Delegate and Automate to Get More Done

Tasks are thrown at us each day via calls, emails, meeting conversations, texts and people stopping by our office. With our limited time, it often feels as if there are never enough minutes to get it all done; yet, our inability do it all on our own does not eliminate the never-ending to-do list. Until cloning becomes a realistic option or we can get our Inspector Gadget tools, we need alternative solutions.

When evaluating tasks requesting your attention, think this way:

1. Does this task need to be completed at all? If not, can it be deleted, totally removing it from my to-do list?
2. If the task must be done, does it need to be done immediately? If not, to when can it be deferred?
3. Does this task require my unique skill set? If not, can someone else learn from doing it or does someone else have a skill set that will get it done better, more thoroughly or more quickly? To whom can it be delegated?

In any instance where a task can be completed by someone or something else, you open up time in your schedule to allocate towards getting something done that only you can accomplish.

Resources for delegation are not limited to existing member of your team, whether those at your company, members of your household or volunteers on a committee you chair. There are endless options for delegating the different types of tasks on your to-do list: Errand Girl, Fancy Hands, Fiverr, GigSalad, Guru, Metro's Other Woman, Moonlighting, Outsourcely, Red Butler, Sweeps, Task Rabbit, Thumbtack, Upwork, 99Designs. Likewise, consider delegating the task of grocery shopping to options such as Instacart, Shipt or Amazon Prime Now. Or think about how personal assistants can help, like Amazon Alexa, Cortana, EasilyDo, Google Home or Siri.

Automation is a form of delegation where you delegate to technology and can massively expand how much you get done concurrently. Set what rules apply to your needs in automation tools like IFTTT, Podbox, Zapier and social media managers like Buffer, Edgar, Falcon Social, Hootsuite, SocialOomph and Sprout Social. These "set it and forget it" solutions fulfill your desire to do two things at once while not hiring a human-being to help.

What are some tasks on your to-do list that could benefit from deleting, deferring or delegating? Which of the aforementioned tools might be a positive addition to your productivity toolbox?

Make Meetings More Meaningful

When The Muse asked how much time we spend in meetings, the results were scary... "If you're a middle manager, it's likely about 35% of your time, and, if you're in upper management, it can be a whopping 50%." Considering most of us have no way to avoid meetings, it is important to make good use of all that time being invested in meeting with others. Here are steps we can take for a positive impact:

• Have a clear purpose. If your meetings are focusing on simply updating attendees, they are not respecting everyone's limited resource of time. There are plenty of alternative means for conveying updates that are less intrusive to attendees, such as email or project management tools. Instead, meetings are most useful when focused on one of two purposes... either discussion or decision-making. If your meeting's purpose is not one of these, could the goal be achieved in a more efficient way by using another method or implementing new technology?

• Schedule strategically. Be cognizant of vacation plans so meetings are not scheduled when many who need to attend will be gone. Likewise, avoid scheduling a meeting in the days leading up to a big deadline, especially if the meeting is unrelated to the project coming due, or during times when there will be too many distractions for attendees to be focused on achieving the desired results. Finally, as attendees can better plan the remainder of their day if each meeting includes an end time in addition to a start time, be sure to set and communicate a specific ending time for each meeting.

• Invite only the right people. Include those whose contributions are necessary for fulfilling the meeting's purpose: those with the authority to make decisions, those with enough pull in the organization to advocate for what's decided, those with the expertise needed to make informed decisions and those necessary for successfully executing decisions made. Still, the Rule of 7 explains how "everyone in a meeting over 7 attendees reduces your ability to make decisions by 10%", hence why it's important to not include more than those whose contributions are necessary for accomplishing the meeting's goals as too many attendees lowers productivity.

• Shorten how long you'll meet. Rarely do meetings require an entire hour, but we tend to schedule them for that length anyway. Try to end meetings at least 10 minutes before the next hour, like 12:50, 1:50, etc, or schedule your meetings in 15-minute increments, like meeting at noon to 12:45 or 12:15 to 12:45. Then, push yourself to accomplish everything on the agenda within that shorter duration by using a timer or having someone serve as timekeeper. Attendees will appreciate those spare moments before the next hour to return calls, run to the restroom, grab a snack or gather their thoughts.

• Utilize an agenda. Make sure the agenda is realistic, listing what you actually believe can be accomplished within the scheduled time. Start with the most important items, and indicate how much time you intend to allocate for each item listed. Seek input from attendees to ensure everything needed is included while removing lower priorities or unrelated topics.

• Prepare beforehand. Distribute supplemental items with enough time for attendees to review. If there is legwork that can be done in advance, completing it beforehand will help the meeting run more smoothly. As explained by Dana Manciagli in The Triad Business Journal, "proper planning prevents poor performance". Taking time to get your ducks in a row before empowers better discussion and / or decision-making.

• Clearly communicate expectations. How does the meeting's leader want those attending to behave? Examples include coming prepared, contributing to discussions, giving feedback, sharing insights as applicable, making sure to ask questions and limiting technological distractions. Those expectations should be shared in writing prior to the meeting or verbally at the start. Additionally, attendees need to know guidelines for participating within the agenda, like when to ask questions, how to join in brainstorming and at what point it is appropriate to share feedback during any discussions. Meeting leadership should think proactively about what situations might arise related to each interaction and be specific with standards set.

• Make notes. If you have the agenda beforehand, you can use that skeleton as a framework for filling in your notes from the meeting. Highlight what is important, whether via a different color of ink, a real highlighter or simply a block to separate the content that matters most from everything else. Designate each task that must be done as it arises in conversation; then, end your meeting notes with a recap of the highlights, action items and timing of next meeting. This reinforces your commitment to the topic, helps with paying attention throughout and enables more easily referring back to any items covered earlier.

• Push discussion of issues arising throughout the agenda. Rather than deviating down a rabbit hole and stealing time from addressing all aspects of the meeting's designated purpose, denote on a separate list any issues not on the agenda as they arise; then, if there is extra time at the end, address each item. Alternatively, consider scheduling time on a later date for discussing or resolving those newly discovered topics.

• Ensure accountability for what's decided. Each action item arising from the meeting's discussions and decisions will require a deadline for its completion, particularly as every what that has a when is more likely to get done. Ensuring each task gets completed is more likely when there is someone being held accountable for its completion and a way to track progress being made. Assign someone to the completion of each task resulting from the meeting and decide how you'll confirm follow-through by the person being held accountable.

With what aspects of meeting others do you struggle most? What issues have you faced in keeping your meetings on track? How do you ensure your meetings are productive? 

