Productivity

The Power of 5 More Minutes

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Big tasks can really suck. Thinking about them, finding the motivation to start them, finding the time to finish them, all of it. But I found a not-so-secret way of dealing with them while running over the past few months.

I know what you’re thinking. “Really Emily? Another blog that has to do with running?” Let me remind you- I’m the least athletic person you know, So any principle, any advice, any system that makes me want to go outside and do semi-strenuous physical activity should, in theory, make you do whatever it is you’ve been putting off as well. So you’re welcome if you read this blog and then go on to invent time travel, or whatever your big goal is.

Going the Distance

Lately I’ve been trying to run longer distances, and turns out, it’s really hard. Here’s the thing though, it WASN’T hard in the beginning. My regular running routine was to run for 30 minutes and then stop. One day I thought, “Hm….could I do 35 minutes instead?” Then when that became my new norm I pushed myself 5 more minutes, and when THAT became the new norm I upped it 5 MORE minutes. Over the course of a few months I was capable of running 60 minutes- one whole hour- at a time.

But that, unfortunately, isn’t the end of the story because a funny thing happened when I started to run for an hour at a time semi-regularly: an hour started feeling like the absolute longest thing in the world. While you’d think it would be getting easier, it felt like it was getting harder.

A Mental Game

I started to look down at my watch, see that only 10 minutes had passed, and second-guess myself. “50 more minutes?! I can’t do that! How can I possibly do that?!” My legs seemed to take a cue from my brain and became tired. Not because they actually WERE tired, but because I was convincing myself that they should be. This hobby was quickly becoming un-enjoyable and I needed a new plan.

How do I harness that excitement from a few months ago when I was working up toward a goal? I wasn’t tired then, I was anxious to see if I could push through to a new milestone. I needed to bring back that thrill of “just 5 more minutes!”

5 More Minutes

….so I did. Here was the new plan: every time I went out running I had to start with 30 minutes and from there, all I had to do was commit to 5 more minutes at a time. At each 5 minute internal I gave myself full permission to stop if I couldn’t keep going and would not consider it a failure. This was a mental game for sure, but one that I knew would make running enjoyable again.

It worked! Inevitably, during the first 30 minutes I think “ok, I’m going to stop at 30. That’ll be it. I’ll be too tired, it’s fine” and once in a while I do stop, but most often I keep going. Sometimes I make it to 45, sometimes 50, sometimes 60, but when I do reach those longer distances I do it without the sense of dread I was feeling before.

Using It In Our Work Lives

So how does this apply to our Time Diet productivity in our work lives? Remember, everything we do is either a Meat (difficult) Vegetable (easy) or Dessert (fun.) If you’re putting off a giant Meat task that’s been on your to-do list for a while, maybe you wrote down something too big.

Step 1: Break up larger Meat tasks

We put up a mental block when we stare at a big task. Even though we KNOW the little steps that make up a big project, it’s really hard to see them through the enormity of the finished product. Don’t forget to break up your Meat tasks into smaller chunks. Yes, it makes for a longer to-do list but you’re much more likely to actually start a big task when you can easily see the smaller components you need to do. These smaller components are like the “5 more minute” chunks I started running.

Step 2: Give yourself permission to stop

When you’re in the middle of a big task, give yourself permission to step away. “Step away time” not only leads to less frustration, but if it’s a creative project, you may even find you get your best ideas when you’re not staring at a blank screen trying to think of them. An important note to remember, however, is that you lose the freedom of step away time when you choose to procrastinate. In the beginning, you have total control over when you start a project, but as the deadline gets closer and closer you have less and less control over your work timeline.

Step 3: Give yourself permission to keep going

Likewise, if you’re really “in the zone” of a task, give yourself permission to keep going, even if it wasn’t planned in your schedule. When you’re in a beautiful state of flow on a project, it can be really hard to get back into it a few days later so if you’re feeling the creative juices flow, run with it. You never know when you’ll get that motivation back.

As for me, I think I’m going to stick with this new running plan for now. I really want to sign up for a half marathon in December, but I have to figure out a different chunking strategy before then. If you’re curious if I’ve personally found benefit in applying this mentality to other things, the answer is “yes” I definitely have. I’ve been knee-deep in presentation design recently and if you’ve ever stared at a one paragraph description of an amazing training you promised to give….and then looked back at your blank PowerPoint slides you know the feeling I’ve been up against. But the “5 more minutes” strategy has really helped push me through, by breaking up the work into tiny bite sized tasks and tackling them systematically.

