Breathe more hours into your day

On most days, I feel like I could do with just three more hours so I can actually conquer my to-do list. And on those days when I am feeling particularly unproductive, I have been known to go on work overdrive, shutting out the whole world to the point where I receive ‘where are you’ messages from family and friends. Neither state (a whole list of incomplete to-dos versus a week of locking yourself up with work) is healthy. It gets even more complex when you throw in a partner, kids and social commitments into the list while holding down a career or running a company. Since the most ideal option (getting more hours in your day) is unlikely, the only alternative remains getting more done with the time you have, limited as it may be. Re-prioritise What is a bigger priority for you? Is it being able to follow up on your e-mail, respond to requests and clear your in tray? Or is it meeting your team members to review the previous day so you can set goals for the day? It is important to get your priorities right by determining what, if not done, will have the most impact and what time lines give you some leeway and flexibility. Internet and websites While most productivity experts recommend keeping off social media and the internet, if your work requires a lot of web-based research then you’re likely to be on the internet frequently. But how many times do we start off reading one item and end up, two hours later on a completely different site, on a completely unrelated topic? Keep tabs on how much your internet-based research should take. Most importantly, keep tabs on whether the fifth site you ended at is still relevant to your current research topic. Schedule times when you get onto the web pages that you interact with for leisure, at the end of your to do list or just before such breaks as lunch so that instead of eating into productive time, you’re utilising downtime. E-mail We are all guilty of checking our email more than once an hour. If you cannot resist the temptation to peek, turn off your email alerts and deliberately schedule times when you check and respond to your emails. If something is urgent, then the person addressing it will likely alert you if they get concerned by the time lag. TIPS - Identify what your priorities are and set aside dedicated time to focus and do tasks related to them justice. - Favourite non work related sites like those purely for fun should be used for reward, and not as your daily routine.