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50 Calendar and Productivity Hacks for Entrepreneurs

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Don’t watch your time melt away. Many different factors can make or break you as an entrepreneur, but nothing is as important as being able to keep your time in check. If you feel that this is an area that needs improvement in your life, then you need to give the following 50 calendar, and productivity hacks a spin.

1. It’s all about prioritization.

Prioritization is the secret to both time and calendar management, as well as productivity. After all, if you don’t focus on your priorities, then you’ll end up spending the majority of your time on meaningless activities. Also, it provides structure to your days and keeps you organized.

As a general rule, your priorities are essential tasks that help you reach a goal. If you need help determining what these are, consider employing proven techniques like the 80/20 Rule, Eisenhower Matrix, or rocks, pebbles, and sand.

2. Conduct a time audit.

You can work a million different calendar and productivity hacks and still expect to fail if you don’t know how you’re truly spending your time. Keep a time log or use tools like RescueTime or Toggl to see how long it takes you to complete tasks or empty your inbox.

It’s only after this that you can adequately manage your calendar. As an example, if you realize that email and social media eats up two hours of your day, then you can take steps to rectify this problem, such as batching these tasks together, so you’re not checking them throughout the day.

More importantly, this will prevent you from over-or-underestimating how much time to set aside for specific. Before I did this, I would only leave myself an hour to write a blog post. In reality, I needed two. Because I underestimated this time, it threw a monkey wrench into the rest of my day.

3. Paper, electronic, or both?

Despite the amount of fabulous electronic calendars on the market, you may prefer to use a paper one. There’s nothing wrong with that. You shouldn’t be forced to use calendar software if it’s a hassle for you. Instead, use the type of calendar that you’re most comfortable with and learn how to get the most out of it.

Personally, I prefer combining both paper and electronic. I keep a paper calendar on my desk so that it’s visible at all times. But, I use a calendar app to add and manage my schedule — I can also easily access and share it with others.

4. Plan your schedule around energy levels.

Determine when you’re most focused and alert. Then go ahead and schedule more important responsibilities around those times. Save less essential items for productivity lulls. So, if you are most productive between 10 A.M. and noon, then that’s when you should put your most crucial tasks in your calendar.

5. Optimize notifications.

I personally feel that one of the best features regarding electronic calendars is the ability to receive notifications, such as deadlines or meetings. But, to get the most out of these, you need to go beyond the default settings.

For example, you wouldn’t want to receive a reminder at 2 P.M. when that’s the start time. Instead, a 24-hour notice, along with a 30-minute, would give you more than enough time to prepare for the event. What’s more, you can add notes and even a map so that everything you need is right there in your calendar.

6. Use color-coding for various schedules.

Color-coding is a simple and effective way to quickly view and manage all of these responsibilities you put in your calendar. I’m a fan of the chakra system. The chakra system is where each color aligns with a different energy point. So, since red represents security and safety, you would use it for any work-related task.

7. Schedule the time you actually need.

Scheduling the time your need isn’t about tracking your time. It’s about taking into consideration things like travel time. In other words, if you’re meeting with a client or investor for lunch at noon, and it takes you half an hour to get there, you’ll mark travel time as an event so that you don’t schedule anything else in that block.

8. Implement the Arrow Method.

The Arrow Method was developed by Nicholas Sonnenberg, Co-founder of Leverage, with the goal “to make your weekly calendar look like an arrowhead.” The arrowhead means that you essentially front-load your week with a lot of items on the calendar and then taper “out to a fine point at the end,” he explains on Inc.com.

For example, you could schedule all of your weekly meetings on Monday or Tuesday. Scheduling your Calendar this way leaves some leeway. When Friday rolls around, you don’t have as much in your calendar.

9. Pencil in time to do nothing.

Nothing may sound like a pipe dream — and it is. But, this is a practice that Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, has done for years. The reason? Blocking out 30- to 90-minutes in his calendar allows him to “process what was going on” around him and “just think.”

“At first, these buffers felt like indulgences. I could have been using the time to catch up on meetings I had pushed out or said “no” to,” Weiner wrote in a LinkedIn post. “But over time, I realized not only were these breaks important, but they were also absolutely necessary for me to do my job.”

“Use that buffer time to think big, catch up on the latest industry news, get out from under that pile of unread emails, or just take a walk,” Weiner added. “The buffer is the best investment you can make in yourself and the single most important productivity tool I use.”

10. Plan “themed” days.

How do entrepreneurs like Jack Dorsey manage their jam-packed calendars? They organize their schedules by creating different theme days.

“All my days are themed,” Dorsey told Fast Company. “Monday is management. At Square, we have a directional meeting; at Twitter, we have our opcomm [operating committee] meeting. Tuesday is the product, engineering, and design. Wednesday is marketing, growth, and communications. Thursday is partnership and developers. Friday is a company and culture. It works in 24-hour blocks.”

“On days beginning with T, I start at Twitter in the morning, then go to Square in the afternoon. Sundays are for strategy, and I do a lot of job interviews. Saturday is a day off.”

11. Harness the power of technology.

Thanks to technology, how we use our calendars have become much more efficient. Pretty much every schedule allows you to add and manage calendar entries using your voice. It’s so much more convenient than continually typing this information out.

Additionally, intelligent calendars like Calendar are using artificial intelligence. As a result, it can analyze previous data to make smart suggestions on how to schedule your days. There are also powerful tools that allow you to automate mundane and repetitive tasks.

12. Design a zero-based calendar.

A zero-based calendar is where you schedule everything into your calendar. Scheduling everything sounds excessive. If you account for every second of the day — there aren’t any blank spaces in your calendar. Even if you plan that time to do nothing but think, this prevents other, pointless activities from creeping into that timeframe.

13. Convert to-do-lists into a to-do-schedule.

“A list is designed to be added to, so it can make it hard to feel satisfied if you’re adding as much as your checking off,” Pete Sveen writes on Think Entrepreneurship. “To remedy this, try turning your to-do list into a to-do schedule.”

One way to do this is by writing your to-do’s next to your scheduled appointments. “If I assign an actual time to a task, I am far more likely to actually get that task done,” adds Sveen. Even better, this can encourage you to be “more realistic about how much I can get done in a given time.”

