Stretch your time
Photo by Rami Al-zayat on Unsplash
Have you ever uttered the words 'I don't know how you have the time' to someone? Or felt there were never enough hours in your day to get everything done? Although there are quite a few books and techniques out there. I wanted to share a few things that I have incorporated in my day to day.
Savings seconds will give you hours back in your week.
One. Reduce your app distractions. I rarely swipe of my phones home screen these days. I have a combination of work and social apps and at any given point of the day the notification counters are lit up. I haven't been a fan of turning the notifications off which to me is hiding the problem. I opt for forming better habits and controlling my urges to click different icons. I know Instagram can consume my time without a real reward. But WhatsApp might be a quick exchange with friends on a non-work related topic. I also need to respond to my team chats, Chatter notifications etc. So, I have formed an order in which I open my apps. Starting at my team chat apps, moving to Salesforce Chatter and then my To-do. Once I have made progress and ticked things off I will open WhatsApp for a quick banter to keep my day lighter.
The ordering of how I open my apps. Ensures I don't start with a social app and lose 15 minutes of my day without getting any value from it.
Two. Reduce your time in emails. Albeit some people not loving my preference for a chat over email. It is a primary driver to my productivity. When I work with new people through email I will respond via email but encourage them to use a chat app in the future for a faster response from me. There are so many people that love writing long emails to explain things or ask for things. But I have found it amazing that when you squeeze them into a 140-char style environment like a chat app. Naturally on a chat app they are succinct, which minimises the time spent reading those emails for me (and them the time to write it). So, I scan my emails a few times a day looking for anyone new or anything that pops out as important. I also have some rules for my manager, team, important seniors in my org so I can respond to them on time.
My current team love the reduction in emails (so they tell me) in their inbox and get far more time and attention from me with the extra time I have in my day.
Three. Stop filing things in folders. I gave up folders years ago. To give you some context I love being neat, tidy organised and clean. But the time it was taking me to put everything in those neat folders was high. Now I have two folders Archive and Inbox. That is all I need. Search is amazing these days and if an email doesn't have a fantastic email subject. Then when I reply to the thread I will change it. So far no-one has complained about me changing 'catch-up' to '[customer] [subject[ catch-up'. I am surprised at how many don't know how to change a subject in Gmail though. If you are one of those people click here . This allows me to easily search and find whatever email in the future without browsing my folders or having spent time putting things in folders.
Four. Optimise your laptop usage. We spend so much time on our laptops and we do so much. There are many shortcuts to learn but a few of my favourites that shave seconds which add up to minutes in a day are CMD + Return to send an email or post something most apps it is like clicking Send or Go. CMD + Space brings up a full laptop search for anything including files, emails, contents of files etc. No need to dig into folders or anything. In Chrome Option+CMD+left or right will move the tab you are on to the right or left tab. Or CMD + 2 will take you to the 2nd tab.
Switch from Hangouts to Hangouts Chat. link. It allows you to CTRL K and type in initials to jump between people or groups. No need to scroll up and down looking for that group that has not been active in a few days.
To close a window just press CMD+W. Saves you having to move your mouse all the way around the screen. If you are looking for something in particular on a webpage or search results. Use the browsers CTRL F find to jump down to save you having to scan all of the content.
Sorry PC users it has been a while but most of those will work if you substitute CMD with Windows key.
Five. Organise your To-do list. Hi, my name is Ray and I like lists :). But not any type of list. After trailing many apps, I keep it simple now and use Apple notes. It syncs across all my devices, quick to load and change. I also don't need any history, once a task is completed I delete the line and move on. I use 4 headings based on the Covey-Quadrant principal plus one.
Must do tonight
Important + urgent
Important + not urgent
Not important + urgent
Not important + not urgent
Without going too deep into this principal from the 7 habits of effective people. It allows me to re-prioritise my workload at least once a day. My role is dynamic with items that are planned and many that arise at adhoc times. So, focusing my attention quickly is key to minimise my time wastage. I never want to sit at my desk and wonder 'what do I need to do now'. I want to have that answer within 5-10 seconds and get on with it. Knowing what I need to do now quickly also stops me from clicking that email icon or of the many distracting apps.
The Must Do Tonight heading is an item that for some reason I have left too late or it is something that has popped up. The heading title is simple and keeps it front of mind to ensure I carve the time out in my evening. I love what I do so popping the laptop open whilst having some Netflix shows in the background works well for me. Although I know it doesn't work for everyone. The skill here is to ensure that you don't allow just anyone or anything to pop into your Must Do Tonight list. Understanding your priority of tasks is important. Do not hesitate to ask someone 'Does this really have to be done tonight as I won't get to it to very late in the evening'. This should allow them to re-evaluate the deadline.
I hope you find more time in your day and feel free to comment on the techniques that you use.
You are the gatekeeper of your time and you can stretch it or shrink it.
Note: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.