Part Five: Final Words
Do Less
- Every day, choose three things on your to-do list and decide NOT to do them. Ever. Now cross them off.
- Say no.
- Say no.
- Say no again.
- Only do things that are in line with your purpose.
The Hardest Part Is Starting
- Plan and prioritize.
- Set yourself up the night before for success the next day.
- Get started.
- Work for at least five uninterrupted minutes. Then keep going.
- Time yourself. I like Tick Tock Timer (hat tip to Write to Done).
Focus
- Chunk your time.
- Do one thing at a time. Don’t multi-task.
- Do the three most important things first. Do them before you check email / facebook / twitter / phone messages.
- Do a thing until it’s finished.
- Keep a notebook beside you to jot down the distracting things. Go back to them later rather than interrupt what you are working on now.
- Use Leechblock if your internet self-control leaves something to be desired.
- Have a scheduled time to crash through all the little things that get in the way and take up your time.
- Set time limits on how much time you are willing to spend on a project. If writing a document is supposed to take you one hour, then schedule an hour, write it, and then call it done. Good enough.
- Move away from your computer.
Don’t Let Email or Meetings Get in Your Way
- Especially move away from your email.
- Set a personal goal of limiting the length of your emails – save your time, and the time of those who read them (see http://four.sentenc.es/).
- Don’t answer emails that don’t need answers. No emails that say “Thanks.”
- Chunk your email time. Limit your email chunks to a 15/30/45 minute chunks 1/2/3 times a day.
- Suggest alternatives to meetings.
- Be a vocal advocate for meeting efficiency. Speak up, do time checks, and arrive and leave on time, whether or not the meeting ends on time.
The Big Picture
- Do a monthly time audit.
- Make sure you’re creating space in your life for fun. Otherwise, you might try to get your fun fix by fiddling away a whole bunch of time on something work-related that’s unimportant but more fun than what you really need to do.
- Be clear on your purpose, and plan actions that are in line with it.
If you need a system, check out:
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