14. Maker’s schedule, manager’s schedule.

The legendary Paul Graham shared this piece of wisdom all the back in 2009. But, it’s still just as valid today.

The gist is this, entrepreneurs should construct two different schedules, or plans, for each day of the week. The first would be a maker’s schedule. The marker is where you would spend either a half or full day on activities like building a product or solving a problem.

The second is the manager’s schedule. This schedule would include time blocks for meetings, marketing, and sales.

“When you use your time that way, it’s merely a practical problem to meet with someone,” wrote Graham. “Find an open slot in your schedule, book them, and you’re done.”

15. Define dedicated hours for the critical things in your life.

This all about setting boundaries. Determine when it’s time to work and to play. Establish “business hours,” as well as when you’re not available. It’s the only way that you’ll achieve a healthy balance between your startup and life outside of your business.

16. Find your ideal view.

If you’re using a calendar app, you have the option to chose between daily, weekly, or monthly views. You can even customize these views by different periods or schedules, such as two-week views or work schedule.

Select the view that you prefer. Personally, I’m a “less is more” type of guy. So, I’ve set my view so that it only lists what’s in my calendar today. If I go beyond that, I tend to get distracted by what I need to get done in the future.

17. Create and share a master calendar.

A master calendar is your go-to since it contains your most important responsibilities at work and in life. That may sound like a cluttered mess. But, you don’t need to fill the calendar with minute entries like brushing your teeth. It should just include the biggies.

The benefit of this is that it prevents any scheduling conflicts since you can consult the calendar before committing to a time request. After creating your master calendar, share it with people like your family and assistant so that they can keep up with your busy schedule.

18. You can have then one calendar.

At the same time, you can still have several different calendars that capture the various aspects of your life. For example, a family calendar doesn’t need to be shared with your team. But, it can help keep your home life organized. You may also want to subscribe to different calendars like a holidays calendar. Working with a remote team overseas, this lets me know when they won’t be available.

You could also have an optional calendar. An optional calendar is where you add events you’re interested in if you have availability. For instance, there’s a networking event this Wednesday night. You didn’t plan on attending because you had a conference call with a client. But, they had to reschedule so now you can attend.

Having this optional calendar ensures that you always have a back-up plan. It may not sound significant. But, it provides a way so that you’re spending your time productively.

19. Get a head start on your year.

“If it doesn’t exist on my calendar, it’s not real,” Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec told Entrepreneur in 2016. That’s sound advice. But, how can you stay on top of your calendar, both personally and professionally, when you’re continually inputting new events and tasks?

“Plan as much as you can a year in advance and stick to it,” he said. For instance, he never missed any of his children’s school events. Not missing the critical events was possible because he met with his assistant and kid’s school counselor every September to go through and coordinate calendars.

20. Review your calendar for this week and next.

“Every Friday, review your calendar and ask yourself how you spent your time during the previous seven days,” suggests Bryan Collins in a piece for Forbes. “Then, look at the coming week and consider how you want to spend your time.”

“Make appointments if you need to and cancel irrelevant meetings if you can,” Bryan continues. “Consider how close the reality of the previous week’s calendar matches up with what you want next week’s calendar to look like.”

“You might lack full control over your working week, but you can probably find weeds you can pull or activities requiring two mornings of focused work instead of one.”

21. Seinfeld’s “don’t break the chain.”

Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity hack to motivate him to write daily has been embraced for years. It was also highlighted in Cal Newport’s Deep Work and the Netflix movie Jerry Before Seinfeld.

It works like this. Get a calendar and place an X on it if he’s accomplished his goal of writing for the day. “After a few days, you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it, and the chain will grow longer every day,” he told software developer Brad Issac. “You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”

22. Plan for interruptions.

No matter how much you plan, interruptions are inevitable. One way around this is to leave some time blocks blank in your schedule so that you can shuffle things around if need be. Another option is to track these distractions so that you can identify when they’re most likely to occur.

23. Pump up the jams.

Music and white noise can help you focus — particularly if there’s distracting background noise when working. The catch is to listen to the right tunes. Ideally, this would be music without lyrics, such as classical music.

If you feel like you’re showcasing your vocal talents — singing while taking a shower is a great way to do this. Singing can boost your immune system, lower cortisol levels, and release endorphins.

24. The “2-minute rule.”

Populated by David Allen, the man behind Getting Things Done, this simply means that if a task takes under two minutes, you should just do it. “Just do it” (just like Nike), prevents you from getting log-jammed with a series of menial tasks. Zipping through a ton of jobs may give you the nudge to get in the zone.

25. Pressure pushing down on me.

You don’t want to stress yourself out too much. It’s not good for your health or productivity to lot yourself with pressure until you crack. Scheduling in self-care is essential for mass-productivity. If you feel like you’re procrastinating, a little pressure can motivate you to buckle down. For example, if you have two hours to complete a task, cut that back to one hour so that you’ll be forced to tackle it right now. It will also help you remain focused.

26. Focus on just-time-learning.

“As an entrepreneur, you have to learn many new things to get a clear understanding of all your business operations and dynamics,” explain the folks over at Week Plan.

“It requires a specific time to get all these critical data, and you have to search for different platforms for it like searching on blogs, watching videos, and more.” To address, try out Just-Time-Learning.

This concept “originated from the manufacturing industry and more specifically by Toyota.” This approach calls for working on a task and only researching when it’s required. The work with no research plan helps “to ensure that you don’t waste your time on unnecessary research. Rather, you’ll focus your efforts only on essential research.”

27. Master the art of delegation and outsourcing.

No surprise here. Learning what and how to delegate and outsource frees up your schedule so that you can spend more time on what really matters.

28. Use site blockers.

When you’re plugged in all day, like so many of us are, you’re bound to get distracted by the endless amount of content online. To counter this, consider installing a website blocker. These are simply tools, such as StayFocused and Freedom, that prevent you from getting distracted by your favorite sites.