Limit Distractions

As you dive into your daily must-do list, do you frequently find your thoughts drifting? Do you get pulled in different directions all day, especially when time-crunched near deadline? Are there constantly different people, places and things needing your attention? If so, distractions might be depleting your efforts, and it's time to evaluate new solutions for limiting distractions' negative impact on your output.

A set of studies at the University of California found that workers are interrupted every 11 minutes at work. Research shows it can take 10 - 18 minutes to regain focus after a distraction, although some studies indicate it takes an average of 23 minutes for workers to return to a task after an interruption. I am not a mathematician, but my rough math tells me that doesn't leave much time for actually getting things done. Distractions rob us of productivity.

Here are strategies to limit the negative impact of distractions:

• Turn off tech-related notifications. Every one of those pings and dings jerks your thought-process around like a ping-pong ball. Stop the pop-ups that are designed to tell you when you get a new comment on social media. Deactivate previews of newly received email messages. When you need to focus, set your smartphone to silent and remove the vibrate that goes with silent mode. Schedule time for handling calls, social media and emails when it works best for you, and, for folks that do require an immediate response (like key account clients or your direct supervisor), make them VIPs so you can utilize Do Not Disturb on iOS and Priority Mode on Android.

• Wear noise-reducing headphones. Particularly when you need to focus on strategic thinking or creative production, it's imperative to block out all the excess noises around you. The tool of noise-reducing headphones can block out what's happening around you, even if you have no music playing and simply utilize the visual of you wearing headphones to discourage others from disturbing or interrupting you.

• Delete the clutter. Excess in your workspace, too many emails coming into your inbox, stacks of paper and the loads of documents saved on your computer's hard drive can all act as distractions, pulling you away from what matters most. Having less means fewer things to detract from your desired results.

• Schedule tasks that fulfill your goals. Burnout comes from actions being out of alignment with priorities, and being distracted can be a symptom of burnout. Regularly perform a time audit for optimum output, making certain your actions properly align with what matters most to your specific priorities.

• Focus on working intently for shorter durations. When you break projects into smaller, bite-sized actions, you can work to complete each of those individual tasks step-by-step. You'll feel empowered to achieve each task's goal in a single work session, thereby having more rewards for staying on track to succeed with wins for finishing each of these mini-milestones. 

• Utilize a timer. Some individuals or teams use a timer to simply get started, setting it for 15 minutes or so and capitalizing on the momentum created by that rush to keep pushing toward completion of the task at hand. Others like using a timer to stay on track, setting it for different intervals throughout the time required for a task's completion and making certain to still be working on the task at hand when the timer goes off at the end of each interval.

• Jot down unrelated thoughts as they pop up. Our brains are meant for thinking, not remembering; therefore, each time we attempt to use brain cells for remembering, it steals our ability to think better. Document those ideas, to-do items or brilliant thoughts so you don't lose them and they don't detract from your efforts to keep getting work done.

• Capitalize on your energy cycles. Output flows more easily and distractions are less impactful when we're in a groove and our most energized. Therefore, take a moment of self-assessment to decide when your energy level is at its peak and, then, schedule how to attack your most challenging work at this time of day when your abilities flow most freely. 

• Limit the impact of folks who drop by. If you have an extra chair in your office, make sure it has something resting in it to keep others from sitting down to chat or position it somewhere more difficult to access so it's less inviting for visitors to setting in and stay awhile. When someone comes into your office without an appointment, stand up and move towards your door, conveying to the visitor that it is not a convenient time. Keep an outbox near your office door so you can take those items down the hall as someone is coming to your office, always encouraging those that make unplanned visits to schedule an appointment for later. You want to help them, but it has to fit into your schedule for you to give that individual your undivided attention without negatively impacting efforts to do your work.

• Work remotely when needed. While a library might help, research suggests the sounds of a coffee shop act as "white noise", helping you block out everything around for the greatest uninhibited productivity. New surroundings can boost concentration. For an added increase in your productivity, leave your laptop's charging cord at work or home, and work more efficiently so you can accomplish everything requiring your computer before its battery loses all of its juice.

• Implement delegation and automation. If someone else can complete a task more efficiently or as effectively as you, cut back on the distractions from trying to do it all on your own by delegating those tasks. Likewise, stop worrying about getting done what you can program technology to do automatically, removing the distractions of trying to remember all those additional tasks by automating what you can.

• Resolve what's weighing on your mind. Problems, conflicts, issues and decisions to be made all take up space in our minds, adding a psychological burden and popping back up in our thoughts at the most inopportune moments. Once those are resolved, they stop coming back into our thought-processes, allowing us to better focus on what needs our attention more.

What distracts you most often? What tactics have you found most successful for keeping yourself organized, focused and productive amidst all of your distractions?

Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination is often due to being overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. Sometimes, it stems from being unclear as to what is expected for completing a requested task or simply not knowing how to start the task at hand; other times, it is because we are unable to decide which to-do is the highest priority and, therefore, don't attempt any of the tasks needing our attention. Whether productivity is being held up by a lack of knowledge, clarity, skills or something else, ultimately, action is necessary to continue desired progress.

At times, procrastination helps us gain clarity by providing time for ruminating or marinating our options; yet, if procrastination continues for too long, it prevents getting things done, achieving desired results and attaining set goals, none of which are good.

Stop procrastinating! Use these options to get the ball rolling:

• Break projects into smaller, bite-sized actions. No entire project can be completed at one time; instead, when them down into tasks that can be completed step-by-step, checking each item off, one by one, from a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual to-do list. When creating this list, start each item with a verb, and make sure it is broken down into the smallest increment of what is to be done so it's more feasible.

• Gain clarity on anything that is confusing or unclear. Vague priorities, unclear directions, lack of knowing how to do something and being unfamiliar with the order in which to move through the steps necessary for getting tasks done are all problematic. Ask questions to better understand the objective, your team's priorities and how to accomplish each step necessary; if you don't know how to do something, ask someone who does know it for assistance. Never be afraid to ask those questions, realizing that the result to not asking is far worse than any answer you could receive.

• Set deadlines for each specific task. I have yet to find a calendar that includes "someday"; therefore, when we say "I'll get to that someday" or "I'll work on that when I get some free time", we are usually setting ourselves up for failure. Instead, assign deadlines for each of the smaller, bite-sized actions within the projects to be completed, making it possible to block off time on your calendar for when each task will be completed. Every "what" assigned a "when" is more likely to get accomplished, leading to more wins.