Has it ever worked for you? Let me know!

For speaking engagements or public speaking coaching, contact Emily@TheTimeDiet.org

My Focus Increased With This Small Change

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time management changeFocus. It’s the time management epitome of productivity we all seek to achieve. This week, I found a surprising way to achieve a greater level of focus, and it started with something I initially dreaded…

My “Big” Change

This week I moved my desk. I wasn’t looking forward to it, mostly because I have a ton of STUFF that needs to move along with it. After all the schlepping, and after my space was all set up, I realized that the placement of the power outlet meant it would be easier to put my computer monitor on the other side of the desk than it was before.

If you’re a detail-oriented person like me, you know that is HUGE! I’m now turned differently in my chair, looking a different direction, looking at different things, seeing a different part of my desk. But a funny thing happened as I began to work this week..

…I noticed that the move made my more focused.

A Change of Scenery

We know a change of scenery can be just what the brain needs sometimes to tune out distractions, but that change of scenery doesn’t need to be something as drastic as a trip to Maui. (Though my desk move didn’t come with a Mai Tai, and for that, I’m disappointed.)

This week, what small change can you make to your working space that will shift your environment? I bet your focus increases like mine did!

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How Time Killers Can Make You More Productive

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Time management social mediaWe all know what it feels like to be sucked into a Time Killer. What starts off as a “quick glance” at Facebook, quickly becomes an hour long time indulgence we didn’t plan for. We can bemoan the time they waste, or we can analyze what keeps us addicted to these platforms for hours on end and use it to our advantage.

Here are three ways to harness the power of Time Killers to be productive:

1. Keep your next task in front of you
Why is it so easy to binge watch Netflix? Because the next episode pops up before the credits for the last one are even done running. Use this same concept in your productivity. It’s very easy to stop working when you finish a task and you can’t remember what to do next. Writing all of your tasks on one consolidated to-do list helps keep the next task in front of you so you can keep your productivity streak going.

2. Make it easy to work
You’ll notice that on social media, the interface is designed to make it easy to keep you hooked. It’s very easy to friend, like, follow, etc… You don’t have to search very hard for those buttons. Similarly, don’t make yourself search for a space to work. Giving yourself a comfortable, pleasant place to be productive will help make you want to use it!

3. Get your friends involved
Part of the allure of Time Killers, particularly social media is the thought that a friend might have commented on something witty we posted. We enjoy getting feedback from other people, so bring them into your productivity too. Don’t go it alone. Involve your friends and coworkers in your goals to help hold you accountable.

We ultimately must face the fact the work just isn’t nearly as FUN as Time Killers are, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to make productivity as easy as possible.

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Why 2pm is The Worst Time of Day

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Time Management AfternoonIf you, like me, suffer from a mid-afternoon productivity slump, then you’ll appreciate this. (It should be noted that the following verse was written between the hours of 2 and 3pm)

Ode to 2:00

Oh 2:00 I hate you so
The worst time of the day
I get a bunch of nothing done
Much to my dismay

At 9 I’m full of energy
My to-do list is a snap
But once the clock strikes 2 o’clock
I’m poised to take a nap

I stagger to the coffee pot
And blearily rub my eyes
I watch the clock tick slowly past
The number I despise

Perhaps I overate at lunch
That soup and BLT
I know I’ll get my second wind
If I just wait till 3

Then after dark I’ll sit in bed
Wide awake again
Oh why can’t this 2:00 feeling
Come at 10 pm?

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How To Stop Wasting Your Time In Meetings

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time management meeting“Oh, what a productive meeting! I was 100% enthralled with all 60 minutes of that conference room gathering” …said no one ever. Most people seem to agree that meetings can be a huge drain on our productivity, and yet they continue to plague our workday. Try these tips to turn your meetings from obligatory time fillers to shining examples of efficiency.

If You’re The Meeting Planner…

Schedule shorter meetings. Having a written agenda, keeping people on topic, and avoiding lengthy rambling icebreakers can all help make a meeting shorter, but if you’ve scheduled an hour for only 10 minutes of information, you’ll find a way to fill that extra time. If your meetings are usually an hour, try scheduling one for 30 minutes. If they are usually 30 minutes, try 15. Restricting your available time forces people to be brief and also respects everyone’s schedule.

If You’re a Meeting Attendee

It’s easy to recognize when other meeting attendees are wasting everyone’s time by veering off track and speaking just for the sake of speaking, but sometimes it’s hard to recognize when we’ve become that person! Before you interject, ask yourself: “Is this related to the agenda? Is it a question that will pertain to anyone else in the room?” If the answer is “No,” save it for another time.

