Tried, Tested And True Timely Tasks

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” ~Robert Burns

No matter how well you schedule your day, we all have those days that our plans get disrupted and we have to rearrange how we spend our time. Your child gets sick and has to come home from school or a task takes much longer than expected due to technical difficulties. As solopreneurs we enjoy such things as the freedom to be there for family when needed without having to ask for permission but at the same time we don’t have someone to step in for us when life happens. So what can we do when time is in short supply?

An hour doesn’t seem like much and if we let it will get wasted away on some mindless task. Remember Parkinson’s Law? “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” If you really want to accomplish something in a small amount of time, you need to have what I call ‘focused time’. It is amazing what you can accomplish and feel really good about with just an hour of focused time.

In an ongoing effort to make better use of my own time, I would like to share with you my personally tested and proven list of tasks that can be accomplished when an hour is all you’ve got:

*50 emails in 50 minutes

Start by sorting your messages by ‘From’ name. (In Outlook click on the word ‘From’ and your messages will sort alphabetically). You can quickly scan thru and manage the least important 50 messages that only require a short response or a quick read. Or use the hour to reply to at least five priority emails with full responses.

*A dozen article ideas in an hour

Do you struggle with what to write about in your ezine or on your blog? Develop a pool of resources by taking an hour to brainstorm. Take 5 minutes to write each title and related points.

*One article written in one hour

Grab an article title from your ideas file and start writing. Within an hour you will have a completed piece.

*6 article submissions in 60 minutes

Assuming you have your articles written and article submission accounts set up, you can submit at least one of your articles to 6 article directories in an hour.

*One information product assembled in one hour

If you write on a regular basis or even have a list of FAQ’s, you have content to create an information product to give away or sell. Gather your content, organize by category and piece your product (free giveaway, e-report, e-course, e-book) together.

*60 minutes of Social Networking

Maintain your online presence. Make a relevant post and respond to any comments. Accept or decline friend requests.

*One hour of learning

Did you know that the average person can read about 60 pages in 60 minutes? Take an hour to read one chapter in a business book and gain some valuable knowledge. Teleclasses are typically an hour in length. Did you miss the last teleclass you signed up for? Take the time now to listen to the recording and make a few notes.

*One weekly schedule created in one hour

I plan in advance for my week ahead by blocking off chunks of time each day dedicated to specific to do’s. Make this as detailed as you can and you will find you only have to tweak it slightly to accommodate for changes throughout the week.

Having completed the task reminds you that it’s possible to achieve something significant in one hour and you can do it again and again. Just remember ‘focused time’ means you are doing nothing else during your hour. Not answering your phone or responding to new emails coming in. This strategy works well on your Business Development days too. For best results commit to one day or one half-day a week and try one-hour blocks of time.

Perception Is Everything When It Comes To Time Management

Why is it that when we have to complete something in record time we are able to, however, when we have one week to complete the same assignment, it takes us a full 7 days? I came across an article lately discussing time management with a reference to Parkinson’s Law and our perception of time. Parkinson’s Law is defined as follows: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Interesting concept.

Time constraints are motivators that work for me both personally and professionally. Think about it and you can probably come up with a couple of instances where you were under the gun and performed brilliantly. With deeper concentration you can attain the same results or better in a shorter period of time. Try it:

• Block out some non-interrupted time to work on something. You can identify your most important tasks of the day and pick one or begin work on a long term goal.
• Make the goal achievable but challenging and schedule it into your calendar.
• You may need to set a timer to help you focus.
• Turn off distractions such as email and phone. One interruption can mean up to 20 minutes to get back to what you were doing.
• Aim for completion of the goal, not perfection.

Note: Never struggle with anything for more than 15 minutes. Take a break and come back to it with a clear mind.

By focusing all your energy on achieving the task at hand, you increase your chances of completing it. Single-tasking means you will be more focused, make fewer errors and achieve better results.

Do you have a larger goal you need to achieve? Break up your goal into smaller portions. For example, think how much closer to completion you will be if you write 5 pages of your ebook every day. As Henry Ford once said: “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.”

Make the time you spend working as effective as possible.