How do top executives manage their time effectively while overseeing hundreds of locations and thousands of employees?
These higher-ups have learned to make a habit of simple principles, allowing them to make the most of every minute as busy professionals. To boost your own productivity, remember these basic yet powerful productivity hacks to help you organize your work life.
1. Plan Your Day the Night Before
You should start each week with a plan and a schedule in place. However, things change, unexpected challenges arise and you may find that Monday’s to-do list still has a lot of items left unchecked. Before bedtime, take a few minutes to review your day and rework the next day’s schedule accordingly. Not only will it help you prioritize but it can also help you sleep better at night.
2. Make Use of Helpful Productivity Hacks
If organization and time management isn’t your strong suit, search for helpful programs and ideas to help you get started. For example, the Eisenhower Matrix is a simple chart that helps you categorize your tasks by level of importance and urgency. This can help you tackle the essentials first, assign the right tasks to others and discard the unimportant.
3. Organize Around Your Energy Levels
Take a step back and consider your typical daily and weekly schedule. While unexpected demands are out of your control, you can be proactive about how you organize your time to set yourself up for success. One of the most important factors to consider is your own personal energy level trends.
Schedule your most difficult or creative tasks when you have the most energy and drive, typically first thing in the morning and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If your workday enthusiasm starts to drain in the afternoons or close to weekends, use that time to work on long-term, low priority or organizational tasks.
4. Be Mindful of Your Phone Usage
The convenience of cell phones and mobile devices makes it easier than ever to move your business forward. However, these devices are also a major distraction and can eat away at your time before you know it. Use an app to help you set limits on personal cell phone use during work hours. Consider getting a separate business phone to help you draw a clear line between personal and professional time.
Here are 12 focus apps to keep you off your screen.
5. Delegate Tasks Whenever Possible
Passionate business owners and leaders often want to be involved in every level of the company, down to the tiniest detail. However, there’s value in learning the benefit of delegating tasks to competent partners and employees. If it needs to happen within a certain time frame but doesn’t require your personal involvement, hiring the right assistant or team can help you check more off your list while reducing stress and ensuring you meet your deadlines.
6. Systemize Your Processes and Build Playbooks
As your business or career grows, you’ll start to notice patterns in your tasks and responsibilities. Experts recommend that any process you have to repeat more than twice should be written down in detail. This act of building a playbook can help you save time in the future while giving you more opportunities to delegate.
Is time working against your organization?
Best Upon Request offers customizable concierge programs to give everyone the freedom to focus on what’s truly important. It’s one of the best productivity hacks. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business thrive.