• Maintain accountability for designated deadlines. Some people respond better to a reward being held in front of them for completing a necessary task; other folks respond better to avoiding punishment or embarrassment from not completing assigned tasks. Once you know what motivates you, use that self-awareness to drive your desired behavior and encourage your greater focus on achieving desired results. Make it fun, utilizing gamification when possible, and make what best motivates you a tool for accomplishing what must be done.

• Quiet any perfectionist tendencies. One of my favorite mantras reminds me that, "Done can be better than perfect so focus on good enough." Perfectionism is frequently the cause of procrastination; subsequently, focusing on the desired results can empower us to get past waiting for "the right time"and get us to stop continuing our work on projects for perpetuity in the effort of achieving perfection. Stop comparing yourself with others; achieving your desired results usually has little to do with how the finished product compares with what others do or have done. Instead, focus on getting things done to the best of your ability, not necessarily in a perfect way.

• Utilize a timer. Working in a focused manner for a short stretch can boost both efficiency and total output... Anyone can do an undesirable action for a short spurt, and it's amazing how much more can get done in that shorter amount of time than if you think you have longer to finish. If you think you have all afternoon to do something, it will likely take that full amount of time; however, if you set a timer for a shorter timeframe, you'd be amazed how much you can get done in that block of time. Likewise, if you are a competitive person, try getting more done within a set amount of time than you expect you can or have done in previous instances. Most importantly, when the timer goes off, you may find that you are engrossed in the task and will keep at it, getting even more accomplished.

• Minimize interruptions. It can take 23 minutes to recover from a distraction, which means productivity suffers each time we get distracted. Deactivate social media notifications, and schedule specific times to check those sites for what's happening. Send phone calls to voice mail while working diligently on a task that's coming due, catching up on calls at set times during your day. Turn off previews of new emails, scheduling when you will look at your inbox instead of letting your inbox bleed into all that you're doing. Remove visual clutter from your workspace, wear headphones to signal when you are not to be disturbed, and fill the chairs in your office to prevent those stopping by from making themselves at home.

• Implement music's motivating abilities. Some people are energized by fast-paced music while others get more focused through smoother tunes, both leading to greater productivity. Pick enough tunes in the tone you prefer to fill a set block of time, group them together as your productivity playlist and, then, use that playlist to motivate desired output.

• Put color to work within your space. A study published by Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that red increases attentiveness; a separate study by the University of British Columbia shares how blue boosts creativity. Whether via color in your desk accessories, on your walls, in what you wear or through what you eat, bring into your workspace what color fuels the actions you hope to be taking.

• Spend more time with folks who get things done. For years, I've heard that you become like the people with whom you spend time. If you prioritize spending time with people in your life who are considered hard workers or go-getters, their energy will rub off on you and motivate similar productivity in yourself. As activity breeds activity, time with productive peers can insight greater productivity within ourselves when we spend time with those getting more accomplished.

There are many times during which we need to follow Nike's advice and just do it, especially if the task takes less time to complete than how long it would require to re-focus and re-start the related thought process when we return to it later. These tactics can help.

Which tactics do you prefer for limiting procrastination? Are there any on this list you'll try when stuck next?

Capitalize on Your Energy for Enhanced Productivity

When thinking about a normal day at work, are there times you feel more "in the zone", the output seems to flow more easily, you're in a groove and you're energized? Can you envision what those instances have in common? For many, the theme that runs consistently amongst instances when working tends to work better happens to be our personal energy level.

As I've learned by using the Time and Space Style Inventory assessment with my clients, each of us is invigorated by different things in different ways, and our energy level has a dramatic impact on our ability to be productive from moment to moment.

It is important to attack challenging work when your energy is at its peak. This becomes more complicated as the timing of one's peak energy level varies from person to person; therefore, the first step in pairing the work that is most demanding of your abilities with the timing during which your abilities flow most freely happens to be self-assessment.

Know when your energy is most likely to peak so you can schedule uninterrupted time then for addressing your hardest work.

If your energy peaks first-thing in the morning, you may choose to enlist your energy level as a productivity tool by "swallowing the frog", tackling your most difficult tasks first. This approach is why folks talk about wanting to "hit the ground running" each day.

If your energy peaks later in the workday, you may choose to enlist your energy level as a productivity tool by adopting the mantra of "activity breeds activity", starting with easier tasks and building momentum to do more difficult work later in the workday.

Unfortunately, it's not always feasible to pair those more challenging tasks with times when your energy peaks. Since meetings are designed for discussions and shared decision-making, they can be a drain on energy and force you to be filled with energy during times that are not your normal peak energy time. If you find your energy waning right before an important meeting, invest in actions to fuel your energy reserves and replenish your energy on demand. It might not be quite as effective as your natural time for peak energy, but there are always options to quickly boost energy as needed. Use whichever works best for you.

Does your energy peak in the morning, afternoon or when the sun goes down? How do you adjust when you attack certain work functionality to best use your energy peaks?

Delete and Discard Can Help Boost Productivity

Whether email, paper, electronic documents, physical items or calendar commitments, the more we have, then the more we must sift through to find what we need when we need it; those wasted moments can be better invested with other activities. Clutter, piles and excess can be debilitating, preventing desired results. Be selective.

The Justin Case book series is a great example of how keeping things "just in case" they're needed leads to terrible results. Justin worries about everything and carries his concerns to wild extremes, similar to those worried about not having something will keep everything and those with fear of missing out will commit to doing more than feasible. Failing to remove anything might be worse than editing out everything, although neither is an ideal scenario.

Realize that delete and discard can help boost productivity when utilized appropriately. Keep only what is accurate, applicable, useful, bringing you joy as well as difficult to replicate or find online. You'll better utilize your available tools to boost productivity and have less excess to drag down progress.

When struggling with whether to keep something, consider what would be the worst-case results if you discard it and, then, need it later. Are there legal ramifications? Can the content be easily recreated? It is important and necessary to keep certain things, but I encourage you to be more strategic as you select what is allowed to fill your workspace, your schedule and your hard drive.

How do you currently decide what to discard? Once you've made a decision about what to keep, how will you maintain what's established? What are your retention schedules?

Which Tasks Can You Complete Quickly?

There is a well-known quote that instructs each of us to "plan your work and work your plan", which provides valuable insights for how to be more successful and better achieve more desired results. With a weekly strategy session, we create a game plan for addressing our priorities through tasks, communications, time commitments and development opportunities, staying on track toward achieving our most important goals via the habit of a daily wrap-up at the end of each day. Yet, there are times when we find that we can do even more than that which we'd planned to accomplish.

