Transcription
Here on YouTube and in many other platforms, you are going to find loads of tips and tricks on how to become more productive and better at managing your time. And there is a lot of advice out there. Some of it is excellent. Some of it is terrible. But today, what I want to do is give you five simple, easy-to-use tricks that you can use that will guarantee to eliminate procrastination, improve your time management, and just explode your productivity. Maybe.
Okay, let's get started with the first one. Reduce the barrier to engagement. Now, what do I mean by reduce the barrier to engagement? Well, the first what you do is whatever document or PowerPoint or Keynote or Google Slides, whatever tools you're using, often what we have is create presentation or write report, and then we just procrastinate. We never do anything about it. However, what you can do, and this is just a super simple trick, is step number one, create the document. Whether it's a report, whether it's a PowerPoint or Keynote or whatever it is you're creating, just create the document. Now, give it a title, and if it's a report, perhaps write two or three sentences to get you going. Now, you may edit away those sentences, but just get the document started. This is reducing the barrier to entry. What you're doing is you've got the document, it's there on your desktop, or if you're more organized, it's in the right folder, and you're ready to go. So, next time you see that task, work on write writing the report or work on creating the presentation, you've just got to double-click, the document opens, and boom, off you go. It is really super simple, and if you think about it, a little stupid, because it probably only takes you 2 minutes to create the document, but it's creating that document that's actually creating the pros- Can't even say the word. Creating the procrastination that's stopping you from doing it. So, eliminate that barrier, reduce it, and just create the document, then leave it for 24 hours, and then come back to it. I guarantee you won't procrastinate so much next time.
Okay, for the for the next one, we do have a little bit of a problem here. What normally happens is people are doing these one, two, three, or even four-hour weekly reviews. And what they're doing in that review is reviewing all their projects. Now, this to me just does not seem comprehensive. I don't understand why you need to do that, because of this very simple little trick. When you finish working on the project, you write down in the project note what the next action step is. Now, you can move that to your task manager if you wish. I generally don't, because I just say work on project, mhm, and then I go to the project note, and boom, right there at the top is the very next action. Now, the chances are, if I've got a project task to do the next day, I'm actually going to look at that the day before just to see what it is I need to do in case I need to prepare something or even be in a different location. But this one to me is just a no-brainer. The best time to review a project is when you've just finished working on the project, because it's fresh, everything about that project is in your mind. You know exactly what needs to be done. But if you then don't touch the project for 2 weeks, and then you do a weekly planning, oh, I've got to do this project. Now, you have to go in during your weekly planning session to that project and review the whole thing. That's going to take you 10, 20, 30 minutes, depending on how big the project is. It is such a waste of time. The best time to review a project is when you've immediately just finished working on the project. Look at what needs to happen next, write down the next step or even next two or three steps into the project note, so that next time you work on that project, it's right there. It's up at the top, you're very clear about what needs to happen next. Super super simple, but I can assure you it's going to save you so much time.
One of the issues I get when a lot of with my coaching clients is that they say, oh, I can time block my day, but the moment the day starts, it just gets destroyed. I these sudden meetings, all these emergencies, and crazy things just happen, and then I just have to ditch my plan for the day. Aha, there is another simple trick for this. Protect the first 30 minutes of your working day to deal with any emergencies, crises, quick urgent messages. Just give yourself 30 minutes before you get into your working day. So, for example, most of all my creative time blocks, whenever I'm working on content, writing these videos, there is always a 30-minute gap. I always start at 9:30. I never start at 9:00 a.m., because that first 30 minutes, there's always going to be an email that needs an urgent reply. There's always going to be a message that suddenly somebody needs my input very quickly. So, I'm not going to sort of squeeze my day so that I my day starts at 9:00 a.m. and I'm boom, straight into my focus time block. You see, that just isn't going to work. That's going to That's likely to get destroyed the moment you start the day. No, give yourself the first 30 minutes to just get a grip on what's happening on the day. Where are the emergencies? It kind of is like just giving you a heads-up. I always think of this is like the pilots who, before they go on a flight, they check the weather, they do their pre-flight checks. They're making sure there are no emergencies or potential emergencies before they fly. Well, we do the same thing. As in the knowledge work world, we just save that first 30 minutes of the day to just get a grip on what's happening of the day. It's almost like a heads-up. Deal with any emergencies, answer any questions, and then start that focus block. You can go straight in, and my focus blocks are 9:30 to 11:30, and because I've got that 30 minutes first where I've dealt with any emergencies, I can relax into that 2 hours knowing that there's nothing urgent, and anything that is can wait 2 hours.