29. Ease into your mornings.

How do you wake-up each morning? Many of us hear the alarm and instinctively grab our phones. Next thing you know, you’re wasting mental energy responding to emails. Worse, you may lie in bed for an extended time watching YouTube videos.

For most of us, we’re most productive in the morning. So, instead of getting sucked into your phones, spend time building up your energy for the day by jotting down your goals, exercising, and taking a quick, tepid shower.

30. Closeout tasks.

“Even if a task doesn’t have a deadline (but you need to get it done), tackle it in one or two sessions rather than returning repeatedly,” Andrew Fayad from eLearning Mind told Inc.com. “Jumping tasks and returning to something multiple times requires a repeated mental ramp.”

31. Create and use templates.

Templates are mostly “fill-in-the-blank” documents. You can either create them from scratch or download one online. Whatever you chose, these will save you time since you aren’t always creating calendars, invoices, or email/social media updates.

32. Filter ideas.

“Steve Jobs was known for being somewhat brutal in his approach to management and leadership, intolerant of bad ideas and demanding of his employees — but he got results,” writes Jayson DeMers in a previous Entrepreneur article. “One of his most important productivity hacks was filtering out everything that wasn’t a top-notch idea; on corporate retreats, Jobs was known to collect a list of 100 ideas from his top executives on how Apple could improve in the next year.”

Jobs would immediately cross “out anything he thought was dumb, then kept crossing things out until he had a ‘top 10’ list.” He then whittled these down to three “and used those three as the focus for the company for the next year. Only three percent of ideas were worth spending time on, from his perspective.”

33. Learn keyboard shortcuts.

Whether you’re using Calendar, Google Calendar, Apple, or Outlook, every primary calendar has keyboard shortcuts that allow you to edit and manage your Calendar quickly. Each platform has different shortcuts. You’ll want to learn the shortcuts for your calendar before making the most out of this very productive hack.

34. Stop compromising.

“When we work in teams, especially among co-founding team members, we occasionally compromise to keep things going smoothly,” explains Praveen Chandran on Startup Grind. “We accept tasks without analyzing the ‘why’ and the ‘when?’ Accepting a task or scheduling meetings just because a co-founding team member said so, results in wasted time and effort.”

“Even if a co-founder gives a suggestion, it never hurts to have a discussion on the purpose or the timing of the task in a respectful way,” recommends Chandran. “Such discussions set a nice rhythm with your co-founding team in prioritizing things in the future.”

35. Reserve brainpower.

Ever wonder why entrepreneurs, like Mark Zuckerberg, always wore the same outfits. A part of it was to build their brand. But, it’s also to save time and prevent decision fatigue.

Preparing the night before, like laying out your clothes and packing your lunch, is one way around this. Another tactic is to make decisions on less important matters, like where to order lunch, by going with the first thing that pops in your head.

36. Work from home.

While there are distractions you most overcome when working from home, there are also some perks. The most obvious is that you eliminate the time spent on your daily commute. However, Brittany Hodak from ZinePak tells Business.com that this is “a great opportunity to disengage from the day-to-day tasks at the office and spend time thinking strategically about big-picture opportunities without the regular interruptions that come from working in an office with a larger team. It’s made a huge difference in my productivity.”

37. Upgrade your work environment.

You can try as many hacks as you want. If your workspace isn’t optimized, it’s going to be almost impossible for you to get into a state of flow. Make sure that your space is comfortable and free of clutter. Also, consider factors like the temperature, lighting, and the colors of your walls.

38. Give yourself a break.

You can’t bulldog through all of your calendar entries. Everyone needs frequent breaks throughout the day to clear their heads and unwind. Using the Pomodoro Technique is a popular way to encourage you to take a breather. And, you may also want to think about going on a much-needed vacation if you feel burned out.

39. Come on and get happy.

When you’re in a better mood, you tend to be more productive. One study shows that happy employees are 20 percent more productive than their unhappy colleagues. Ask yourself, “how can you turn that frown upside down?” Surround yourself with more optimistic people — those who watch for opportunities to do something nice for each other. or watch a funny YouTube clip.

40. Stop neglecting your health.

How alert, focused, and energetic do you think you’ll be if you eat like crap, don’t exercise, or hardly get enough sleep? The same is true if you always feel stressed and anxious. Stop putting your mental and physical health on the back burner and start making it a priority today.

41. Turn off electronic notifications.

It’s hard to maintain your attention on something important when it seems like your phone is going to explode. When in deep work, either turn your phone off or silence notification like email, social media, and text message.

42. Batch smartphone notifications.

But, what if there’s an emergency or you’re missing out on something important? Those thoughts are probably running through your head as you try to work. Researchers have found that the solution is batching smartphone notifications three times a day — when you arrive at work, during lunch, and when heading home.

43. Unsubscribe and unfollow.

Go through your social accounts and emails and see which ones no longer serve a purpose. Then, unsubscribe and unfollow them — tools like Unroll.me can do this for you. It’s one of the simplest ways to clean up your feeds and inbox and regain some of your time.

44. Focus on progress, not perfection.

Stop spending time on developing the perfect solution. It doesn’t exist. Besides, the longer you spend on making something different, it will already be obsolete. Do your best and make the appropriate adjustments as you go along.

45. Keep messages short and concise.

Whether if it’s an email, phone call, Slack message, or meeting agenda, don’t waste everyone’s time on lengthy messages. Keep them short and concise so that everyone can move on. You can go into more detail either at another time or through a different medium like a Word document.

46. Stop being passive.

You just sent an email to your partner asking if they can meet for lunch next week. You don’t hear back from them after a couple of days. Even though you don’t want to be a nag, you can’t sit there and wait for them to respond. Reach out again so that you don’t leave this slot open.

Remember, your time is your most valuable resource. You need to protect it so that there aren’t too many white spaces in your calendar.

47. Don’t use complicated project trackers.

Over the years, I’ve tried several different tools that tracked the progress my team was making on a project. Some of these were so complex and detailed that I spent more time inputting data than actually working on my part of the project. Sometimes all you need is a notepad or spreadsheet to keep tabs on what you and your team are working on.