Maybe traffic was light and you arrived at your next appointment with a few moments to spare. Maybe one of your meetings ended early, giving you extra minutes before the next commitment. Maybe you had a cancellation, which opened up an unexpected block of time. That time can be a gift for boosting productivity.

If you have no guidance as to what can fit within the available time, you might spend 5 of your 10 available minutes determining your 10-minute tasks, which leaves only 5 minutes to actually get anything done. Alternatively, if you denote within your data-dump of tasks how long each will take, you'll know immediately which take 10 minutes and easily plug what fits into the available time.

Don't lose minutes. Make the most of your time, optimizing the most limited of your resources. Know which of your to-do items can be completed quickly so fewer valuable minutes are wasted determining possible tasks for small windows of available time, whether 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes or another increment.

How do you optimize your task management efforts, filling small windows of time as they become available for accomplishing more?

Assign a "When" for Each "What" to Get More Wins

In planning for each day, week, month, quarter or year, we all have things we want to accomplish. Sometimes, they are big, and, other times, they are small; however, we all have accomplishments that we aspire to achieve. Hopefully, we are documenting them somewhere instead of counting on simply remembering them; then, we can funnel that running list through our priorities to incorporate in our weekly strategy and pinpoint on a specific date with our daily wrap-up, but that doesn't always work as planned.

When you look at your data dump of tasks needing your attention, until time is allocated for moving each action from a to-do to being done, it's a list of things you wish you could accomplish. That's it. Only when you carve out time in your schedule for getting them done do they become goals and start looking more like a to-do list.

Many of us fall into the trap of thinking "I'll do that when things calm down" or "I'll get to that someday" or "I'll plug that in when I get a few spare moments". I've yet to find a calendar that includes someday; calendars include Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday but not someday. Does anyone ever have free time magically appear in our schedules? Does life calm down without proactively working to slow things down a bit? I believe it requires a different approach to get things done.

Assign each task that you want to accomplish specific time in your schedule, and you'll be much more able to get it done. With this move toward task management, every "what" is given a "when", meaning there is time allocated for getting it done, and you'll be able to actually complete it during that assigned time. You don't have to schedule every 15-minute block in your calendar, but it helps to have a general idea of how you'll invest each day's 1,440 minutes, which is fluid and flexible, allowing you to adjust as needed while being guide down that clear path to achievement.

Experience tells me this will empower you for greater success and make you more likely to win at the game of accomplishing your goals, but I'd love to hear about your experiences. What tactics have you found most successful for moving tasks from to-do to done? Do you create synergy between your calendar and to-do list?

Stay on Track with a Daily Wrap-Up

Are you familiar with the quote "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"? This is a common experience for people as they strive to boost productivity. The week starts with a plan, something shifts, and that initial plan seems to no longer fit. Maybe a client has an urgent, unexpected issue arise and needs your time to get the situation resolved. Or a team member calls in sick, leaving you to cover the tasks that can't fall through the cracks. Perhaps one of your employees needs direction to meet a deadline, pulling you away from your must-do list to answer questions.

There are two ways to respond: either feel like the week is lost or make adjustments to get back on track. I find daily adjustments enable achieving my priority goals and fuel my desired results.

Completed at the end of each day, the following checklist enables the necessary adjustments and better empowers staying on track:

• Communications - Get end-of-day updates from appropriate team members, touching bases to drive awareness and get everyone on the same page; think outside the box to include all team members, like employees, subcontractors, vendors, family members, roommates, volunteer committee members and more. Touch bases with new and returning "hot prospects" to increase your awareness of what is happening while keeping you in the other folks' awareness. Verify you're up-to-date processing received emails and following up on voice mail.

• Tasks - Review your must-do list from the day that's ending and look over the next day's anticipated to-do list. Are all important tasks included that need attention to meet impending deadlines? If something wasn't completed today, determine at what point in the next few days time can be allocated for completing those carryover tasks. It is realistic to plan for fulfilling 3-5 actions on any given date, and knowing beforehand which are your must-do items for the next day will allow you to hit the ground running when you return to work.

• Time Commitments - Evaluate your schedule for the next day and verify that you are prepared for everything scheduled. If you are not prepared, when will that preparation occur? Does your calendar include buffers and time to get where is needed?

• Space - Whether you're in 4 walls, an open office space, a vehicle or working from a bag, tidy up your workspace. File new items and put that day's work back into each item's home, creating a blank slate for the next day. Make sure what you need for the next day's activities is ready and accessible.

• Successes - We live in a do, do, do society, meaning we don't necessarily take time to reflect on meeting the goals for which we strive. Instead, each day, celebrate all you've accomplished in the day that's ending. If you got out of bed, you accomplished something, and acknowledging that is motivating. Stop the monotony of simply getting things done, and acknowledge what you've successfully completed to encourage continued productivity. Make sure you take time to celebrate daily successes, no matter how large or small.

• Gratitude - As there is a vast amount of research regarding the many ways gratitude improves productivity, use the power of gratitude to drive your daily productivity. End each day with gratitude, and denote that for which you are grateful each day. Don't stop with simply thinking of that for which you are grateful; actually say it out loud or document in a gratitude list at least 1 thing for which you feel grateful every day.

What is your experience? Do you take time at the end of each day to properly wrap-up the day that's ending as well as plan for the next day? What successes can you share from practicing this habit? On the flip side, what issues have arisen when you've been unable to regroup daily and end each day getting back on track? What aspects of this checklist can you start implementing today?

Use a Timer to Boost Productivity

Maybe you are struggling with procrastination and simply cannot get started. Maybe you get distracted easily and want to better stay on track. Maybe you are overwhelmed by all that needs to get done and are drowning in what you're doing. No matter what might be your challenge for getting organized to boost productivity, a timer might be the most powerful tool to help you get things done.

Here are a handful of ways in which using a timer can help you better achieve your priority goals:

• Build momentum by getting started - As the old adage goes, activity breeds activity, which means working on a given task to a limited amount of time can propel you to continue working on it, making more progress towards its completion. Working on any task can energize you to get it all done.

• Eliminate procrastination - When struggling to find time to get started working on a big, hairy, audacious goal, it could be that you are frozen by the thought of all the time needed for the entire project rather than the individual tasks going into that overall project. Setting a timer for 5 minutes, 10 minutes or, even 30 minutes can get the ball rolling on any of those smaller, more manageable action items, giving a more realistic view of how long the entire project will take as compared to the intimidating mountain created in your mind.

• Shorter work times feel less overwhelming - If the task you have been avoiding is something you really don't want to do, knocking it out in shorter sessions of time can make it much less daunting. I mean, you can do anything for a short amount of time, right? When you envision something you truly dislike doing, it can be much less bad if attacked for a shorter interval.

