Towards the end of last year I often found myself working reactively instead of being in charge of my time. This meant I spent a lot of time feeling overwhelmed, ineffective, and guilty about logging out when there was still so much on my to do list.
This year I’m on a mission to be more effective in my days and I’m already seeing the benefits. Here’s what I’m doing.
know what’s on
Each day the first thing I do when I get to my desk is spend 30 minutes setting up my day. This means:
- Processing emails and capturing to-do items (I use Todoist which has a handy Gmail plugin making it really easy to add tasks with one click).
- Reviewing my schedule for the day to see which clients/tasks I’ve set aside time for and prioritising which tasks I’ll focus on during those times.
On Mondays I set aside an hour so I can do the same for the whole week, too. This helps me be clear on what I have on and how much time I have available if something new comes up. Which in turn means I can give my clients realistic timelines for when I can complete their tasks – no more blindly over-promising and stressing myself out to meet those commitments – win!
create (and use) a schedule
The easiest way to keep on top of everything is to schedule everything. And then actually follow the schedule (that’s really the golden rule – follow it).
For me this meant mapping out time to meet client commitments, including projects, plus time dedicated to business admin/management tasks, and learning time as well. I’ve often used this method but when I was in reactive mode I would ignore the schedule in favour of putting out fires. This year I’ve stuck more closely to the schedule (we all slip sometimes…) and lo and behold, there are a lot less fires to fight! If you need some tips to help you get started I laid out my process here.
create supportive work habits
Everyone works differently so will have their own ways of bringing out their best performance. When I first started out I was terrible at keeping my butt in my chair and my productivity would fluctuate wildly. These days I’m pretty consistent, although some days I still have to push myself to stay put and keep working. Here are some habits that have helped me:
- Don’t sit down without a specific task in mind. This is why I’ve started my day by setting tasks and priorities. Otherwise you’re more likely to waste time browsing the web, mindlessly scrolling social media, or wandering off in search of food. Having something to start immediately keeps you in your chair while you get into the groove of your day.
- Use timers to stay put. In the beginning I was so good at finding reasons to leave my desk. Working from home I was always ‘just quickly’ doing some errand or other and before I knew it midday had arrived and no meaningful work was done. I used this method of breaking my day into 52-minute work chunks and with regular breaks to get used to being in my chair for blocks of time and actually get stuff done. And then 17 minutes is long enough to ‘just quickly’ vacuum or do the dishes or walk around the block.
- Take breaks. Stepping away from your computer for even 5 minutes can be refreshing when you’re feeling snowed under. It feels like a bad move ‘cos you’ve got SO MUCH ON but I find it helps my brain keep working when I give it some fresh air throughout the day. Move away from your computer to have lunch. Go outside at 3pm for 10 minutes. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time but it will help you keep going.
- Stay flexible. If you plan to be at your desk from 10 til 5, don’t schedule every minute between 10 and 5 unless you are entirely in control of the tasks you do. As a service provider I’m not, so I need to have wiggle room in case urgent things come up or tasks take longer than anticipated. This can be a tricky thing to balance because sometimes having nothing on the schedule means I faff about and waste time. One way I tackle this is to schedule ‘project time’ or ‘ad hoc client’ blocks, then when they come up I assess my open tasks and choose something to work on. It also helps me to decide if I can take on more projects because I can see how much time I have set aside for them versus what’s on the to do list.
I know it’s early on but so far this year I’m feeling way more in control of my day and I’m getting more done than I had been before. It’s also a LOT easier for me to log off at the end of the day because I can see that I got a lot done, even if there’s still heaps to do.
How do you set up your day to be productive? Share your tips in the comments!
