As my followers know, I am a podcast listener.  I listen as much as I can on my walks, on planes, and during idle time.  This happens to be one of the top 10 tips I’m about to relay (using your idle time to profit). So on my morning walk last week, the Daily Boost’s Scott Smith, had a quick 10-minute podcast on Time Management.  Here are his ideas and some of my comments below.  By the way, this is one of the best daily podcasts I have listened to over the past decade.  You should give it a shot!

So, here they are, nice and simple;

1. Remember you don’t have to answer phone, email or texts (turn it off)
2. Minimize meetings UNLESS it’s a relationship builder or absolutely necessary
3. Be punctual for everything, it is important and it is a building block!  Without it, people will question your integrity
4. Use lists/schedules/to-do
5. Link all tasks to a goal! Be Laser focused
6. Use tickler files
7. Block your time, make appts with yourself! You are the most important person to you!
8. Minimize unplanned activities
9. Use the dead time like waiting for a dentist appointment and have something to do with that odd time (review a report, listen to a podcast)
10. Live life in off-peak times – Why wait in lines?

In my opinion, #1 is #1 … We need to stop being a slave to our devices.  Turn off your computer for an hour, shut your phone off.  If you really want to get things done, you need to focus and those are guaranteed interruptions.  How much time do you lose when you take a 5-minute phone call?  it’s a lot more than 5-minutes.  It takes you off your task, and then it takes time for you to get back to where you left off.

There are studies that show professionals getting interrupted get back to the task 89% of the time.  However, the average length of time when jumping from one complex task to another and then back, took over 23 minutes for the person to “get back”.  So – turn off your email, phone, text, and stay off E-Bay & Facebook!

The next one I feel is of high importance is #5 … Link all your tasks to a goal! If you are working on a task that is not linked to a goal, ask yourself why?

Listen to the podcast for his explanations, but all of these are good tips.

I work with organizations on this issue the most.  Getting people to focus & prioritize are the two best methods to increase their productivity and effectiveness.  The level of stress is drastically reduced, and the office environment improved.

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