Travis Bradberry says that while we all have 24 hours in our day, there are some people who manage to get twice as much done in the same space of time.
By Travis Bradberry*
When it comes to productivity, we all face the same challenge — there are only 24 hours in a day.
Yet some people seem to have twice the time; they have an uncanny ability to get things done.
Even when juggling multiple projects, they reach their goals without fail.
They become lords over their time.
There’s arguably no better way to accomplish this than by finding ways to do more with the precious time we’ve been given.
It feels incredible when you leave the office after an ultra-productive day. It’s a workplace high that’s hard to beat.
With the right approach, you can make this happen every day.
You don’t need to work longer or push yourself harder — you just need to work smarter.
Ultra-productive people know this. As they move through their days they rely on productivity hacks that make them far more efficient.
The best thing about these hacks is they’re easy to implement; so easy you can begin using them today.
They fight the tyranny of the urgent:
This refers to the tendency of little things that have to be done right now to get in the way of what really matters.
This creates a huge problem as urgent actions often have little impact.
If you succumb to the tyranny of the urgent, you can find yourself going days, or even weeks, without touching the important stuff.
Productive people are good at spotting when putting out fires is getting in the way of their performance, and they’re willing to ignore or delegate.
They never touch things twice:
Productive people never put anything in a holding pattern, because touching things twice is a huge time-waster.
Don’t save an email or a phone call to deal with later.
As soon as something gets your attention you should act on it, delegate it or delete it.
They eat frogs:
Ultra-productive people start each morning with this tasty treat.
In other words, they do the least appetising, most dreaded item on their to-do list before they do anything else.
After that, they’re freed up to tackle the stuff that excites and inspires them.
They don’t multitask:
Ultra-productive people know that multitasking is a productivity killer.
Research confirms that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time.
People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time.
What if some people have a special gift for multitasking?
The same research compared groups of people based on their tendency to multitask and their belief that it helped their performance.
They found that heavy multitaskers were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time.
The frequent multitaskers performed worse because they had more trouble organising their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and they were slower at switching from one task to another.
They get ready for tomorrow before they leave the office:
Productive people end each day by preparing for the next.
This practice accomplishes two things: It helps you solidify what you’ve accomplished today, and it ensures you’ll have a productive tomorrow.
It takes only a few minutes and it’s a great way to end your workday.
They stick to the schedule during meetings:
Meetings are the biggest time waster there is.
Ultra-productive people know that a meeting will drag on forever if they let it, so they inform everyone at the onset that they’ll stick to the intended schedule.
This sets a limit that motivates everyone to be more focused and efficient.
They say no:
No is a powerful word that ultra-productive people are not afraid to wield.
When it’s time to say no, they avoid phrases such as ‘I don’t think I can’ or ‘I’m not certain’.
Saying no to a new commitment honours your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.
They only check email at designated times:
Ultra-productive people don’t allow email to be a constant interruption.
In addition to checking email on a schedule, they take advantage of features that prioritise messages by sender.
They set alerts for their most important clients and colleagues, and they save the rest until they reach a stopping point.
Some people even set up an autoresponder that lets senders know when they’ll be checking their email again.
We’re all searching for ways to be more efficient and productive. I hope these strategies help you to find that extra edge.
*Travis Bradberry is the co-founder of TalentSmart, a provider of emotional intelligence tests, emotional intelligence training, and emotional intelligence certification. He can be contacted at TalentSmart.com.
This article first appeared on the TalentSmart website.
