Maximize Your Time - Concentration

Do you have a project that requires intense concentration and creativity?

Do you find yourself having trouble thinking and accomplishing your most important projects?

You’re not alone!

Did you know that when we’ve been interrupted, it takes 15-25 minutes to remember where you left off and return to a deep level of concentration.

Apparently we’re interrupted approximately every 10 minutes. So how are we ever to reach that maximum level of thinking?!

Tip #1: Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. If your job and life allow, forward your phone to voicemail, turn off your cell phone then check messages on your own terms. Turn off your email and IM for an hour or two. Put a note on your office door or cubicle entry to please not disturb until a specified time.

Tip #2: Create a project plan. Break the project down, on paper, into smaller chunks. This can be a simple outline of the steps and sub-steps.

Having this outline often makes the project feel much more manageable instead of overwhelming. Track your progress on the outline by using a highlighter to illuminate tasks completed (and this gives you an easy visual of your progress!). When it’s time to work on or report on the project, you can look at this ‘project plan’ and easily identify where you are and what’s next, instead spending time trying to remember these details. This can also help prevent things ‘falling through the cracks’.

Gwyneth Anne

Maximize Your Time - Theories

So often I hear people in all walks of life struggling to accomplish everything they want to achieve. This month we’ll be focusing on time management.

Do you read magazine and newspaper articles on time management and wonder which theory is best?

Let’s take a look at a few easy to use methods.

Method 1: When working from a ‘to-do’ list, start with the task you enjoy least and work towards the one you enjoy the most. If you have a tendency to put off tasks you don’t enjoy, this may be a good approach for you. By doing what you like the least, you will have built in ‘reward’ system, as the next item will be better than the previous, and you’ll have more enjoyable tasks to look forward to.

Method 2: Start with the easy tasks first. Find yourself overwhelmed by your list? Feel like you aren’t making progress? If you choose to complete the ‘quick and easy’ tasks first, you will increase your sense of accomplishment and build momentum as you move towards the more complex or time consuming ones.

Method 3: Identify which tasks you prefer doing at a certain time. For example, when do you feel most inspired to exercise? First thing in the morning? Lunch time? On the way home from work to unwind and shift gears from work to family? When do you have the least amount of energy? This is a good time for plowing through mundane tasks which don’t require much effort. When do you have the most energy? Perhaps this is the optimum time for diving into your complex projects.

Action:

This week pick a day to try each theory. Which do you feel most drawn to? Make a note on your calendar for Friday to identify which theory was most effective for you, and how you will implement it to increase your results.

~ Gwyneth Anne~

Maximize Your Time - Efficiency

Do you find yourself wondering where the morning (or day) went and realizing that you didn’t accomplish your most important task?

Here are some tips for maximizing your focus, efficiency and results at work:

Tip 1: Break your day in to chunks of time. Many clients discover chunking their time makes a big difference in their ability to accomplish the important tasks. We can easily get pulled into checking emails, answering the phone, etc. only to realize that an hour or more has past.

Try allowing 50 minutes per hour for solid, intense concentration on a project, then 10 minutes to check for urgent emails and voicemail. Every
3-4 hours, allot 30 minutes for returning calls and emails which require more attention.

Tip 2: Set time limits. To quote Wikipedia: “Parkinson’s Law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Limited to 15 minutes? You’ll focus intently to complete the task. Have an hour?

You’ll tend take a more leisurely pace to complete this same task.

Tip 3: Develop a list of things you can achieve in 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes. Have 5 minutes before needing to run off to a meeting? Look at your list to see what you can do. Perhaps catch up on filing. Fifteen minutes? Make that call or respond to a few emails.

Thirty minutes?

Check in with an employee. How is s/he coming along with the project you delegated? If you have an hour, this is perfect for diving into a project.

Action: Experiment with these ideas. What are 2 changes you’ll implement to be more efficient?

Please share your results! (Send your results to: nyman@consultant.com)

~ Gwyneth Anne~