• Work harder if for shorter durations - If you have all afternoon to complete a task, it is likely to take that entire time; however, if you set a timer for a much shorter amount of time, you will race to beat the clock. Shorter spans of effort energize greater results, and you are likely to get the task accomplished much more quickly, maybe even finishing the entire task in that shorter amount of time.

• Compete against prior times to do tasks - When faced with a to-do item that you complete regularly, it might feel more mundane and tend to drag on more with each iteration. If you set a timer for slightly less time than it took to complete the task previously, you race the clock, competing against yourself, and can often get it done more quickly.

• Stay on task to make greater progress - It is easy to get pulled away from the task at hand, running off on a tangent or following some distraction. Does "Ooooo... Bright shiny thing!" or "chasing squirrels" sound familiar? If so, setting a timer for the length of time you want to invest in any given task can keep you on track; when the timer goes off, if you are still working on the task at hand, you are success, but, if you've followed a distraction, you have to start the timer over again. Set a timer for short intervals and repeat that for whatever number of intervals is needed to achieve your desired result, making sure you are still on task after each interval.

Whether you implement the timer built into your phone, utilize a kitchen timer or try out the Time Timer app, this tool in your productivity toolbox will prove helpful in moving you more efficiently toward achieving your priority goals.

How do you currently utilize a timer? How have you seen using a timer boost your focus and productivity? What are some of your greatest success stories? If not yet, by when can you give a timer a try? How do you envision a timer fueling desired results?

Utilize Priorities as a Filter for Determining What To Do

Throughout the day, we are bombarded with items and people demanding our attention. Tasks come to us via email, calls, meeting notes and folks stopping by our offices in addition to the many, ongoing projects that need time to move towards completion. Amidst all the overwhelm, it's hard to know where to start, let alone how to get it all properly accomplished.

With all the attention on comic superheroes, it's easy to feel like Superman, Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel, but each of us is human and, therefore, can do only what's feasible within each day's constraints. Due to how many interruptions we face daily, it is realistic to plan 3 to 5 items that we intend on completing by the end of the day, leaving buffers for issues that arise.

To decide which of the many tasks on your running data dump of to-do items will make the cut for each day's must-do list, reflect on your top priorities. Which of the tasks on your list will fuel your success with your goals? Which tasks address what matters most for home, work, your community and taking care of yourself?

It's important to schedule your priorities rather than simply prioritizing whatever randomly falls onto your schedule. What you have established as your priorities should be what matters most, providing guidance for how you should best invest your limited resource of time. This allows you to proactively address the important things instead of reacting to others' priorities.

How many items are on your to-do list for today? If you're looking at a never-ending list right now, what steps can you take to focus on 3-5 items for this particular workday? What are your priorities, and how can you filter the never-ending list of what needs your attention through those to focus on what matters most?

Redefining Productivity for Greater Success - Proactively Planning Your Efforts Will Boost Achievement of Goals

One of 6 tenants to productivity being "efficiently working at effectively achieving desired results" is how proactively planning your efforts will boost success for your goals. In January, I looked at what it means to "be productive" or "boost productivity"; today, I'll do the third of 6 deep dives into specifics for redefining productivity to achieve greater success via tactics for planning.

As discussed before, when a team goes into a game, its coaches have scouted the opponent, determined which of the team's strengths match up best to the opponent's weaknesses and created a game plan. Each team adjusts its plan based off how the game progresses, but the chance of winning at all depends greatly on starting with a plan. The same applies to living your life: plan your weeks and days while making adjustments as time progresses so you attack your priorities instead of getting sidetracked by others.

Whether on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, allot time at the end of each week to review the week ending as well as plan for the week ahead. Take control of your productivity by creating your own weekly game plan. I consider this process my weekly strategy session, where I plan for how to address the following:

• Tasks - Every project needs to be broken down into smaller, more manageable action steps; each of those actions should be assigned a deadline so there is an associated timeline. Evaluate which actions scheduled for the week ending were left undone and should be carried forward; then, determine when each of those incomplete tasks will get done. Decide what new tasks should be added to your to-do list; assign deadlines for each.

• Team Communications - Get in-depth updates from each member of your team (at work, at home or involved with the community projects you're currently addressing), including what is working, what is not working and what needs attention.

• Client Communications - Catch-up on processing outstanding emails, calls and snail mail. Reach out to schedule time with those who have been needing your attention. Touch bases with clients from whom you've not heard lately, whether with gratitude, to wish a happy birthday or simply seeing how things are going. Some should include a call to action but not all.

• Time Commitments - Review the upcoming week's commitments to ensure you've scheduled time for completing whatever preparations have yet to get done. Be certain your calendar includes buffers for travel to appointments as well as time to deal with the unforeseen that might arise.

• Personal and Professional Development - Determine opportunities for growth, including any training, networking or events that will move you towards your goals. Evaluate anything you've received via email or snail mail that has an imminent registration deadline, and decide whether to attend.

Be strategic and map out a specific plan for addressing all that supports your priority goals, understanding that "every what assigned a when is more likely to get accomplished." I have yet to find a "Someday" on any calendar; there is always Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday but no Someday, which means assigning time for completing actions moves the results of their completion from dreams to goals.

As we all know "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry", it is imperative to allocate time daily to reassess and make sure the next 24 hours continue along the right path. We live in the real world, and things happen to derail even the most well thought-out plans. As hiccups arise, adjustments will need to be made, but your days will be guided by your weekly strategy, which will be empowered and reinforced with these daily wrap-ups. Address these items at the end of each day:

• Communications - Get updates from team members and "hot prospects", new and returning; touch bases with those that need awareness of what's happening and what you're doing.

• Tasks - Review the to-do list from the day ending, determining which incomplete tasks can be completed when. Prepare the next day's must-do list, documenting what 3-5 action items will be realistic for the next 24 hours so you can hit the ground running to complete them starting first-thing in the morning.

• Time - Evaluate your schedule for the next day, verifying that you're prepared for it all. If you're not yet ready, when will you make time for completing those preparations.

• Workspace - Tidy up... File new items, return that day's work into each item's home and set out the materials for whatever you'll address first upon returning to your office.

• Successes - Celebrate all you've accomplished in the day that's ending. If you got out of bed, you accomplished something! Acknowledging these wins motivates doing more.

• Gratitude - Make note of that for which you are grateful at the end of each day, whether one item or a list of things, and consider all areas of your life (home, work, community, self).

