Maximizing Productivity Archives - Page 4 of 5

Seize Control of Your Time With This One Skill

This post is part 3 in the series Sanity-Saving Skills Every Busy Person Needs.

In the last four months, have you been mastering these 9 essential skills for busy people? If so, you’re now able to . . .

Sketch out a plan for every day.
Automate components of your life.
Estimate the amount of time you need to accomplish a task.
Delete, diminish, delegate, and delay non-urgent and non-essential items on your list.
Motivate yourself by matching activities to goals.
Optimize your time by double-dipping in your goals.
Batch like tasks.
Work with your energy levels.
Adapt to intrusions.

If you still feel too busy, focus on this critical skill for seizing control of your time:
[Read more…]

One Project at a Time

One project at a time.

That’s what writer Jessie Kwak recommends. Just recently, Jessie penned an inspirational article on how you can achieve big results with laser focus on one single project at a time. [Read more…]

15 Ways to Be More Productive Today

Some days the life of a busy mom looks like this:

You cross the finish line of another non-stop day, and you are exhausted . . . but you honestly don’t know what you have to show for all your spent hours. Projects are piling up at work, the house and kids look like they need to be hosed down, and you can’t remember the last time you had uninterrupted quality time with your spouse.

And tomorrow it begins again.

Getting it all done while making the most of your time is possible. Try adopting these 15 practices for maximizing your productivity: [Read more…]

3 Rules for Maximum Productivity

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time has a mouthful of a title. But it’s been making the rounds as a best-selling productivity book for years.

For me, there’s good advice and bad advice in this compact guide. However, one of the major highlights are the “3 Rules for Maximum Productivity.”

These 3 questions are perfect for refocusing your day’s activities on a continual basis. Brian Tracy’s book primarily targets work-related tasks, but these questions can apply to so many areas of your personal life as well.

Ask yourself these 3 questions in reference to . . .

Your life as a whole
Your career
Your relationships
Your finances
Your health
Your home projects
Your community involvement
. . . and more

[Read more…]

5 Time Management Tips from the Experts

Looking for some smart advice on managing your time? Here are some great tips from five experts! [Read more…]

You HAVE to Do It . . . or Do You?

There’s just so much stuff you HAVE to do in life. You have to go to work. You have to make dinner and clean yours house. You absolutely have to do your taxes each year.

But do you really?

Are you a victim of a massive list of must-do items . . . or are you unconsciously choosing to do those things? Your to-do list may actually be a reflection of your priorities and goals. If you look at each item on your list as something moving you one step closer to your goals — financial health, family relationships, a welcoming home, pursuit of your career dreams — you’re no longer a slave to your list.

You’re the master.

But what if your must-do list is out-of-whack with your goals? Then it’s time to consider some alternatives! Realign your life with your priorities. What’s right for someone else may be totally wrong for you. Reserve judgment, and ask yourself whether these common have-to tasks are activities you want to do or activities you’re prepared to change. [Read more…]

Multitasking: Watch T.V. and Get Things Done

It’s that time again.

Every night, NBC airs nearly four hours of the Olympic games. You know what’s going to be shown that night — maybe swimming and gymnastics, for instance — but you don’t know when. Bob Costas drifts in and out of your living room as he transitions back and froth from one sport to another with no pre-announced schedule. If there’s an event you particularly don’t want to miss, you may find that you need to keep your T.V. on for the entirety of those four annoyingly unpredictable hours. Ugh!

Even during non-Olympic season, there are plenty of times that you may find yourself only sort of watching T.V. You’ve got some downtime during commercials, your show briefly explores an uninteresting subplot, or your favorite team halts play during a time out or play review.

If you’re not choosing to invest fully in what’s airing on your T.V., you’ve got a grand opportunity to carve out some pockets of productivity. Here are 35 ideas for things you can accomplish with one eye on your task and one on the T.V.: [Read more…]

Stop Hiding from Your To-Do List

Happy 4th of July!

With any luck, you’ve got yourself a cool three-day weekend with some extra time for relaxation! Maybe you finally plan to do that nagging item that’s been sitting on your to-do list for ages.

We’ve all got at least one thing on our to-do lists (or one scheduled activity on our time maps) that simply never gets done:

You always have eight items on your list but can never get through more than four.
You have 30 minutes blocked off in the morning for working out, but it never happens.
You have a backlog of years of family photos that you’ve been meaning to organize forever.
You can never find the time to meet up with your buddy to play basketball.

What’s holding you back from finally crossing that sticky task off your to-do list? [Read more…]

9 Valuable Tips for Negotiating Down to a Part-Time Schedule

Before our son was born, my husband and I took a hard look at our schedules.

We thrived as a couple holding down full-time jobs, but we wanted to carve out more time together as a family of three. We wanted to find more balance than our busy schedules allowed while still enjoying the personal and financial benefits of employment in our chosen fields.

After weighing our options, my husband and I made the decision for me to seek a part-time schedule.

According to an article on WorkOptions.com, the quickest (and arguably the most reliable) way to get that coveted part-time, professional schedule is to get that arrangement in your current place of employment. Making that dream a reality means convincing your company of the merits of your part-time plan.

Here are some tips for navigating that corporate road: [Read more…]

Quick Tip: Setting a Timer

List a handful of tasks you just hate to do — those things that you really can’t even bring yourself to start. Of course, the problem you run into is that those things never get done. Then they turn into larger, even less appealing tasks. It’s a vicious cycle.

The secret to tackling one of these tasks is just starting. If you can’t commit to finishing your chore, commit to focusing on it for even just a brief period of time. [Read more…]