 "It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials."
- Bruce Lee
You're exhausted. Time always seems to be
fleeting and your goals - writing, business, and family - seem to be
further away than ever.
Work smarter, not harder by eliminating - even
hacking - the inessentials so you can focus on what matters: your goals.
This is not a cut corners to skimp on quality strategy. It's about
increasing your value by working efficiently and effectively.
Get ready because we're about to put more time on your clock so you can get closer to achieving your writing goals.
5 Time Savers
- Prioritize - Family, team members, friends - sometimes it
seems like you're performing dozens of tasks that sap up hours of your
time for everyone, but you! When I felt like this was happening to me, I
reevaluated what I was doing with my day and prioritized. I found that
many of those tasks brought little value to the table, driving me
further away from my goals. Prioritization is king in time management.
Determine the order to deal with tasks according to their relative
importance and value. Ask yourself, "Does it give value?" If it isn't
delivering any value, completely eliminate it to free time up for things
that do.
- Delegate - Perhaps you're too willing to help others or
you're a firm believer in the philosophy, "If you want things done,
you've got to do them yourself." Let go - give up control. Not
everything needs your attention and you need to know your limits.
Delegate the task to someone else by evaluating whether the person does
indeed need your help or if you have the necessary skills and resources
to do it in an efficient manner. In writing, you can delegate by asking
someone else to proofread your articles and even consider employing a
quality ghost writer to write your articles.
- Handle Things Once - I'm easily buried in email every day and
I know how easy it is to get tangled up in creating an intricate system
to manage it. KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid. Organize a simple
system to manage workflow so when you perform a task, such as review
your email, set a time frame and hold yourself to it. Be decisive, move
on after making a decision, and to make it absolutely work - don't look
back. Trust your decisions - you've got bigger fish to fry.
- Just Say No - I keep an open door policy for my team to ask
questions, give feedback, or inform me about anything I need to know.
For a long time, I felt that open door meant I had to be receptive the
entire time I was in my office. The result was so much foot traffic in
and out of my office that I considered whether I'd have to replace the
carpet. Then I got smart: Shut the door, designate "visiting hours," and
learn how to say "no" constructively. No need to be aggressive
about it. Respect yourself and the other person by showing them how
non-priority interruptions affect the value you create.
- Accept Imperfection - As Salvador Dali put it, "Have no fear
of perfection, you'll never reach it." It's easy to get so caught up in
rewriting, revising, tweaking, etc., that you end up taking more time
than was needed. Consider the 80:20 rule that states 80% of your
measureable results come from 20% of the tasks you perform. Maximize
that 20% by setting time limits on medium-priority tasks, minimizing the
overall time you take to perform inessential or routine tasks, and take
action (see the previous point "Handle Things Once").
There are a TON more strategies that I'd love to
share with you, but then we'd be here all day, I'd go over my time
limit to write this post, and you'd be in over your head. Start by
tracking what you're currently spending time on - tasks, interruptions,
breaks, etc. - to help you prioritize, delegate, be more decisive, say
"no" when you're ready, and help take action in less time.
What strategies would you like to add to the list?
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To Your Article Writing Success & Passion!
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