48. Rethink your approach to meetings.

While essential, meetings are one of the biggest time wasters within your organization. Before scheduling a meeting, ask if the session is necessary. You may find that an alternative, like email, collaboration apps, online chats, or Wikis, is more effective.

If a meeting is needed, only invite key stakeholders and keep it as short as possible — 20 to 45 minutes should suffice. Don’t forget to prepare and send an agenda in advance so that invitees can prepare. And, don’t let participants get distracted. Ask them to their phones at their desks and only discuss the topics that are on the agenda.

49. Raise the bar.

Set an example for your team by continuing to seek opportunities for growth and development. Work with coaches and mentors. And, encourage habits like being respectful of other people’s time off — this means not contacting them at all hours of the night. Keeping office hours lets your team know that this is a culture where time management is encouraged.

50. Build your village.

If you’re at least somewhat familiar with Batman, then you know that he prides himself on being a loner. However, there are times when he needs the assistance of Alfred, Robin, Commissioner Gordon, and the Justice League. In other words, Mr. Wayne has a team around him when needed.

For you to get everything done and maintain your sanity, you also need to surround yourself with your allies. Your allies mean everyone from partners and employees who will pick up the slack when needed, as well as those outsides of work that you can depend on, such as cleaners, babysitters, accountants, attorneys, etc. It’s much easier to have these people in your circle, as opposed to frantically finding them when needed.

How to Schedule Your Day for Optimal Productivity

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Schedule

Introduction

We all have the same twenty-four hours each day. So why do successful people get so much done in their twenty-four hours while others struggle to accomplish the tasks on a basic to-do list?

One answer is time management. Many people have trouble using their time efficiently throughout the day. But if that’s you, don’t worry. By using productivity tips and creating and sticking to an efficient daily schedule, you can do more and do better every single day.

Why Scheduling Your Day is Important

How to Schedule Your Day

Types of Scheduling Techniques

Why Scheduling Your Day is Important

Time is a finite resource for all of us. Leaving your limited number of days and hours up to chance is not responsible resource management. Instead, use a schedule and reap the rewards:

  • Reduce Wasted Time: Unless you’re putting “Spend 2 hours on Social Media and Video games” on your daily schedule, then using your schedule keeps you from wasting time on things that aren’t on the agenda.
  • Increase Happiness: Even science agrees. Following a schedule makes you happier!
  • Improve Productivity: You get more done when you follow a schedule.
  • Reduce Stress: Scheduling creates more certainty which reduces stress–and that improves health. Win-win!
  • Facilitate Collaboration: Anytime you’re working with a team, a schedule keeps you all on the same page in the same place at the same time.

How to Schedule Your Day

It’s clear that scheduling your day is valuable. However, you can’t just throw stuff onto your Cute Kittens calendar and hope for a productive life.

Instead, you need a strategy so you can schedule for productivity and get the important work done efficiently. Here are some guiding principles to help you use a schedule for efficient days.

1)    Define Your Why

Let’s face it. Not everything we do in a day is fun. There are definitely tasks we simply don’t want to do. We can rely on grit and determination to power through, but that can sap energy. Instead, find internal motivation by defining your why.

Everyone’s why is different, but it’s the meaning and purpose behind everything we do. This concept was popularized by Simon Sinek in his book Start With Why. Sinek demonstrates that “why” can truly motivate individuals and businesses to reach their goals.

Your why should be bigger than “Because I have to,” or “Because someone told me to.” For an individual, there why might be to provide a safe and happy life for their children. For businesses, a why might look more like, “To help people succeed.”

Then, everything you do as a person or as a company should be in service to that why.

2)    Set Priorities

There are literally millions of ways you could spend each day. And you can’t do everything. Without priorities, you may find yourself spending time on tasks that don’t get you anywhere. And if you’re a team leader or manager, you want to set priorities for your team so they know what’s important, too.

So you have to figure out what you really need to get done in order to achieve your goals in service to your why.  First, write down everything you can think of. Then eliminate anything not related to your why. Then put your priorities in order of importance.

Having a direction to go in is just as important as going. A journey without a destination might be interesting, but without a destination in mind, who knows where you’ll end up.

3)    Estimate How Long A Task Will Take

Once you’ve figured out what you need to do, figure out how long it will take. And we’re not talking about how long it will take in fantasy land. You need to know how long it really takes you to do the thing.

One of the most common scheduling mistakes people make is not correctly estimating how long a task or project will take. “If you over-or-underestimate on how long this will actually take, you’re more likely to throw your entire schedule off. Even worse, you may miss a deadline or waste valuable time for you and key stakeholders like employees and customers.”

So, you need to get real with yourself and encourage your team to do the same. Take a week or two and track your time. How long does it take you to write 1,000 words or answer emails? Then, you can plan your schedule realistically, improving your chances of success.

4)    Work Smarter, Not Harder

Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Work Week is onto something. In the age of hustle, sometimes we feel like we have to go go go all the time. But what if we used our time in such a way that allowed us to work less? Then we’d be onto something, too.

Ferriss advocates a work smarter strategy using systems that make it “impossible to misbehave.” Then he doesn’t have to rely on the finite resource of willpower. So, establishing productive systems is a key step for Ferriss.

Other ways to work smarter involve identifying your most productive times of the day and then scheduling key tasks for that time period. For many of us, energy levels are highest in the morning. However, if you’re a true night owl, feel free to take advantage of that time to get things done.

You also need to be strategic. Yes, there are many ways to reach your goal. When choosing which path to take, factor in the risk-benefit of what you’re doing. You could cold call 100 people and get one yes. Or you could cold call the right ten people for the same benefit.

Types of Scheduling Techniques

There’s no one size fits all solution to creating the most productive schedule. But these scheduling techniques can help you along your path.

1)    Create a Productive Morning Routine

Start your day off right with a morning routine that reinforces productivity.

According to Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning, “How you wake up each day and your morning routine (or lack thereof) dramatically affects your levels of success in every single area of your life. Focused, productive, successful mornings generate focused, productive, successful days.”

Elrond turned his life around by waking at 5 in the morning to spend time in silence, meditating, reading, and exercising. This set the tone for his days and he was able to pull himself out from under crushing debt and achieve new levels of success.

