How to: Keep calendars updated and write realistic to-do lists for short-term projects at home and work. Keep a picture—in your bedroom, in your wallet, on your desk—of what you want to do and when.
3. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.
Prioritizing is the key to greater efficiency as well as accomplishing what really matters, says Jan Yager, author of Creative Time Management. Assess each activity or task at hand and ask yourself point blank: What results will this gain? How to: Establish a way of ranking items on your to-do list by relearning your ABCs. Give A-items (rich in reward) your full attention first. Set aside a special time each day or week to accomplish these things. Focus less on the B’s (they offer minimal payoff). Brush aside or farm out the C’s. Julie Morgenstern, author of Time Management from the Inside Out, suggests 4 Ds for C items: delete, delay, diminish, delegate.
4. First and always focus.
Break the multi-tasking habit. According to time experts, multitasking simply doesn’t work. What happens, Morgenstern explains, is that you keep switching back and forth between one thing and another and impair brain function. Tasks actually take four times longer than they would if you had concentrated on just one. How to: Focus all your energies on completing one activity at a time before moving on to the next. Discipline yourself: Turn off the phone, tune out e-mail, refuse distractions and attend to the task at hand. Focusing could free up to 2 hours a day, according to Morgenstern.
5. Disarm distractions.
Taking a call at random or chatting with an unexpected visitor can eat away your day. Manage distractions by asking upfront how much time is required. Be proactive in deciding whether to proceed or postpone. If you’re in the middle of something, offer to meet at a later time. How to: Get ahead of the game by starting early in the day. One hour of quiet, uninterrupted work time is worth 3 to 4 hours later in the day, according to a time management study conducted by Jack Ferner and John Deans. Also, don’t start each morning with the simplest tasks on your to-do list to warm up. That tactic simply wastes your most alert hours.
6. Just say “no.”
You have the right to refuse, so start saying “no.” You’ll be viewed in a better light, if you turn something down from the outset rather than have to back off a project or call to cancel an engagement, says Yager. How to: Decide first and foremost: Does this task or invitation deserve of my energy? Check your schedule to see if you have the time. Determine if you can complete tasks by the deadline given and at your highest quality. Serve up a refusal with a suggested alternative and explain your reasoning. It’s not personal; it’s practical.
7. Optimize your strengths.
Identify the talents that set you apart and work them. If we fool ourselves into believing we are the only and best one to do every little thing, we get bogged down with tasks that don’t highlight our abilities—not to mention the risk of burnout. How to: Be realistic in acknowledging what you can do. And realize that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should be doing it. Stick to what you do best.
8. Plan and plot.
Regularly schedule time into your day to plan. Think ahead, and assume that unexpected wrinkles will surface. How to:There are plenty of planning tools—from day timers to electronic calendars. Pick one planning technique that works for you and be consistent. Get into the habit of recording activities and projects—even the amount of time each will take. At the start of each week identify prime activities, key projects and must-see people.
9. Batch ’em.
Imagine your time is like a closet, suggests Morgenstern. See your day as a limited space that accommodates only so much and benefits from organization. Group common tasks together. Hit the grocery store, cleaners, and health food store all in one outing. How to: Trapper Woods suggests counterpoint management: Pick off-times to pick up dry-cleaning and stock up on groceries. Leave 30 minutes earlier in the morning to avoid rush-hour traffic. Added benefit: You’ll get in quiet time at work.
10. Just do it!
Procrastination is a chronic time guzzler. Set up a rewards system to stay motivated. Say a deadline out loud to someone else to solidify it in your mind and to commit yourself to it. If you are consistently late, set an early deadline and write reminders in your planner, calendar, or on post-its. Don’t let fear of failure—or success—paralyze you. Jump in and get started. How to: If you are feeling unfocused and having trouble getting something done, take a 15-minute break, suggests Yager. Set a beginning and end to the break to make it guilt-free. MORE: 4 Simple Ways To Take The Stress Out Of Summer
