By Donna McGeorge
As someone who’s been through the corporate grind and emerged on the other side, I can tell you that there’s nothing more important than making intentional choices about where you spend your time. We all get caught up in the busyness of life, but it’s essential to take a step back and think about what truly matters.
Here are five small changes you can make to your daily routine that will supercharge your productivity and give you back some valuable time to spend where it’s important.
- Wipe your mind
Take five minutes every morning and list everything you have in your mind. Write down everything from ‘replace batteries in smoke detectors’ to ‘research next holiday’ to ‘prepare client presentation’ to ‘empty dishwasher’ and ‘put a load of washing on’. Productivity author David Allen says, “Your mind is for having ideas, not storing them”. When we overwhelm our mind with trying to remember things, it limits our ability to think clearly. So get it all out of your head. - Work with the clock in your body
Even though you may be programmed to do things at a certain time because of habit, you are doing yourself a disservice. There are optimal times for better brain performance at work which means you can schedule the types of tasks you do to make the best use of your most productive time.
Most of us are more mentally alert in the morning, meaning work that requires a bit of mental intensity is best done at that time. If you are a night owl, identify your best two hours of the day, and protect them for your most important work. - Decide now for tomorrow
At the end of the day, take a few minutes to make any small and low-impact decisions today that can clear the way for tomorrow.
It could be things like:
- Blocking out what time lunch break FOR tomorrow will be.
- Packing my bag with things I might need: for example, if I am giving a presentation, make sure I have my cables, remote control slide mover, and so on, all ready to go.
- Deciding, if tomorrow is a non-routine kind of day,
– what time I will need to leave in the morning
– how I will be travelling the next day
– what train/tram/bus I will catch, or, if driving, what route I will take.
Deciding all these things before you leave the office at night will eliminate any chance of you sitting bolt upright in the middle of the night and will set you up for success the next day.
- Short, timed bursts of work
The Pomodoro Technique, developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, is a time management method named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used to track his work.
The Pomodoro Technique involves breaking your work into 25-minute intervals, called “Pomodoros,” separated by short 5-minute breaks. Working this way limits distractions, improves concentration, increases productivity, and reduces burnout. - 25-minute meetings – and less of them
Following on from the Pomodoro Method, have less meetings in your day, and reduce the time of them. When we have less time (or even if we simply perceive we have less time) our call to action is much greater.
The less time we have, the more focused we are on getting the task done.
Studies have shown that when we imposed strict deadlines on ourselves for tasks we performed far better (and more consistently) than those who don’t.
By making these small changes to your daily routine, you can reclaim time, boost your productivity, and live a more fulfilling life. So don’t wait any longer – start today and see how much of a difference it can make.
Donna McGeorge is a global authority on productivity, and best-selling author of the “It’s About Time” book series. Her latest book, “Join the ChatGPT Revolution” (published by Wiley) is set for release in July 2023. Find out more by visiting her website:
www.donnamcgeorge.com