Your perfect morning might look different than Elrond’s, but it makes sense to set aside time early each day to determine the course of the rest of the day.

2)    Avoid Task Switching

Multi-tasking may seem efficient. After all, you’re getting more done at once, right? Wrong. In fact, although you’re doing more at once, you aren’t truly getting more done. You’re getting less done.

In fact, the true cost of multi-tasking can be up to 40% of your productivity. Each time you move between tasks, it takes your brain time to switch. Additionally, people are more prone to mistakes when task switching. And the more complex the task, the bigger the losses.

So, it makes sense to do only one thing at a time. This allows you to truly focus on what you are doing. Then you can do it more efficiently.

When you’re scheduling your day, avoid task switching if possible. Give yourself enough time to complete tasks at one go. Oh, and when you’re doing it? Don’t check your email.

3)    Batch Tasks & Block Scheduling

We’ve seen how task switching can impact productivity. However, we all have more than one thing to do in a day. So you can minimize the effect of the task switching by batching tasks and using block scheduling.

You can define “like tasks” in many ways. But the key is that the tasks should have a unifying feature that makes them more efficient when done together. Think about running errands. It makes more sense to go everywhere in a certain geographic location.

Similarly, you can batch tasks in terms of the mindset required to do them. For example, administrative tasks take one kind of mindset, but creative tasks like writing a blog post or debugging code require something entirely different. But grouping tasks by mindset, you can reduce the impact of totally switching gears.

Elon Musk famously uses task batching to make sure he gets everything done for his business and still spend time with his family. Task batching is the process of scheduling like tasks together so you can do them more efficiently.

4)    Expect the Unexpected

You can’t predict the future, but you can be pretty sure that something unexpected will happen at some point. You don’t know what it is or when it’s coming, but it’s out there. And a productive schedule will take that into account.

It’s probably happened to you. You identified your why and created your priorities and tasks. You scheduled the key tasks into your most productive time. You were a productivity rock star.

Then suddenly, an emergency comes up. You push everything to the side to address this urgent task. Your efficient schedule dies a painful death.

It doesn’t have to be an urgent project, either. It could be a sick kid keeping a team member home. It could be a weather emergency keeping everyone home. It could be unexpected server downtime slowing everyone’s pace. The little things can kill productivity just as effectively as the big things. And frankly, they are more common.

Just like it’s smart money management to have an emergency savings fund, you should also have an emergency time fund. Of course, you can’t stockpile time, but you can build a time cushion into your schedule. That way when the unexpected comes up, you’re ready.

5)    Leverage Technology

Technology is really good at scheduling. After all, on a basic level, a schedule is just a spreadsheet. But scheduling technology can go way beyond a simple grid.

Tools like Google calendar help you schedule recurring tasks, color code tasks, set reminders, and even share calendars among teams. All of these increase the efficiency of your schedule. Plus they keep you from forgetting that client meeting.

However, you can also do so much more. Use an iPhone app to access your calendar on the go. Eliminate the back and forth phone calls and emails to schedule meetings by allowing others to schedule meetings right in your calendar.

The possibilities are endless!

6)    Paper Planners, Bullet Journals, & To-Do Lists

As good as technology is at upping your scheduling game, don’t discount the value of paper in this digital world.  Paper planners, bullet journals, to-do lists and other analog tools can be just as useful.

In fact, planner industry leader Erin Condren’s Lifeplanner received the Good Housekeeping seal of approval as a productivity tool. And notebook systems like Ryder XXX Bullet Journal are also trending as productivity tools.

Of course, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned to-do list for keeping individuals on track. Writing things down saves you the trouble of remembering them. And the reward of crossing things off your list can be highly motivational.

7)    Eat the Frog

According to Mark Twain, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

Using this logic, one scheduling method is to put the most difficult, most important tasks first. And if you have more than one such task, you should do the harder one before the easier ones.

To use this method, you must be able to identify your key priority for the day. Ultimately, priority should be singular, since we can’t do two things at once. (See Task Switching!)

The more difficult tasks are often the most prone to procrastination. After all, most of us really don’t want to eat a frog. So doing them first thing in the morning keeps you from pushing them off all day. Plus once they’re done, you have the free time to do more fun tasks.

8)    Evaluate and Pivot

Scheduling for productivity can be a moving target. And you may have a perfect schedule but So take time to assess the results of your efforts. Are you and your team being truly productive people?

Here are some key questions to ask yourself and your team to evaluate the effectiveness of your schedule:

  • Are you meeting deadlines?
  • Were time estimates correct?
  • Did unforeseen issues interfere with timelines?
  • Did you feel under the pressure of the clock?
  • Did our meeting schedule work?

Once you’ve gathered your data, you can make informed decisions about where to go from here. Missed deadlines may indicate poor time budgeting, a problem that is easily solved in the next month, sprint, or quarter. Extraneous meetings can be eliminated. More padding can be added to accommodate unforeseen issues.

Conclusion

There are so many tricks and tools for creative productive schedules that really work in the workplace and at home. If you aren’t giving them a try, you may be throwing money out the window. And we can’t think of anything less productive than that!

What are your best productivity tips and routines?

3 Things to Keep in Mind When Setting Holiday Hours

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3 Things to Keep in Mind When Setting Holiday Hours

 As I visit different stores to do my Christmas shopping, I always wonder how different companies decide when they will be open during the holidays. 

I see some stores and companies shut down for a few days, or even a couple weeks as the year comes to a close. Others seem not to skip a beat and remain open all the way through Christmas and the New Year. 

Setting holiday hours is a matter of balancing competing needs: On one hand, it’s important to respect employees’ need for work-life balance. On the other, don’t you want to maximize the time your customers can spend in store?

So what should your holiday hours be? That’s up to you; make the call with these considerations in mind:

1. Holiday rushes happen.

Although you should set regular hours for most of the year, your holiday schedule needn’t be set in stone. Sometimes it’s best to be flexible on certain weeknights or over the weekend to take advantage of big shopping rushes. 