Notice one of the self-questions isn’t “Is this important?” Just because something is important doesn’t mean it belongs in the meeting. That’s the purpose of an agenda – to determine which important things will be discussed right now.

Meetings don’t have to be a waste of time. Just keep your collaborations on track and to the point and everyone will leave happy.

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10 Productive Things To Do During Commercial Breaks

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Time Management TV Commercial ProductivityWatching your favorite show on TV can be a fun, relaxing Dessert in your schedule. I usually advise people to make their relaxing time a work-free zone, but we’ve all had those evenings when we need to squeeze in as much productivity as possible to keep our time management on track.

For me, watching Shark Tank on ABC is a favorite Friday ritual, and I don’t want to give that up just because I have a lot of work to do. The answer? Utilize your commercials! Here are 10 things you can do in a 2 or 3 minute commercial break that will help shorten your to-do list.

1. Manage Your Inbox

We can easily become lost in a sea of unread messages, but under a 2-minute time crunch, we have no time for distractions or unnecessarily complex answers. Eliminating the messages that only require a brief response makes it easier to wade through the more involved ones later.

2. Clean a Few Dishes

I am guilty of putting off kitchen-duties because “cleaning takes so much time.” It really doesn’t. In two minutes you can easily scrub a pot, rinse a dish, or empty the glassware from the dishwasher. Knowing you have a show to get back to makes the work go faster and seem less annoying.

3. Exercise

When we get busy, the gym is usually one of the first things to be cut from our schedule. Maximize those 2-3 minute commercial breaks with some jumping jacks, pushups, or crunches. Sparkpeople.com has a great Commercial Break Workout Routine.

4. Get Your Coffee Ready

As I’m racing out the door in the morning, I inevitably go to grab my coffee only to realize…I forgot to make it. Take a few minutes to get your coffee ready the evening before so all you have to do in the morning is press “start.”

5. Follow-up

We all know that follow-up is key when meeting a new business contact, client, or possible job-lead. Use your commercial break to reach out with a friendly, “great to meet you, let’s keep in touch” email.

6. File Something

Staying organized helps us find our materials faster, but finding time to file the mountain of papers we generate can be tricky. Take a minute to sort the mail, file some receipts, or organize a drawer.

7. Make Your List for Tomorrow

Taking a moment to plan ahead for the following day can help you work more efficiently and with stronger focus. Jot down your plan for tomorrow while waiting for your show to come back on.

8. Pay Someone A Compliment

It’s easy to get caught up in a busy day and never make time to say “Thanks” or “I really appreciate the work you do.” Jot a handwritten note or a quick email to someone you appreciate and know that you’ll brighten his or her day tomorrow.

9. Take Care of a “Meaning to”

We all have those small tasks that linger on our to-do lists forever, but never seem to rise to the level of importance required to actually finish them. Pick a “meaning to” task that you’ve been putting off and knock it out in a few minutes.

10. Catch Your Breath

Even though watching TV is an enjoyable activity, never underestimate the power of just letting yourself….be. Mute the commercials, close your eyes, take deep slow breaths, and enjoy the feeling of doing absolutely nothing for a minute. It’s more beneficial to your stress level than you may think.

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The Dos and Don’ts of Productivity in the Car

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Time Management in the carWhen we have a long commute each day, we spend a good deal of our time behind the wheel of a car. Since this time is neither spent being productive nor doing something relaxing, it can end up feeling like truly wasted time. We long to use that time for something other than grumbling about the traffic, or listening to the same cheesy morning show.  However, there is a fine line between a productive driver and a distracted driver. Follow these Dos and Don’ts to be productive without being a road hazard.

Do… Listen to Podcasts

Podcasts are a great alternative to the radio. If you’re bored of radio’s morning programming, why not use that time to learn something that can help you with your job or hobby? There are podcasts for nearly every industry or interest imaginable. Also, because podcasts are shorter than audio books,  you can vary your listening selections from day to day.

Do… Use Your Hands Free Phone

We could all be better at keeping in touch with friends and family. Our lives get busy and we never find time to chat with the people who are important to us, but with a hands free device for your phone, you can use that idle time in the car to keep those connections alive. I’ve also used the time to make lengthy customer service phone calls. For example, you know you’ll be on hold forever if you have to call and ask your cable company a question. Why not make that call when you literally have nothing better to do?