• Final Preparations - Plan from where your meals will come, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Will you pack your lunch or go out to eat? Do you need to put something in the slow-cooker that evening or in the morning? Then, check the forecast and pick out each detail of what will be necessary for the next day's outfit, including jewelry and undergarments.

With proper planning, what matters most to you finds time in your schedule, and you stay on track amidst all the curveballs that life throws your way. What steps do YOU take to plan ahead?

Redefining Productivity for Greater Success - Clarity of Priorities Enables Knowing Which Goals to Tackle When

One of 6 tenants to productivity being "efficiently working at effectively achieving desired results" is how clarity of priorities enables knowing when to act upon which goals. Last month, I looked at what it means to "be productive" or "boost productivity"; today, I'll do the second of 6 deep dives into specifics for redefining productivity to achieve greater success, looking at the importance of aligning our actions with our priorities.

If you fill your life with the little things that don't really matter, you leave little to no time for more meaningful things... Start with what's most important! If you purposefully make room in each week or day to address actions fueling what really matters to you, there is still room in your life to fill in with some of those less meaningful actions, but you'll move more rapidly towards achieving the goals that matter most. Comparing the time limitations of each day with the space constraints of a jar, this video displays how making room in your schedule for those priority actions first leaves room for filling the less important activities around later, like starting by filling the jar with the rocks before adding the pebbles and sand around those rocks.

Focusing on your priorities is a powerful time management tactic to overcome the limitations in saying "I'll get to that someday." I have yet to find a calendar that includes "Someday". Every calendar has Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday but not "Someday". Since we are more likely to get something accomplished when it has a specific date and time assigned for its completion, especially amidst the clutter on today's calendars, it's unlikely something you're going to do "Someday" will ever get accomplished. Remember that every "what" assigned a "when" is more likely to get done, and determine what finds a home on your calendar each day, week, month and year.

Each day, we have only 1,440 minutes to accomplish all our goals for work, home, community and ourselves, including taking time to eat, sleep, bathe, exercise and spend time with those we love. With our resource of time being so limited, it's imperative to invest each minute wisely, but how can we know which goals are important enough priorities to earn an investment of our own time?

I have two tools I prefer using when evaluating my current priorities. First, since my brain is not a reliable retention tool, it's important to dump the information out of my head, but I like to do that data dump in the most organized manner possible. I create three columns on a sheet of paper: one for rocks, one for pebbles and one for sand; then, as I move to-do items from my brain to the paper, I sort by level of meaningfulness into those three columns. The most important tasks, those that fuel my most valuable results and move me to my priority goals, are listed in the "rocks" column. The time sucks that distract me from what I want to achieve or are more a priority of others get listed in the "sand" column while those actions falling more in the mid-level of meaningfulness go in the "pebbles" column.

Second, once everything needing my attention has been pulled out of my brain and written out so I can view it all at once, I'm able to better utilize the Eisenhower Matrix to evaluate my current priorities. Similar to training from Stephen Covey, the Eisenhower Decision Principle evaluates tasks using the criteria of important / unimportant along the left-hand side as well as the criteria of urgent / not urgent along the top; tasks are placed in according quadrants of the Eisenhower Matrix for determining next steps. If something falls in the Important / Urgent box, it is to be done now. If something falls in the Important / Not Urgent box, it must be done but can be delayed to a later date. If something falls in the Not Important / Urgent box, I consider whether it can be delegated. If something falls in the Not Important / Not Urgent box, I consider whether it can be deleted.

When you are evaluating which actions on your running to-do list are priorities, consider a few enlightening questions... Does this task truly need to be completed? If not, can I delete it? If it must get done, does it need to be done by me? If not, to whom can I delegate it? I find this mental checklist very helpful in determining which tasks earn a portion of the very limited time on my calendar.

How do you determine which tasks are priorities? How do you use that prioritization to plan your next steps?

10 Commandments to Have Productive Meetings

Whether one-on-one or with a group, many of us spend a good deal of our working hours in meetings. Since time is such a limited resource, it is important to make good use of all that time we are investing in meeting with others, and there are steps we can take to positively impact the productivity of our meetings. Follow these 10 commandments to have meetings that truly make every minute matter:

1. Thou shalt have a clear purpose. Many meetings mistakenly focus on simply updating those in attendance; however, there are plenty of alternative means for conveying updates that are less intrusive to attendees' valuable time. Instead, meetings are most productive when they focus on one of two purposes: (a) discussion or (b) decision-making. If your meeting's purpose is not one of those, could the goal be achieved in an alternative manner?

2. Thou shalt be strategic with scheduling. Often, when meetings are set, we indicate a starting time but forget to set a specific ending time; attendees can better plan the remainder of their day if provided an end time in addition to a start time. Further, be cognizant of vacation plans so meetings are not scheduled when many who need to attend will be gone. Plus, avoid scheduling a meeting in the days leading up to a big deadline if the meeting is unrelated to the project coming due as well as during times when there will be too many distractions for folks to focus.

3. Thou shalt trim the fat. Shorten how long you plan to meet and, then, push yourself to accomplish everything on the agenda within that shorter duration by using a timer or having someone serve as timekeeper. Try to end meetings at least 10 minutes before the next hour, i.e. 12:50, 1:50, 2:50, etc, or schedule your meetings in 15-minute blocks, like running from on the hour to quarter 'til the next hour. Attendees will appreciate those few minutes before the next hour to return a quick call, run to the restroom, grab a beverage or gather their thoughts.

4. Thou shalt invite the right people and only the right people. Whether having a discussion or making a decision, it is important to include those whose contributions are necessary for accomplishing the meeting's goals: those with the authority to make decisions, those with enough pull in the organization to advocate for meeting decisions, those with the expertise needed to make informed decisions as well as the plans necessary for successfully executing said decisions and those who will be needed in executing such plans to accurately complete the plans resulting from the meeting. On the other hand, the Rule of 7 states that "everyone in a meeting over 7 people reduces your ability to make decisions by 10%." Therefore, include only those whose contributions are necessary for accomplishing the meeting's goals as too many attendees will deplete productivity.

5. Thou shalt have a plan to achieve the stated purpose. Create a realistic agenda, listing what you truly believe can be accomplished within the scheduled time allowed. Structure that agenda to address the most important issues first. Try to indicate how much time is being allocated for each element listed. Solicit feedback from attendees to ensure anything important is included while lower priorities and unrelated topics get removed.

6. Thou shalt prepare beforehand. Distribute any supplemental items for review to all attendees beforehand. Share necessary updates via email before the meeting date. If there is legwork that can be done in advance, completing that beforehand will allow the meeting itself to run more efficiently. As explained by Dana Manciagli in The Triad Business Journal, "proper planning prevents poor performance". Take time to get your ducks in a row before, allowing the time during which folks have come together to be devoted to discussion and / or decision-making.