A business that chooses to stay open for even 30 more minutes on a few nights during the Christmas season stands to benefit when competitors are closed. Earn enough, and you might be able to give everyone a few extra days off. 

2. Your customers have similar shopping habits.

Of course, you still want to predict busy periods when you can. Don’t just sit around and try out different things: Talk to your customers.

You sell one set of products to similar audiences: Chances are, those customers have similar shopping habits. When do they want to shop? What products should you be sure are stocked during those periods?

Ask, too, about incentives. Is there anything else you could use to draw them in? Are there certain deals your competitors are offering?

3. Your staff has holiday plans.

It’s a busy time for everyone during the holidays. Family members come in to town, there are plenty of activities for kids, and travel is common during the week between Christmas and New Years.

One way to honor your staff’s holiday plans without losing out on sales? Build your holiday schedule around the hours that your team is most motivated and productive. Morning hours might be a smart bet, when most people’s energy levels are higher. 

What if you run a restaurant or other service that people tend to visit at night? In that case, you stay open only at night. You’ll keep your servers and bartenders busy, giving them ample opportunities to collect more tips from generous customers.

Making the Call

As 2020 approaches, it’s natural to want to celebrate. But before closing up shop, remember that you’ve got visitors who are checking their list twice and thinking of you. 

Staying flexible with your hours to accommodate shoppers is a powerful way to boost your bottom line. It can make you a bigger name in your community, put some extra cash in your staff’s pocket, and ensure everyone gets the gifts they want. 

So what should your holiday hours be? Again, there’s no one-size-fits-all schedule. Be flexible, check with your team, and ask your customers. Soon enough, the answer will present itself.

How to Take Time Off Without Inconveniencing Your Team

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old-fashioned alarm clock sitting on desk.

Everyone needs a break from work sometimes. Time away improves team morale, de-stresses the mind, and boosts productivity

If you aren’t planning appropriately or considering your team, though, your relaxing getaway may turn sour when returning to the workplace. No one wants to work with a team member who unapologetically prioritizes his or her time over everyone else’s.

Here’s how to take the time off you need without making life hard for those around you:

1. Work ahead.

The most important step to making sure your colleagues aren’t adversely affected by your time away is simple: get ahead of your work. Don’t just complete your pre-vacation projects; get a jump on those you know will be happening while you’re out. 

There is no way to avoid some future work pileup, but you can prepare for it. Write down all your outstanding deliverables and deadlines before you leave so you don’t feel swamped when you return. Delegate smaller tasks that others can handle in your absence. For unknowns that may come up, designate someone to make decisions in your absence. 

2. Avoid overlap.

When other members of your team are out of the office, it might be best to postpone your vacation. Treat busy periods the same way: You don’t want to be the person who takes off when everyone else is swamped with work.

Respect your team’s time so they can respect yours. It’s hard to expect a co-worker to adjust his or her schedule for your vacation when you won’t do the same. A great workplace environment is built by team members who have each other’s backs.

When in doubt, consult your company’s online calendar. Encourage co-workers to place major projects and upcoming vacations on it for all to see. 

3. Keep in touch.

Unless you will be going somewhere on your vacation with no Wi-Fi or cell service, stay in touch. You never know when there might be an emergency at work. Because of this, make sure you are never “off the grid” for too long.

You don’t need to be glued to your phone — it is time off, after all — but being part of a team means being accessible. If you use collaboration software, such as Slack or Basecamp, to stay in touch with a remote team, make sure you also announce your break there. Email clients, even those that are not responsive, with the dates you’ll be out. Don’t leave anywhere unchecked.

Finally, before you leave, set up an email auto-responder. That way, people who email you expecting a fast reply aren’t caught off guard when you do not respond for a week. This is especially important if you’re in a customer-facing or sales role. 

4. Use time off wisely.

Vacation time is a tool to use when needed and not too often. Make sure you are utilizing your time away by resting, clearing your head of stresses that may have piled up, and satisfying any other needs you may have. 

You aren’t doing anyone any favors if you come back exhausted from working while away or overextending yourself. Remember, your other team members may need a break just as much as you do.

Even if you’re taking time off for a not-so-fun reason, such as a family member’s death, make time for mindfulness. A meta-study published in the Journal of American Medicine found meditation to be an effective tactic for easing anxiety and reducing stress.

Time off is a gift. Use it sparingly, prepare well, and make sure you get the relaxation you deserve. Your team members want you to take care of yourself, but they don’t want to be left behind in the process. Keep them in mind, and they’ll extend the same courtesy to you when it’s their time to take a break. 

Will a Four-Day Work Week Produce Greater Productivity?

By | Scheduling, Time Management | No Comments
work computer on desk

Companies continue to tout the importance of work-life balance for their talent. They acknowledge that workers need rest and relaxation. However, wanting to create this balance and actually achieving it are two very different things. That’s because the process for striking this ideal balance with available time has proved elusive. However, Microsoft Japan may have finally discovered the formula for greater productivity and a work-life balance that works for their team. Their answer is the four-day workweek. The result of everyone working four days with three days off equates to a 40 percent increase in overall productivity, according to the company’s research.

The idea that everyone in the company would take three days off may not seem like the pathway to higher productivity. After all, essentially shutting down operations for three days doesn’t sound like much can be achieved. Also, while the shorter workweek may help one, it may not produce the same everywhere. Nor may it result in productivity gains across all companies in the U.S.

What Works with a Shorter Week

Employees enjoy a shorter workweek for the same pay. That’s because today’s workforce feels overworked. Many talented individuals are working upwards of 70 to 80 hours a week. This intensive work schedule can be done in the short run. At some point, workers that pound out this many hours experience burnout. As time goes by, they may still be working 70 to 80 hours. Yet, what they produce at that time diminishes. In the meantime, the rest of their responsibilities outside of work get neglected, including their health, family, and friends.

Now, take those talented individuals and give them four days to get their work done and three days to rest and enjoy their lives. They will love the exciting work they do and are satisfied with their wages. These workers will have the time to reflect on the work they are doing. They will also be able to divide their time across other interesting pastimes. The shorter week works because employees now have the best of both worlds.