Do…Record Your Ideas

Sometimes we come up with brilliant ideas while we’re alone with our thoughts in the car. Don’t let those ideas go to waste! Use a voice recorder on your cell phone to capture those brilliant thoughts before they leave your head. I’m sure many grand ideas have been lost when I promise myself I’ll write something down as soon as I get to my destination…and then forget.

Don’t… Check Your Email

It starts off innocently enough. We say we’ll just glance at our inbox at a red light. Then the light turns green and we’re still reading. The roads aren’t too crowded so we say we’ll just finish this one paragraph and put the phone down. Remember, when we keep our eyes on the road, it’s less about seeing the things we expect, and more about being prepared for the things we don’t expect — the car in front of us slamming on their breaks, a child running into the road, a ladder falling off the truck in front you, etc… Taking your eyes off the road to check your email is not worth the risk of an accident. Just don’t do it.

Don’t…Put On Makeup

Ladies, ladies. I know we want to look good, but really, putting on mascara takes only a moment. Just do it at home. It’s bad enough when we’re stuck being people who didn’t see the light turn green while they were powdering their nose. It’s worse when people try to do this while actually driving. If you woke up late, throw your “beauty tools” in your bag and take care of your primping when you get to your destination.

Don’t…Eat Food That Needs Two Hands

It’s one thing to sip coffee or a smoothie on your morning or afternoon commute. It’s another thing to try to eat a three-course meal. I’ve seen people eat everything from yogurt, to cereal to salads while behind the wheel. If 9 of your fingers are being used to hold your food and 1 of your fingers is being used to steer, this is not OK.

Finally, in our busy society of constant distractions, we often complain that we never have any time to just…be. Rather than trying to squeeze an extra few drops of productivity out of your commute, you may find it better to just roll down your window, turn off the radio, and breathe once in a while. It certainly wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world!

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7 Ways to Make Flight Time Fly By

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Time Management AirplaneIf you travel frequently, you lose hours of valuable time sitting in a cramped airplane seat dreading the pile of work awaiting you at home. It can be difficult to either sleep or be productive with the limited room and resources available, especially if you didn’t think about how long the flight would be until you buckled your seat belt (2 hours sounds like a much shorter time when you are surrounded by all the comforts of home.) Try these 7 tips to make the most of your flying time. You’ll be on the ground before you know it.

1. Sketch It Out

Use your air time as an excuse to unplug and put pen to paper to outline a new project. When we’re surrounded by technology at home, it can be difficult to take our eyes off of our screens. Sometimes the freedom of a pen and a blank piece of paper can get your creative ideas flowing.

2. Charge It Up

If you do want to use your laptop or tablet while inflight, there is nothing worse than getting on the plane and realizing you forgot to charge it. Don’t forget to charge your devices, and then turn off WiFi and dim the screen to save battery.

3. Pre-write Emails

Rather than lamenting the fact that you don’t have WiFi on your plane, why not use the time to craft a few lengthy emails you’ve been putting off? Then all you’ll have to do when you land is copy, paste, and push send.

4. Read

You no doubt already have a book in your bag or on your Kindle, but what about those proposals and trade journals in a heap on your desk? Everyone has that office pile of things we want to read, but never get around to. Throw a few in your bag before you leave and finally cross them off your list.

5. Organize Your Desktop

You might not be able to clean your physical desk while in-flight, but you can certainly clean your digital one! Use your flight as an excuse to delete old downloads, clean up your files, and remove old programs you no longer use.

6. Thank You Notes

An old-fashioned, hand-written Thank You Note will never go out of style. Expressing our gratitude takes only a few minutes, but somehow we don’t get around to this small task as often as we should. Next time you need to fly, grab a few note cards before you leave and write a few letters to those who have helped you recently.

7. Network

Planes are a great place to talk to people you might not otherwise have occasion to meet. Ask the person next to you where they are headed and what they do. You’d be surprised who you might end up talking to!

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Three Ways to Ensure You’ll Waste Time on Unimportant Tasks

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Time Management TrashcanDo you often feel as though you just don’t have time for everything? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the fact is, you don’t. None of us do. Nobody has time to do everything, we only have time to do what’s important. The difficulty lies in figuring out what is important enough to deserve our time, and what’s not.