7. Thou shalt communicate expectations clearly. If you are leading the meeting, set expectations on how those attending should behave and share those with attendees, whether in writing prior to the meeting or at the start of the meeting. Here are a few suggestions: come prepared, contribute to the discussion with feedback, share your insights as applicable, make sure to ask whatever questions you have and limit technology distractions. Additionally, specifically state guidelines for interjecting during the agenda, like when to ask questions, how to pipe up for brainstorming or at what point is it appropriate to share feedback during a discussion. Think proactively about what situations might arise related to each meeting and be specific with standards set.

8. Thou shalt take notes. This shows your commitment to the topic, helps you pay attention and enables you to refer back to items covered earlier as the meeting progresses. If you have the agenda beforehand, use that agenda as a framework for filling in notes from the meeting. Highlight what is important, whether via a different color of ink or by blocking that content off separately. Designate each task that must be done as it arises in conversation during the meeting. Then, end your meeting notes with a recap, including the highlights, action items and timing of next meeting.

9. Thou shalt stay focused. Denote on a separate list any tangents or issues not on the agenda as they arise. If there is extra time at the end in which attendees want to address those items, feel free to attempt it; however, it is often the best use of everyone's time to schedule another time for discussing or resolving those issues on a later date.

10. Thou shalt be accountable for completing tasks. When it comes to moving items from to-do to done, my rule of thumb is "every what assigned a when is more likely to get done", which means each action item arising from the meeting needs a deadline for its completion. Further, ensuring tasks get completed is more likely when there is someone accountable for that task's completion, hence why there needs to be someone assigned to the completion of each task that results from meeting discussions.

What tactics do you utilize for successfully having productive meetings? What are your success stories? What issues have you faced in keeping your meetings on track?

Baker’s Dozen Rules for Proper Time Management

How do you handle managing your time? Do you have a philosophy or best practices by which you swear for time management?

If you’ve been reading my blog awhile, you know I believe in managing our actions and the tools at our disposal rather than talking about time management as there’s nothing we can do to change how each day is limited to only 1,440 minutes. Still, this National Time Management Month is a great time to discuss some basic principles for best investing our limited time.

Here are some of what I recommend as basic principles for investing your time and, thereby, making every minute matter:

1. Saying yes to doing one thing means no to another. As time is a limited resource, we cannot invest the same minutes in multiple ways, and we can’t get back what minutes we’ve already invested elsewhere.

2. Be proactive in planning how to invest your time with monthly reviews of what’s upcoming, weekly strategy sessions to draft plans and daily wrap-ups.

3. Assign a “when” to each “what” to get more done. I have yet to find a calendar with “someday” but I complete tasks for which I’ve set aside time.

4. Plan no more than 3 – 5 “must-do” tasks per day. It is easy to feel like we are superheroes who can complete endless lists of to-do items; however, we are all human and can do only so much with what time we are gifted daily.

5. Enlist your energy level as a productivity tool. If your energy peaks first-thing in the morning, you may choose to tackle your most difficult tasks first; however, if your energy peaks later in the workday, you may prefer to start with easier tasks and build momentum to do your more difficult work later.

6. Align your actions with your priorities and goals to prevent burnout. As what’s important may shift over time related to work, home, community or society and the private realm of mind, body and spirit, continually audit how you are investing your time and focus your actions to what’s important.

7. Delegate or automate when you can. Consider resources like Fancy Hands, Fiverr, Guru, Help Tap, Moonlighting, Task Rabbit, Thumbtack, Upwork and 99Designs to enlist others’ help for getting things done; alternatively, If This Then That, Podbox, Zapier and social media managers like Buffer, Edgar, Falcon Social, Hootsuite, SocialOomph and Sprout Social help you “set it and forget it” so things happen without you having to invest your time to do it all.

8. Keep a list readily available of which tasks can be done in a 10- or 30-minute time slot so you are prepared to hit the ground running when those free moments magically appear.

9. End procrastination. Break projects into bite-sized actions so each step is less daunting. Ask for help or seek direction on anything that is ambiguous. If a task takes less than 5 minutes, just do it. Assign rewards for celebrating successful completion of tasks or ramifications for missed deadlines.

10. Utilize a timer. Get started on a “big, hairy, audacious” goal. Capitalize on how activity breeds activity. Attack challenging tasks for shorter times. Stay on task when working for a longer period of time. Energize greater results with shorter spans of effort.

11. Limit distractions. Turn off the pings and dings for notifications. Send your phone directly to voicemail as needed. Set a timer for how long you will use social media. Consider working remotely at times. Employ technology (like KeepMeOut, LeechBlock, Nanny, SelfContol and StayFocused) to block distracting websites temporarily.

12. Manage your tech instead of letting it manage you. Typical smartphone users check their phones 150 times a day, and it takes time to re-focus on the task at hand whenever distracted by our tech tools. Start with these tips to manage email and, then, make your mobile device a tool working for you rather than technology to chain or confine you.

13. Do not confuse immediate or urgent with important. What are the consequences of getting something done sooner versus later? When folks get you to stop working on what is important to achieving your goals in order to address their needs, they are managing your time; if you were unavailable, whether due to meetings or travel, an immediate issue would have to wait.

What tactics do you utilize for making every minute matter? Have you had success with any of those listed above or will you be implementing any of these strategies?

Use a Timer to Boost Productivity

Whether you use the timer built into your mobile device, a simple kitchen timer or the Time Timer app, I have found a timer to be one of the most powerful tools in your productivity toolbox.

Maybe you are struggling with procrastination and simply cannot get started. Maybe you get easily distracted once you are working on something. Maybe you are overwhelmed by all that needs to be done and are drowning in what you're doing. No matter what is your productivity challenge, fully utilize timers to get more done and make every minute matter.

Get started on a "big, hairy, audacious" goal. When you are struggling to find the time do what needs to be done, it could be that you are looking at all the time needed for the entire task; however, setting a timer for 5 minutes, 10 minutes or, even, 30 minutes will get the ball rolling and, probably, give you a more realistic view of how long the entire action item will require.

Activity breeds activity. In the world of task management, working on any given task for a limited amount of time might propel you towards assigning it more time and, thereby, making more progress towards its completion. Further, working on a to-do item can energize you to get it done completely.

You can do anything for a short amount of time. If the task you have been avoiding is something you really do not want to do, knocking it out in shorter sessions of time can make it much less painful. When you envision something you truly dislike doing, it can be much less bad for a shorter time interval.

