1 Simple Tip on How to be More Productive
Every great artist has a vision before s/he starts working on her/his grand idea. Being productive requires that you have an organized plan before you begin any project. Jackson Pollack may have made it seem easy, but he always had a plan before he began.
Organizing your thoughts before you begin any project is a vital tool for your success. Even a great artist like Steven King wouldn’t just throw down words on a page without a goal. You wouldn’t see Marc Cuban throwing his money into a startup without checking into their strategy. They set out a plan and stick with it.
Every project has some level of creativity to it, so there needs to be some flexibility to account for weird occurrences. There will be times when you will get interrupted. People who work happy are usually successful because they understand that time, people and a myriad of other problems will affect a project. It’s their responsibility to deal with them and get back to the initial plan.
Lists are one of the best ways to do this. Write down a list of your five most important things that you must do today. Next to your item write how long you think it will take. If you only have eight hours to do your work and you expect your list to take you ten hours then you have to adjust your list by breaking down the bigger jobs into more specific jobs.
I have a touch of ADD and my list is my “go to” plan throughout the day. I usually get sidetracked in the middle of a task. I account for this and add fifteen minutes to all my tasks.
My list for last Saturday was:
|
Total |
7.5 hours |
I didn’t have 7 and half hours to work on my blog. I only had 5 and half hours. So I took an hour from my two least important tasks, which brought me down to five and half hours. I’m not a super efficient worker, but that’s okay. I don’t want to work like a robot. It makes me happy when I can get carried away researching some new plug-in for this blog. Giving myself a little freedom to get off track allows me to still feel good about the work that I do accomplish.
You may want to set a timer next to you before you begin each task. There are some days that my thoughts are so scattered and I can’t harness them without a little help. That timer ticking down forces me to stay in the moment and work on the task I assigned myself. It’s a little extra pressure to get my task done.
If I finish my task early (this rarely happens) I assign myself a fun task. I watch some clip of some skateboarder crashing into a guardrail on Youtube. If I’m feeling really passionate I write an email to someone that I’d like to interview. I love writing those letters; there is just something cool about interacting with an intelligent person who has knowledge that I seek to learn.
Try getting your thoughts into focus and create a little plan before you begin work. You should notice that you are accomplishing more and working happier.
What do you think? How do you organize your projects before you complete them? Share your tips with other readers by posting a comment.
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Rick Kirschner, who is an expert on communication was kind enough to do an interview with me. It will be posted this week. It brought out some great nuggets of wisdom and it’s an interview that you’ll want to pass on to your friends. He also has a teleseminar, Communication Tune Up, coming up at the end of July. Check out his site and see if it fits your needs.
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Image courtesy of Hopkinsii
July 6th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Karl,
You’ve touched on one of my greatest challenges.
I always make to-do lists before starting the day, but I can get so distracted especially following unplanned links in articles.
Giving yourself a deadline and using a timer is an excellent idea.
Another idea:
A few friends and I sometimes do project sessions. We each have our own to-do lists or maybe one major project for the day. We start by setting our goals. Then we check in with other via on our message board or instant message every hour reporting on our success. Some people only have a few hours to devote; others have longer. We encourage and support each other, even if we don’t complete the tasks we set out. This can be a fun way to get things done.
Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D.’s last blog post..How to Have a Happy Family Gathering
July 6th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Wow, it’s so funny that I should stumble upon your blog tonight. I have just started creating lists for myself, in the form of blogs. Actually, my friend and I are both doing it together. We support each other and encourage each other to make things happen.
Your suggest of time limits is a great one. We will have to incorporate it into our blogs.
Cindy’s last blog post..Lake Nottely
July 7th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Hi Karl,
I read somewhere, that when you plan out your day, figure that everything on your list will take twice as long as you anticipate. In real life, most things don’t go on schedule, so by not over scheduling a day, you won’t be feeling the sense of pressure had you planned out each block of time.
We use this with our business. If we think a job will take 4 hours, we plan a whole day for it. There’s nothing worse than having two jobs scheduled for the same day and then having to call the second customer to say we can’t make it. It’s creates a bad reflection on our reputation.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Commenting vs Social Media-Is One Better
July 8th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Hey Flora, that’s a great idea - getting a group together to keep each other motivated and on track must really help everyone accomplish a lot.
Hey Cindy, a list in a form of a blog is interesting. Another person could check out what you are doing and question you to see how you are progressing.
Hey Barbara, my tasks take about twice as long too. We expect to get so much accomplished and when we don’t we feel like a failure. It’s better to expect it to take more time and if we finish early we are happy.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:41 am
I think there’s a quote that go something like — If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I need to get better at this, so thanks for the reminder.
Lance’s last blog post..And The Thunder Rolls
July 8th, 2008 at 11:47 am
For me, I pick 3 key things I want to accomplish every day. No more, no less. If I finish early, I have free time. If I finish late, so be it. This strategy has helped me eliminate various time wasters from my schedule. Great post!
Marc and Angel Hack Life’s last blog post..How To Save Your Health and Wealth at the Same Time
July 8th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I sooo love process and organization. Very good tips. Another tool I’ve found helpful is to write “to-do” items on post-it notes and stick them on a board. You can prioritize them and colour code them easily this way, removing them as they are completed.
Davina’s last blog post..Magic Happens
July 8th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Hey Lance, great quote.
Hey Marc and Angel, when I pick a few things to accomplish I seem to get a lot more done. I just go right on to something new. I think that’s a great idea to complete my three tasks and stop for the night. I’ll try that tomorrow.
Hey Davina, when we are organized work is so much more enjoyable. All it takes is a little planning. I would like to see your board someday. Maybe you could send a photo?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Hi!
What a great post. I too make a lot of liists and find it helps me but I’ve never estmated how long it would take. I’m going to try this out.
I also loved the example you used. It’s always great to peek inside another person’s world!
Dr. Cason’s last blog post..Guilt- A Little Dab Will Do Ya!
July 10th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
I tend to frontload my to-do list because I usually lose steam after the first few items. The idea of creating such solid time boundaries is really appealing, since I’m feeling like the list never ends lately.
I love the idea of adding in some fun things. I can’t think of anything better than being able to getting to do something fun *and* getting to cross it off a list! It’s easy to delay the fun stuff and just power through, but it never really pays off for me in the long run. I think this is definitely a tip I’m taking to the bank.
Sara at On Simplicity’s last blog post..Quick and Dirty Pantry Clean-up
July 14th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Well, Karl, you know I LOVE lists. I have a similar system to yours, but I really like the addition of the time frame. I still struggle with time and what I do with it, but I think getting focused on the time frame in which you want to accomplish something will help with you plan of attach and , ultimately, how much you get accomplished. I will try your suggestion. Thanks!
Larissa’s last blog post..A Professional Dabbler: Deconstructed