Therefore, a four-day workweek calibrates a work-life balance and increases productivity. Workers realize they have four days to get everything done. That leads them to look at how they are working and identify smarter processes that help complete tasks within a shorter timeframe.

Sounds Good, But Can it Be Done?

Despite the enthusiasm for a shorter work week and the proof that it simultaneously results in work-life balance and productivity, there are barriers to implementing it. Companies cannot make the switch to a four-day workweek overnight. That’s because it’s more than switching physical schedules. Mindsets must also change.

Beyond the hours, companies have become accustomed to technology that has made their workers always accessible no matter what the time of week or day. Even if workdays decrease, it won’t make a real difference to these employees until there is a mindset shift away from the idea that managers can still contact them on these three days off about work-related tasks or questions. If this continues, then workers will continue to feel they lack control over separating work from life. As a result, the talent will continue to feel stressed and eventually burned out.

And, it’s for this reason that some employees have noted in surveys that they don’t think a four-day workweek will help them. They cited the requirement to stay in the office or on-call longer during those four days. In doing so, these workers are then unable to take care of things outside of work on those four days and instead must cram them into the three days.

Control and Change Mechanisms

The conclusion is that the issue for employees relates to control. They want to have that sense that they have control over their work schedule so they can develop their own version of work-life balance.

With control as the central factor impacting whether a different work-day schedule can be implemented across U.S. companies, the right approach might involve discussions within individual companies to understand what works for employees.

The answer could result in a range of remote work schedules and options. Ideas for how to reduce meetings and other time-consuming tasks may also help develop a shorter, more productive week. Better preparation, brief meeting times, and set agendas can help reduce the amount of time wasted during meetings. Making these physical changes may then help managers start to change their mindset, moving away from the idea of “always-on” and back to the respect for boundaries between employees’ work and life personas.

Hybrid Four-Day Work Weeks

While the four-day workweek can be implemented in a wide range of industries and business segments, some like hospitals, factories, retail locations, and call centers may find that the four-day week can’t work. These types of companies focus on helping people who need help seven days a week.

In these situations, the four-day workweek would help productivity and work-life balance. However, those benefits wouldn’t count if these companies lose all their customers. Yet, a hybrid workweek could make workers available for seven days a week. At the same time, the workers could have ample time to relax, reflect, and recharge. In this case, rotating four-day workweek schedules across the team could help tap into the benefits of the shorter week. Plus, these companies can still assist customers on a 24/7/365 schedule.

4 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Sales Schedule

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4 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Sales Schedule

Sales is a juggling act of meetings, demonstrations, paperwork, cold calls, and emails. The more balls you can keep in the air, the more revenue you’ll pull in — and the larger your commission checks will be.

Like it or not, though, you can’t work leads around the clock. Instead, improve your efficiency with the following tips:

1. Single-task wisely.

Although multitasking creates more problems than it solves, that doesn’t mean you can’t make more of your time.

Start by applying the 80/20 rule: Identify the 20% of your activities that account for 80% of your desired results. For example, you might focus on landing five larger clients that are worth 50 smaller ones because it’s easier to get five people to say “yes” than 50.

Arrive at the office knowing which are your “20%” projects for the day. If you commute by train, subway, or some other means that doesn’t require you to keep your attention on the road, use that time to comb through your task list. 

2. Batch your work.

Instead of doing tasks in the order that they pop up, organize them by type and tackle them in batches. Batching increases your efficiency by minimizing how frequently your brain needs to change gears.

Writing creative sales emails and updating your sales CRM take very different thought processes, for instance. Jumping back and forth between them forces you to be creative one moment and analytical the next. It’s much easier on your mind to shift gears only once. 

3. Own your calendar.

Stay in control of your calendar, or it will control you. Rather than let leads and co-workers choose any slot in your schedule, block off office hours when you are free to talk.

Go ahead and schedule your entire day. Include not just work priorities, but also personal ones like lunches with friends and doctor’s appointments. That way, neither you nor your boss needs to ask what you’re supposed to be doing.

Remember, too, that today’s calendars can do more than just organize meetings. Choose an online calendar that doubles as a project management tool. Sharing key deadlines and priorities with your team allows everyone to work more efficiently. 

4. Improve the way you email.

Email isn’t new, but there are new email tools to boost your efficiency. Boomerang, a Google Chrome plugin, lets you schedule emails in advance so you can make sure your emails get to their recipients at the most effective times. Rather than push out sales emails on Friday at 4 p.m., you could schedule them to be delivered Monday morning instead. 

Get in the habit of creating scripted email templates, especially for cold pitching and answering frequently asked questions. As long as you remember to customize the greeting and other details, they shouldn’t sound like canned responses. Double-check autofill fields so you don’t accidentally send Client X something that refers to Client Y.

No matter how busy your sales schedule is, you can always squeeze another task into it. Use technology and workflow optimization to get more done, and your sales quota won’t stand a chance.

How Time Away from Work Increases Productivity

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Many people feel you need to be a workaholic if you are going to be a success. That is not necessarily true. Of course, hard work often goes hand in hand with success and meeting our goals. But that doesn’t mean we need to kill ourselves doing it. Often when we work hard, to the point of keeling over, it’s as if we have something to prove either to ourselves or everyone else around us. It’s like we are saying, “Yes, I really can do it all.” But after a while it begins to take a toll on us. Working constantly with no break doesn’t make us more productive. In fact, time away from work actually increases productivity.

Do More in Less Time

Lack of sleep, fatigue, and stress all have effects on us. They cause a drain on our energy levels and make problem solving much more difficult. It’s hard to stay on task when we are running out of mental fuel. When rested, everything we do can be done in less time. That allows us to do more in a shorter time span.

Prevents Burn Out

Time away from work increases productivity by preventing burn out.  Vacations, morning and afternoon breaks, and lunch periods are all opportunities to shut our minds off. Allowing ourselves to disconnect gives our brains a chance to rest. Think of it like plugging in a cell phone to recharge either at night or during the day. It isn’t going to continue running if we don’t charge it up now and again.