Everyone will have different criteria to decide what stays on their list and what goes, but there are certainly some ways that will be more effective than others. Here are three strategies to avoid that will ensure your list is cluttered with unimportant tasks:

1. Spend Time on Things You Think Should Be Important, But Aren’t

I’ve never been the neatest person in the world. Keeping a tidy office and a spotless home are not things that come naturally to my husband and me.  We’ve tried cleaning schedules, chore lists, and phone reminders, but inevitably, we’ll be in the middle of some brainstorm when it’s time to vacuum under the furniture, and it just doesn’t get done. After much fretting about this, it occurred to me: if this were truly important to us, we’d make the time for it. Just because having an immaculate house is important to some people, doesn’t mean it has to be important to us.

I feel no shame in telling you that if you were to come over to our home today and run your hand along the baseboards, they would be dusty. The glass sliding door has a few nose prints on it from where the dogs peer outside. We’ll probably take care of those nitty-gritty things the next time we throw a party, but in the mean time, I am 100% fine with spending my limited time on other things.

2. Spend Time On Tasks That Don’t Produce Results

Habits are great. They help us complete tasks without thinking about them and free up valuable brain power for other things. However, when you’ve allowed an inefficient task to become a habit, then you have a problem. When people contact me about speaking engagements, my natural reaction is to write them back with a lengthy customized message including all of the information they could ever possibly want. I thought this was working OK, until I came across a wonderful book from the National Speakers Association called Speak More!. One of the chapters suggests responding to inquires with short messages that set up a time to speak on the phone.  This both saves time and increases the chance of a response. Guess which method I use now!

Reflect on your habits to make sure they are using your time efficiently and producing the results you want. A great way to do this is to talk to others and be an avid reader. Have an open mind to consider new ways of doing things. Our default action is to do what is comfortable and familiar but that isn’t always the most efficient approach.

3. Give Yourself the Leftover Time

There is no leftover time. Period. If you’re waiting to first finish all of your important tasks before giving yourself a Dessert from your Time Diet, you’ll be waiting forever. There is always one more thing that can be done. Instead, schedule your Desserts frequently into your day, even if they are short and bite-sized. How you spend your time is a reflection on what you feel is important. What does that say about the value you put on yourself if “you” tasks like hobbies, exercise, a walk with your family, or time with your friends never makes it off the bottom of your priority list?

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No, You Won’t Just Remember

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The Time Diet Writing“I don’t have to write it down, I’ll just remember it.”  We’ve all heard someone repeat this famous line as an excuse for not keeping a calendar or written list of tasks. Sometimes, we need a reminder that no matter how good our memory is, we can always use a little help remembering it all. I definitely got that reminder this week. Check out my story, and the three excuses we tell ourselves to avoid putting pen to paper.

My Mistake

On Saturday, my husband and I hosted our annual holiday party. We had everything in place – appetizers, dinner, dessert – except one thing: a list to keep track of it all. We host a party every year and I never write down a menu, so I didn’t think it was important.

After the last guest went home, and I went up stairs feeling satisfied with our gathering, it hit me. I went to the fridge to be sure, and my suspicion was confirmed. We forgot to put out one of the side dishes. The vegetable salad with the tri-colored peppers my husband had meticulously chopped into tiny pieces sat untouched in its Tupperware.

The anger I felt was perhaps unjustified given the situation, but this was not about the salad. In my Time Diet workshops, I reinforce the importance of writing things down, and here I had not taken my own advice. A simple written menu would have ensured we remembered to put out all the food in the hustle-bustle of hosting a party. I’m reminded of the three reasons to write things down:

1) You always forget just when you “know” you’ll remember

I keep a detailed calendar and pride myself on staying on top of my deadlines. This party was not something I was worried about. It’s six different food items, how hard could it possibly be? I “knew” I’d remember everything, but that is exactly when things started to slip my mind. In the heat of the moment, even the simplest things become easy to forget. It’s important to take a few seconds to write down your tasks so you’re sure you meet your deadlines.

2) Just because it’s worked in the past, doesn’t mean it’ll work forever

Each time you don’t write down a deadline, but manage to remember it anyway, you train yourself that it’s OK. You build a false confidence that you don’t need to write anything down because your memory is excellent. Inevitably, you reach a point where you don’t remember it anymore, and now you haven’t trained yourself to be organized. I had myself convinced that I could throw a party for 50 of our friends without writing anything down. That was silly.

3) Writing things down doesn’t take a ton of time

We have all seen those people who make immaculate to-do lists that look like works of art. We’re convinced that it took longer to make the list than accomplish anything on it and we tell ourselves that list-making is a waste of time and it’s better to just start doing than to waste time organizing. If you set out to waste time making a list, you certainly can, but it doesn’t need to be like that. Organization only takes a few seconds. It doesn’t need to be fancy or elaborate. It just has to be consistent.

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