Here's how to increase your productivity so you finally have more time than tasks...
Most entrepreneurs are in a permanent state of stress and overwhelm trying to keep on top of their ever expanding to-do list.
Here’s a great approach for taming any to-do list that immediately gets rid of stress and overwhelm...
You need a simple system that minimises multitasking by organising your tasks such that you are always working on the most important one.
If you are like most people you will probably be thinking:
“Ok, great... but how do I do that?”
I asked myself that same question in 2006 when my solopreneur business consultancy company quickly grew to 10 staff working on two high-value contracts for the British government.
My world changed virtually overnight as I went from only being concerned with delivering my services as a business architect/analyst to also handling all the additional administrative tasks associated with managing staff and keeping two demanding customers happy 😞
I was in danger of sinking under this additional workload, so I had to do something fast. I had an idea to adapt a productivity method that was quickly gaining traction in the Business Change/Improvement industry my business operates in.
My idea worked like a charm. After a couple of weeks of trial and error I’d developed a simple system that worked so well I’ve used it ever since!
I outline my system in my book (Time For Everything), but I’ll give you a 30,000 foot view here...
The system consists of 4 simple steps:
- Task dump
- Task estimation.
- Task organisation.
- Task management.
Step 1: Task dump
A simple method to get stuff out of your head and off your various to-do lists so they are out in the open for you to analyse, organise and prioritise.It’s important you do this to free-up valuable brain space and processing power, which will in-turn immediately remove stress and overwhelm.
Step 2: Task estimation
A simple method to quickly estimate how long each task will take to complete so you know where best to fit it into your schedule.It’s important you do this to avoid causing stress by starting a task when you don’t have enough time to finish it (aka open loops).
IMPORTANT: Your brain hates open loops because of the processing power it takes to keep track of them.
Step 3: Task organisation
A simple system to store every task on your plate.It’s important you have such a system in place because the world is a busy and chaotic place which constantly generates new tasks to add to your workload.
Without a system to store these tasks stress and overwhelm is guaranteed!
Step 4: Task management
A simple system to limit how much work you have ‘on the go’ at any one time and to focus on completing tasks in priority order.Without such a system you will very quickly revert to an out of control to-do list and all the stress and overwhelm that accompanies it!
Here’s what to do next…
If you found the above overview helpful, check out my book (Time For Everything). It’s all about the personal productivity system I have used to manage my small business consultancy company since 2006.It lays out exactly what to do in great detail and you can get it by clicking HERE
Here are some things you will learn...
- How to utilise brain science to get more done and enjoy doing it… page 3
- Why multitasking reduces productivity… page 3
- The one productivity hack you should do before anything else to immediately get rid of stress and overwhelm… page 6
- How to use an innate human skill that has been dialled-in over 1000s of years to immediately get control of your workload… page 6
- A simple bullet-proof method to quickly estimate how long any task will take you… page 11
- Why you shouldn’t use a to-do list and what you should use instead… page 13
- Why flow is key to increasing productivity and how to get into it… page 18
- Why it’s important to ‘celebrate’ every task you complete… page 20