Now, I know that in many modern working environments, it's quite common to eat your lunch at your desk or take a quick lunch break or skip lunch altogether. The the From a productive point of view, just from a human point of view, this is one of the worst things that can you can do. Skipping your lunch or just grabbing a sandwich while you're finishing off that report. >> [laughter] >> Now, there's something going on here. Our brains are not very good at being able to stay focused beyond 90 minutes. Now, it's weird, but we sleep in 90-minute cycles between rapid eye movement and deep sleep. We We go into these cycles. Well, the strange thing is is we actually, because of our circadian rhythms, we actually do the same when we're awake. We're in 90-minute cycles. So, you can get a 90-minute really pure focus block, but after about 90 minutes, 2 hours, your brain starts to fade. You'll find it much more difficult to concentrate, and you're much more easily distracted. Taking that lunch break is critical if you want to remain productive in the afternoon. If you don't care about being productive in the afternoon, don't worry, carry on eating your sandwich at your desk while doing work. But one of the most effective productive things you can do is go and take your lunch away from the office, perhaps go to the canteen if you must, but better still, get out, walk to a restaurant or a cafe, have your lunch, and walk back. Now, that movement, that movement of walking, hopefully if it's more than 15 to 20 minutes of walking, that's just going to absolutely explode your productivity in the afternoon, because you've got rid of that sugar boost, that sugar dump, I should say. You avoid the afternoon slump, and you're ready to go. But it also, more importantly, gives your brain a rest from staring at a screen or having to think of solutions to problems that all your people are bringing to you. Uh-huh. Get out, go and have a lunch, proper lunch, try to make it the full hour, and get some movement. Just try that today, or tomorrow if you if you're watching this in the evening, just try it one time. I can assure you, you'll be just blown away at how much more productive you are in the afternoon.
Now, this final one is going to be controversial. I know people are going to push back. People are going to say, I can't do that. I don't I have to do all these meetings. Fine, if that's the situation, then don't expect to be able to get your work done. Don't ever expect to be on top of your messages and emails. The problem that everybody Well, not everybody, but most people I come across who are really struggling with time management is because their calendars look something like this. It's just full of meetings and commitments. Now, where are you going to get your work done? If you've got a I I have a client, for example, who has to sit down and write out a job description for a new person they want to hire. Let's say that as an example. Well, okay, that might take them an hour or 2 hours, but if you look at this calendar, where? Where are you going to do it? You're not going to do it in your working time, so you've only got options of using your personal time. That's not the fault of the company. It's not the fault of your task manager. It's not the fault of your calendar. It is 100% your fault. You have allowed your calendar to be open to all sorts of meetings. The only way you're going to be able to get on top of your time is to take control of your calendar. Now, I'm not suggesting that you block out whole days where you just do focus work. What you're looking to do is an hour or two a day that is protected for doing your work. Now, I protect 2 hours every day, which still leaves me with 6 to 7 hours of open time for meetings and talking to clients and colleagues. And it's more than enough time. But it's the only way I can do that is by grabbing hold of my calendar and saying, "No, this is my territory, not everyone else's." Sure, the company might employ you, but it's still your time. And the only way you're going to get your more deeper, solo focused work done is to protect time for it. And as I say, we're not talking about 5 or 6 hours a day. If you can protect 2 hours a day, that is 10 hours a week of deep focused work. That's it. But it still leaves you more than enough time to be able to attend meetings and whatever else you need to do. So, fine, if you accept that you have no control over your calendar and you have to attend all these meetings, then okay, that's the problem. The problem is there, and if you're unwilling to challenge it and to change it and to protect a couple of hours a day, then please