Stay on task. Particularly when creating content for social media posts, blogging, articles or books to write, client solutions and public speaking presentations, it is easy to get pulled away from the task at hand and run off on a tangent. Does "Oooo... Bright shiny thing!" or "chasing butterflies" sound familiar? If so, setting a timer for however long you would like to invest in any given task can keep you on track. Better yet, setting a timer for a shorter interval and repeating that for whatever number of times needed can empower you to stay on track until the task at hand is finished.

Shorter spans of effort energize greater results. If you have all afternoon to work on something, it is likely to take all afternoon; however, if you set a timer for a much shorter amount of time to complete the task, you will race to beat the clock. You are likely to get the task accomplished much more quickly, maybe even finishing the entire task in that shorter amount of time.

Do you utilize a timer to boost your focus and productivity? If so, what have been some of your greatest success stories? How can YOU use a timer for better results?

Assign a "When" to Each "What" to Get More Done

I have yet to find a calendar that includes a "someday" on it; yes, every calendar has Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc, but there simply isn't a "someday" to be found. Therefore, when we talk about getting around to doing something during that magical time of "someday", it is much more likely to be a dream than a goal. Dreaming is certainly necessary to envision our aspirations and push us to think greater; however, a goal is result-oriented, where there is an achievement toward which effort is directed. Goals are more finite and, often, fine-tuned to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

It is my emphasis that you achieve your desired results, which involves a focus on goals. Therefore, it is vital to remember this... Every "what" assigned a "when" is more likely to get done. What that means is that we should no longer talk about our to-do items in general terms.

When you have a task to do, make sure it has a deadline and, then, find specific time on your calendar during which the action can be completed. Perhaps you need to break the task into smaller components and find shorter intervals during which those tidbits can get done. Regardless, the takeaway is that you will have more wins if each action item has time assigned in your schedule for its completion.

Do you currently assign deadlines and schedule time for the completion of each action item on your to-do list? If not, are items sliding from one day to the next without getting done? Can you take time today to make sure each "what" is assigned a "when" for moving from to-do to done?

Focus Your Task Management for Greater Success

With magazines like Woman's Day telling us to "Stand like a superhero to boost confidence", it is easy to feel like we are Superwoman or Batman and can accomplish infinite tasks each day. However, that is simply not the case... Each of us is human and, therefore, can accomplish only what is feasible within the constraints of each day. With work-life integration, we can often achieve multiple goals with a single action, but that does not change the facts: As we have only 1,440 minutes in each day, every human-being has limited abilities to get it all done each day.

While it is important to keep a running data-dump of all that must get done, save yourself the disappointment of not getting it all accomplished in one day by being realistic: Plan on no more than 3-5 must do tasks per day. Yes, it is possible that you will do much more than the 3-5 items listed; yet, there is also an equally strong chance of the phone ringing, email coming in or someone stopping by your office with an "emergency" that pulls you away from your own productivity. Leaving your must do list at only 3-5 items empowers you with buffers for unforeseen barriers to getting things done.

During each daily wrap-up, as you look at the running data-dump of all that must get done to cull together the next day's 3-5 must do items, consider all your options. What can be delegated to someone else or handled by technology? What can be deleted completely? What are the benefits of getting the item completed sooner than later? What would be the ramifications for holding off on completing the task until later? What best achieves your goals?

Highlight those 3-5 must do tasks amidst everything in your running data-dump of to-do items. Whether you choose to write them out on a 3" x 5" index card, jot them down on a Post-It note to keep visible throughout the day or set a reminder in your electronic task manager, it is important to make sure those 3-5 tasks are constantly in your top-of-mind awareness during the day.

How many items are on your to-do list for today? If you're looking at a never-ending list right now, what steps can you take to focus that on 3-5 items for this particular workday?

Enlist Your Energy Level as a Productivity Tool

Imagine this... You walk in the door of your office to start your workday, holding the list of your 3-5 "must do" tasks for the day, but you simply can't get started. So much for that "hit the ground running" idea you had, right? Not exactly!

Instead of assuming the day is lost, take a moment to assess your energy level. Different people have peak energy levels at different times of day. While some folks are "morning people" who have higher energy in the morning, that is not true for everyone. It is important to attack challenging work when your energy is at its peak, understanding that will vary from person to person.

If your energy peaks first-thing in the morning, you may choose to enlist your energy level as a productivity tool by "swallowing the frog". This means that you tackle your most difficult tasks first.

If your energy peaks later in the workday, you may choose to adopt the mantra of "activity breeds activity", starting with easier tasks and building momentum to do your more difficult work later.

Similarly, if you have lots of meetings, it becomes even more important to be aware of how your energy fluctuates during the day. Since meetings are designed for discussions and shared decision-making, it is important to have enough energy to address those activities. If you find your energy waning right before an important meeting, glance at my suggestions posted yesterday for how to quickly boost your energy reserves.

Are you more of a morning person, night owl or something in between? How can you adjust when you attack certain work functionality to utilize that for greater productivity?

Delegate or Automate When You Can

As time is a limited resource, it is not possible for any one human-being to do everything on his or her own... There simply are not enough minutes in the day. Still, since our inability to get it all done alone does not eliminate the never-ending to-do list, it is imperative to come up with alternatives, particularly until cloning becomes feasible for us all or we get our Inspector Gadget tools.

When evaluating your to-do list, consider what requires your unique skill set versus what can be accomplished by someone else; alternatively, consider what can be done more quickly or more thoroughly by another individual. Delegate or automate when you can. In any instance that you delegate or automate the completion of a task, you open up time in your schedule to allocate elsewhere.

Resources for delegation are not limited to existing members of your team. There are endless options for delegating many different types of tasks via Help Tap, Upwork, Fancy Hands, Fiverr, Guru, Moonlighting, Task Rabbit, Thumbtack and 99Designs. These websites include options for all instances of budgetary constraints and many skill sets. Likewise, consider automation as delegating to a computer, and evaluate the many options for automating tasks to best fulfill your needs. If This Then That, Podbox, Zapier and social media managers, like Buffer, Edgar, Falcon Social, Hootsuite, SocialOomph or Sprout Social, are all excellent for automation. Once you know which of your to-do items can be delegated or automated, find the resource to do so.

Delegation and automation are powerful tools for getting more done in less time and, thereby, boosting your productivity while maintaining your peace of mind and not missing opportunities.

What are some tasks on your to-do list that could be delegated or automated? Which of these tools might you be able to implement in your own productivity toolbox?