PAPERmaking! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY Volume 5, Number 1, 2019
11. Ditch commitments that waste your time, energy and attention. One of the most effective ways to gain more time is to eliminate those commitments that are, well, a waste of your time. Identify these commitments that are unproductive and don’t schedule them into your calendar growing forward. 12. Be decisive. That time you spend flip- flopping on a decision could be spent on something that’s actually productive. Make a decision, live with it, and move on. 13. Cross something off. We’re familiar with crossing items off to -do- lists. But, you should also start crossing off items that you’re not going to do. This keeps your to-do lists from getting out of control. It also prevents you from overcommitting. 14. Lighten your cleaning standards. Obviously you want your home and office to be clean and organized. But, settling on “dirt removal” instead of “spotless” will definitely save you a ton of time and energy in the end. For ex ample, as opposed to scrubbing your shower stall every week, wipe it down everytime you use it. 15. Establish “maintenance days.” Group your cleaning, laundry, and errands on specific days. This way they’re not lingering over your head when working on more pressing matters. 16. Schedule your work in batches. Speaking of grouping, start batching similar tasks together. For example, spend one day solely dedicated to writing, another to meetings. 17. Combine efforts. If you’re volunteering or meeting a client for lunch, then run errands that are nearby This way you’re cutting down on the time spend going back and forth all day. 18. Learn keyboard shortcuts. Online users between the ages of 18 to 24 years old spend an average of 1,979 minutes online per month. With that in mind, it makes sense to learn keyboard shortcuts and touch type so that you can save some time when browsing online. Here are some Office 365 Calendar hacks, Yahoo Calendar tips and Google Calendar hacks to help along the way. 19. Shorten your emails. Keep your emails short and to the point. I try to keep all of my emails under five sentences. 20. Delegate or outsource. Instead of doing tasks yourself, delegate or outsource them to someone else so that you can focus on more important tasks. 21. Automate repetitive tasks. There’s also certain tasks, like scheduling meetings and recurring billing, that you can automate via software. 22. Schedule less. I know what you’re thinking. This is pretty obvious. But, you’re probably spreading yourself too thin without even knowing it. Review all of your activities and see which ones aren’t helping your reach your goals. You should also look at the activities that no longer fit into your schedule. 23. Work four hours a day. Science has found t hat you should only work four hours a day. This doesn’t mean you can goof off the rest of the day. It’s all about focusing on your most important tasks when you’re most productive. Spend the rest of your days resting, practicing your skills, and completing less challenging tasks.
Article 12 – Time Management
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