The following seven time management musts will allow you to get an enormous amount accomplished with less effort in any given week. I call these lifesavers because they will save your life from being overtaken by useless distractions and unending work.
1. Check email only at specific times of the day.
As a leader, you only need to check email two to three times at most per day. As an account manager, maybe more often at four to five times per day. Get out of the addiction of always wanting to check your email, and retrain your clients and employees to expect a standard turnaround time from an email—if it is an emergency, have them call the office, call you or text you.
2. Turn your “dings” off.
Turn off the email notification, so you don’t act like Pavlov’s dog, salivating with every ping and ding your computer and phone make. Removing the dings helps you find and maintain your flow.
3. Time block your to-do’s.
I have written for years on this one life-saving technique. Instead of (just) working off a to-do list, use the list to schedule your to-do’s on your calendar. Block them into your schedule. This method ensures you are working on the highest-priority activities since you don’t have time to schedule all of your tasks.
4. When you’re done with email, exit out of it.
This ensures it doesn’t stay active and live on your screen. Consciously close it down each time.
5. Review your priorities every morning.
At the beginning of the day, review the two or three most important things you want to accomplish that day. This practice ensures that no matter what else happens that day, you have the best chance of getting the most important things done. Contrary to the old advice of doing the difficult things first, you should do the most impactful things first.
6. Review your accomplishments every evening.
End the day with a review of what went well, so you consciously focus on your successes and feel good about the day. Do this via a journal or in a conversation with a business partner or spouse. If don’t consciously focus on the positive, your mind automatically turns to the problems, which is not a good way to end. By identifying what you do well, you are more likely to repeat your successes. At this point, you can also review the next day’s priorities, if that helps settle your mind.
7. Set weekly priorities.
Once a week, on a Thursday or Friday or weekend, set out your priorities for the next week. What are the two or three most important things to get done this coming week? Break those into actions and schedule them on your calendar using time blocking. This approach helps you maintain your proactive approach to business and your life.
Take action now: Make these seven lifesavers part of your company culture; get your entire team on board using them and supporting one another to keep consistent week to week.
