Get more time #3: Smart habits
2nd September 2009
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. With a few clever tricks, you can accomplish far more with them.
There are no secrets here. Everything is well documented in countless great books over thousands of years. This stuff just works.
Single-task
Concentrate on one task a time. Ensure your work environment is distraction free: turn off emails, unplug your phone, mark your office 'do not disturb'.
Multi-tasking is an illusion. It almost always is less efficient, and for high-value work (creative, intelligent work) it's a disaster. Try a math exam while checking your email and answering the phone. Multi-tasking really provides the worst comfort: that you're being amazingly effective, when really you're just busy being busy.
To get more done, stick to one thing at a time - and hold the sexist jokes, ladies.
Just 3 things
If you could only get three things done today, what would they be? Just THREE. Absolutely no more, ever, and ideally less.
You must be able to do them today, they must be specific. Don't write "become a millionaire", try "find the best investment books online and buy them".
Now order them most important to last. No cheating. You can't have two things that are tied. That's what you build your day around. Tackle the first item immediately, and don't move on until it is finished. I suggest aiming to finish your most important task before 11am. Ideally all of them.
And what about the other 7 billion things you do in a day? They'll fit around the 3 which matter most, or they won't happen. Which, it turns out, is rarely that bad.
Schedule the non-urgent
Fancy-pants time management folk - keen to impress girls at cocktail parties - will often cite the four Quadrants in which we spend our time:
What matters is that humans - especially super efficient, hyper-proactive humans - are very good at focusing on Q1 (Urgent and Important) tasks, and utterly horrific at achieving Q2 (Not Urgent but Important) tasks. Unfortunately, Q2 tasks pretty much make or break your long term success.
Consider the obvious importance of regular exercise, personal development, training or just spending time with people who matter. These are hugely important, but by the time they become urgent it's usually too late to do much about them.
Just as importantly, when you work on your Q2, you'll find your Q1 shrinks. Over time, that ground work means less urgency and more importance in your whole life.
The only way I've found to overcome our innate prejudice against Not Urgent tasks is to schedule Q2 activities relentlessly. Give them the same importance you would a meeting with an important person, or a holiday. And make them happen.
Batch and conquer
Certain repetitive, low priority tasks can consume your day by sheer volume, like checking your email. Wherever possible, close yourself off to these distractions, and schedule them to be dealt with properly in batches. You'll waste a lot less time and concentration flipping between tasks.
Not all time is created equal
You're probably a morning person, or an evening person. Maybe you feel groggy after lunch. Match your tasks to your natural state: your most important brain work should match your most alert state. Put your less important meetings and busywork in your dead time.
Some activities will help change your state: for example, I find a run is a great way to wake me up. Watching TV may be a great way to put you into an unproductive slumber. Find what works for you, and make it a habit.
Write down the night before
Take 5 minutes to write down what you're going to do tomorrow today. Remember, no more than three items!
Never begin a day without an end in mind, or it'll belong to someone else.