don't blame everybody else. Don't blame your tools. Don't blame your boss. Don't blame your company. It's because you've made a decision not to challenge the the situation with your meetings. That's on you. You have to do it. And I know that's going to be controversial. I know many people are going to push back and say, "My company won't allow me to do that." But what's stopping you from talking to your boss? What's stopping you from, you know, asking, "Hang on, boss. If you want me to do all this work and attend all these meetings, something's going to break. I don't have the time to attend all these meetings." So, get control of your calendar. And as I say, we're not talking about, you know, the majority of your day where you're not available. You're looking at say 1 to 2 hours a day that you've protected every day for doing your focused work. And at that point, when you go into that focus block time, you turn off the notifications, you turn on the indication that you are not to be disturbed, and you get on and do the work.
So, there you go. Five things that you can do to help explode your productivity. The first one is always reduce the resistance to getting the work started. That could be to start the document, write the title, write the first two or three sentences, and then you can click out of it. Takes you 2 or 3 minutes to do that. It's just a wonderful trick because the next time you come to work on that project, maybe that afternoon, maybe that morning, maybe maybe the next morning, it's such a breeze. Double click, start, boom, you're off. The second one is protect the first 30 minutes of your day to deal with any of those emergencies, any urgent emails or messages, get them out of the way, and then get in and do your most important work. Get that out of the way. But protect the first 30 minutes of your day. Third one, when it comes to your projects, when you're working on your projects, before you finish, write down the next action in your project note. It's the most of best time to review a project is when you've just finished working on the project because you know exactly what needs to happen next. If you leave it a week or two or perhaps a few days even, you now have to go into the whole project and review everything 10, 20, 30, 40 minutes just to figuring out what needs to happen next. Take advantage of that time. You've just finished. You know what needs to happen next. The fourth one is take a proper lunch break. Your brain needs the break. You need the break. Get out, get some air, move, and have a proper lunch. Don't be eating lunch at your desk, grab a sandwich or a pasty or whatever, and then you cuz your brain never gets a break, and this is why you're exhausted at the end of the day. Plus, there's no natural break in your day. You start the day and then it for 8 to 9 hours, and then suddenly you're home and you think, "I'm exhausted. I can't do anything." Well, it's not that you're really exhausted. It's just that you never gave your brain a chance to have a break. Take a proper lunch break. It's it's critical if you want your productivity to be exploding and you're getting everything done within the time that you have, so you don't have to take work home with you. And the final one is just get control of your calendar. Say no to meetings or the very least negotiate on times so that you can get your work done. But if you allow your calendar to fill up with other people's meetings, don't complain if you haven't got time to deal with your emails and messages or even do any of the work that these meetings are supposed to generate. You're the one who allowed their calendar to fill up with meetings and commitments. You're the only person who can remove those meetings and commitments. So, negotiate. Explain to your boss if you have to. I know it can be an uncomfortable conversation, but there's no good blaming the tools or blaming everybody else if you're the one who left their calendar open. Grab hold of it. Get commit get serious about how you're managing your time. >> [singing] [music] >> Now, there you go. Those are the five things that I know that most of you are not doing, or at least not doing all of them. But if you do start doing them, I guarantee your productivity is just going to be exponentially exponentially exponentially so much better so that you can actually just get all your work done in the time that you have, get home, and have a life. Now, surely that's a good thing to have. Now, if you want to learn about all my whole system, then recently I've done a couple of videos on it, but this one here, I think, is definitely the one you should be watching next.