Boosts Creativity

Many people get in a slump in the middle of the afternoon. That is the perfect time to take a fast paced, 5 to 10 minute walk. Cardio activity can actually boost our productivity for up to about two hours after exercise. This allows us to do what we do best but faster. Not only that, but it can spur our creativity and problem solving abilities as well. When we get up, even for a little while, it gets us moving and makes our heart start pumping. This increases our blood flow to every part of our bodies, including our brains. We see things differently. As we form new perspectives on issue or problems we become more innovative and creative at solving them.

Learn More

Grade school aged children get recess time at school. As it turns out, there may be a good reason for that. There is a big benefit to giving ourselves some recess time in a similar way. Once we get up and away from everything even for a little while we can come back to work and direct our focus on learning new tasks or taking on different problems.

Get Sick Less

There are health benefits to taking time away from work. Many people need fewer sick days when they are less stressed. Less stress equals better health equals greater productivity. Obviously working hard is a key part of being successful. But time away from work increases productivity too. To be the best we can, therefore, we should all take breaks periodically and work hard the rest of the time. Do you regularly take time away from work?
Originally published here.

How You Can Lead More Attentive Meetings

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Have you ever sat in a meeting and played around on your phone the whole time? If you answered no then you’re probably lying. The reason why you were on your phone is probably because whomever was leading the meeting wasn’t able to keep your attention. So how can we lead more attentive meetings? While there’s no single solution there are definitely strategies that you can take to capture the attention of those in attendance.

Here’s how you can lead more attentive meetings at work, life, or anywhere.

Define a Purpose

When calling a meeting you need to define a clear and definite purpose. Typically when we call a meeting we feel we’re being proactive and productive. The problem is some individuals call meetings for that reason only. If you don’t have a clear defined purpose for the meeting it’s probably not even worth gathering. One strategy is to write it down on paper first. Once you’ve gathered your thoughts try to create a few action items from your topics. If there’s isn’t much to execute on and or you don’t think it was worth writing down then you should rethink the meeting altogether. The biggest issue with keeping attention is that you don’t have many chances. If your team associates your meetings a lack of purpose then you’ll lose their attention before they’ve arrived.

Respect Everyone’s Time

One of the best ways to lose focus and worst of all respect from your team is to be constantly late for meetings. When you call a meeting you need to be absolutely sure you are there at least 10 minutes early. Yes of course things come up and we are late from time to time. But the old “I’m sorry I’m late something came up” or “my last meeting ran over a few minutes late” can only be used so many times. If your meetings are constantly running late then that shows your team a bit about your time management skills. Another reason why you want to be early is because you should be the one kicking off the meeting. If you stumble into a meeting room with the team already chatting about various topics you’ll have a hard time gathering the focus back onto you.

Phones Where You Can See Them

No matter what someone says about their phone it will always serve as an immediate distraction if buzzed. If their phone is in their pocket and they receive a call or text it’s almost guaranteed that person will at least look at their phone. Even if they don’t answer it still serves as a distraction to not only them but the rest of the group as well. I suggest having every member in attendance silence their cell phone and put it in the middle of the table turned face down. This way you can ensure that everyone’s attention will remain on you and they won’t get distracted by calls, texts, or even worse social media notifications.

Define Rules

One of the golden rules of focus and productivity is organization. If you’re concise and organized most things will fall into place. As you send out meeting agenda’s or hold meetings with new teams or groups make sure your rules are clear and written down. A disciplined group is a focused one. As long as your rules are respectable and concise I’m sure your team will have no problem following them.

Final Thoughts

Leading meetings is tough. When half the group isn’t paying attention it’s really tough not to mention a bit demoralizing. That said you should follow the tips above so you can lead more attentive meetings and a more disciplined team!  
Originally published here.

6 Tips for Successful Calendar Sharing

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Busy companies that employ large groups of people have their challenges. That’s probably why many of them are moving toward shared calendars among their staff. Sharing calendars affords plenty of advantages that make it desirable. For instance, you can more easily oversee staff, prepare for meetings, and manage your day. However, to be effective in a business setting there are 6 tips for successful calendar sharing you should use.

1. Block Time for Your Own Work

One of the first tips for successful calendar sharing is to block time for your own work. Of course, depending on the business this may not be needed. Then again, in a very hectic, meeting packed business environment it may be necessary. In fact, it could be the only way to ensure your own important projects get completed.

2. Stay Up To Date

Remaining current with your own scheduled events is important to successful calendar sharing. If you do not create an event in a shared calendar you run the risk of double scheduling something. For example, the best time to schedule another group meeting is at the end of the meeting you’re at. But if you don’t have your calendar up to date it will frustrate and disrespect others who do. Also, whenever possible, preschedule meetings and appointments that are recurring. This is an additional way to prevent scheduling something else over the top of routine meetings.

3. Eliminate General Entries

Successful calendar sharing is easier when you think about what other people in your workgroup will see. Using general entries such as “Appointment” should be avoided. From that entry it’s unclear whether it’s a personal appointment or a business appointment someone else made with you.

4. Let Others Know Your Scheduling Preferences

If you generally follow the same daily routine the odds are high that close colleagues have noticed. Be that as it may, it’s possible that they don’t know your scheduling preferences. Obviously some shared calendar apps allow certain preferences, such as time slots, to be preset. Nevertheless, if yours does not you might need to let others in your workgroup know your scheduling preferences.

5. Keep Private What Should Be Private

Certainly privacy could be an issue for successful calendar sharing. But many people merge work and personal calendars without issue. It’s commonplace for calendars to have settings that let you make some entries private and others shared. This can prevent co-workers from seeing personal information they do not need to know. However, not all calendars have the same capabilities. Therefore, you can permit everyone to see personal appointments, make entries vague, or not put them on work calendars.

6. Create Gaps Between Events

Most people dislike back to back meetings, but at times they are necessary. Whenever possible, though, try to create at least a small gap between events. As an example, if your workgroup is conducting hiring interviews, try to allow 15 minutes between them. This way if you run over on time you will still stay on track. It also allows others in your interview team to grab a quick drink, use the restroom, or make a call. Of course, effective and efficient business management is important to your career success. For the best shot at successful calendar sharing, try using these tips.
Originally published here.
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