With so much technology at our fingertips and a smattering of random 30-minute meetings on the calendar every day, it’s a wonder we get anything done sometimes. Finding new apps and tools to better manage our calendars and to-do lists is helpful, but those are simply band-aid solutions to a much larger problem. What’s more important is being more thoughtful and intentional about how we spend our time.
Below are a few ideas and best practices we’ve implemented at Geben to maximize our time every day (Shout out to Megan Severs, our VP of client strategy, for compiling this list!):
- Plan each day’s calendar the night before. When you don’t know what your schedule looks like until the morning of, you automatically start your day playing catch up while you map out how to spend the next 8-9 hours. By planning ahead, you can better prepare for how to best utilize open windows of time (and how much you can realistically get done).
- Clean your inbox every day. Getting your email to ground zero on a daily basis is not realistic, but you should still make sure you’re taking the time to manage your inbox regularly instead of letting it pile up. Otherwise, you’ll get trapped in an emado (email tornado … and yes, we’re working on trademarking that!) from which you will never be able to recover.
- Flip flop. Don’t put your head down for an entire day and never check email; on the flip side, don’t get trapped in an emado and never get any work done. The best way to balance? Flip flop between the two. Put your head down for a solid hour, then catch up on email for 10-15 minutes. Rinse and repeat. (Just make sure to keep your phone handy in case something urgent pops up during your heads-down time.)
- Think before you schedule. Before you put a meeting on the calendar, think about whether you really need to meet in person or if the topic can be just as easily discussed via email (or another communication tool). That way, you can avoid disrupting people’s days with unnecessary meetings. (That said, don’t rely SOLELY on email. Some conversations – especially sensitive ones – are always better in person. So choose wisely!)
- Schedule think time. If your day looks wide open, chances are people are going to try to schedule meetings with you (and, if you don’t realize how busy you are, you’ll be more likely to blindly accept the invitation). The solution? Block out time on your calendar to think and plan. Having this set “think time” will help you be more strategic/produce better results, plus the rest of your team will see you don’t actually have time to be in back-to-back-to-back meetings/calls all day.
- Plan ahead for meetings and calls. If you have multiple 30-minute calls/meetings on your calendar each week, they’re going to add up. (And, if we’re being honest, both you and whomever you’re meeting with would probably much rather spend that time getting actual work done.) So, when you do have to sit in on something, plan ahead to make sure you’re maximizing your time: What are the things you absolutely have to discuss/accomplish? What needs to be done next to make those things happen? This ensures you’ll stay on track and use the time more effectively (maybe even get done early!). Alternatively, if you realize during planning that you’ll have a ton of updates to discuss, you can extend the meeting in advance to make sure you have enough time to cover everything you need (instead of the meeting unexpectedly going over and throwing off everyone’s carefully planned schedules!).
- Build in buffer time. Say you expect to finish a project in under an hour. When you’re mapping out your day, build in an extra 20-30 minutes or so to finish it. Or, if you have a half hour call/meeting, build in an extra 10-15 minutes to wrap up, assign follow-up tasks, etc. You don’t always have to use the extra time, but this way you won’t overbook your day or set unrealistic expectations as to how much you can accomplish.
- Build in break time. Taking breaks may seem counter-intuitive to the idea of getting things done more effectively, but I guarantee you that a five minute break here and there will ultimately make you more productive and energized for the rest of the day. Grab a cup of coffee/tea. Take a walk. Give your brain a few minutes to recharge, then get back to work.
What other ideas have you implemented to be smarter about how you spend your time? Feel free to share in the comments!
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Photo credit: Iain Reid/Beanotown Photography, via Flickr Creative Commons