I know you have heard it a million times, heck I’m guilty of it too, “write down your daily to do’s, schedule your daily routine, yeah yeah yeah”. Sometimes I just get too caught up in something next thing I know the whole day is gone and I did not even get half of what I wanted to do, accomplished.
<<<<INSERT LOUD SIREN NOISE>>>>> Warning Warning Warning
Did I just here you say “What I wanted to do”?
You see where this is headed right? Each and every time this happens to me it is because I did not plan the day, I just did so in my mind and that is not being very productive. So for the millionth time myself, from this day forth I will;
1. Be Prepared to Start the Day
Spend about 10 minutes at the beginning of each day and write down the tasks that need to be done that day. Focus on the doing the harder things first if possible. Also look at your business as a whole and chances are you will find that 20% of the things you do amount to 80% of your successes, focus more on the 20%’ers.
2. Group Similar Tasks Together
For example if you have e-mails to send out, spend a 30 minute block of time for all of them. The same with blog posts, articles, meetings and so on. Once you get used to this you will be amazed at the results.
3. Hold Yourself To Your Schedule
If you set a 30 minute block of time to do e-mails and you did not get them done, stop. Move on to your next scheduled task. You can go back to an uncompleted task later in the day during your scheduled “anything goes” time. Of course there will be some exceptions here, just make sure they are of extreme importance not for convenience sake.
4. Keep Workspace Organized
You know, Tidy Space, Tidy Mind. Not only your desk and surroundings, but your computer too. Schedule this Friday afternoon if possible, and go through your computer filing system to include your bookmarks. Make sure everything is in a logical location. Eliminate as much clutter as possible and things seem to go much smoother.
5. Schedule Breaks
What? We are talking about work here not slacking off. Seriously schedule a 15 minute break every 2 hours if you work online full-time, or a 5-10 minute break if you can only work online for a few hours each day due to your job.
6. Eliminate Distracions
For me it is e-mails popping up all throughout the day. Now I just shut it down until my schedule tells me that it is time to be on e-mail. I have 3 15 minute sessions scheduled each day. Distractions could be other things such as TV, or an uncomfortable office chair.
7. Review At The End of The Day
Look at your list and see how well you did. Perhaps in the beginning you will not be getting everything done that was on your list, you just need to adjust. Once you get in the habit of doing this you will know how much you can get done during your scheduled online work sessions.
So there it is, my list that I am going to adhere to, are you?
Scott
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