The Multi-Tasking Myth

By Laura - Get free updates of new posts here

source: http://blackberry.org.ng/2012/05/blackberry/blackberry-multitasking-busy-verb/

So often we brag about how good we are at multi-tasking but the reality is that focusing on one task at a time is going to get you better results in the end.

People in North America are obsessed with multi-tasking. It’s associated with being smarter and more productive. However, when you think about a time when you’ve accomplished a task, like when you’re reading a book and you have to go back and re-read the page because you were thinking of something else. This is a clear example of one task interrupting another and causing you to be less productive.

According to Jared Goralnick, Founder of the email sorting program AwayFind, Americans lose more than a quarter of their day to these types of interruptions, with email being the most persistent. Also the glaring problem is not even just the emails, but getting refocused after the interruption.

A New York Times article revealed that 28% of a knowledge worker’s day is spent on “interruptions by things that aren’t urgent or important, like unnecessary e-mail messages—and the time it takes to get back on track.” (Basex Report: The Cost of Not Paying Attention: How Interruptions Impact Knowledge Worker Productivity)

Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users explains it more clearly:
Flow requires a depth of thinking and a focus of attention that all that context- switching prevents. Flow requires a challenging use of our knowledge and skills, and that’s quite different from mindless tasks we can multitask (eating and watching TV, etc.). Flow means we need a certain amount of time to load our knowledge and skills into our brain RAM. And the more big or small interruptions we have, the less likely we are to ever get there.

And not only are we stopping ourselves from ever getting in flow, we’re stopping ourselves from ever getting really good at something. From becoming experts. The brain scientists now tell us that becoming an expert is not a matter of being a prodigy, it’s a matter of being able to focus.

What do we suggest?

BATCHING, rather than multitask and attend to every little interruption as it comes up, batch tasks by grouping similar tasks together and focus only on those. This can be done in two simple steps:

1. Grouping like tasks together
2. Staying focused on the tasks until they’re completed

Just choose a few times a day where you’re going to focus on sorting, reading and replying to all messages and allow your mind to really focus on the other work you have to do in between. Simple as that!

How to Turn Off Alerts in Microsoft Outlook (in less than 2 min)

By Justin - Get free updates of new posts here

Distractions can cost you hours of productivity every day.

One of the worst distractions is the email alert that is turned on as a default in Microsoft Outlook.

If you receive 40 emails in a day, that is 40 times that your brain is slightly distracted and you can be knocked off task.

In a study done by the University of California, Irvine, it was shown that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task if you have been distracted. So if you just quickly checked that email that just popped up on your screen, you may not return to what you were working on for a long time.

The most prodctive way to use email is by reading and responding to your email in batches. You can set a time in your schedule when you will respond to email. Otherwise, you should not be in a reactive mindset. You should always be working to accomplish the most important tasks on your to do list.

How to Your Outlook Email Alerts:

Open Microsoft Outlook
Click on the file tab in the top left corner of the Outlook window/li>
In the file menu, click on Options. A new window will then pop up.
In the new window, click on the Mail button (on the left side)
Look under the Message arrival section of that window
You will see “When new message arrives:” and then five lines underneath with checkboxes
Uncheck all five boxes, if they haven’t been unchecked already

Note: I recommend tunring off all five of these features, as just a sound or the envelope in the task bar can be distracing enough to get you off of task.

I also found this video that goes through the same process (although as mentioned above, you should uncheck all of the boxes in the last step):

Let me know if you have questions in the comments.

The Most Effective Time Management System

By Justin - Get free updates of new posts here

Image Source: Rozee.pk blog

How does doubling your productivity sound?

I’m sure that it sounds a bit too good to be true but I have become at least this much more productive after a few months of following the advice of Chet Holmes.

After reading The Ultimate Sales Machine, I implemented his time management system and have at least doubled my productivity. I’m working on important tasks that will build my business, instead of the easy tasks that I can just cross off a list.

With some, in the words of Chet, “pigheaded discipline”, you can make you and your firm much more productive by following his system.

Here are the key points:

1. Touch it once

If you touch it, then make sure that you move it to the next step along the path to being competed. If you don’t do this, you’ve just wasted time.

For example, if you read an email, respond to it. If you can’t respond to it right away, file it so that you can respond to it when you have scheduled time to do so, instead of constantly reading the same emails over and over. The same goes for memos, letters, agendas, etc.

2. Make lists of tasks (but only focus on getting done the most important items)

Every day, pick six items from your to do list that will produce the most value. Those are the only things that you should work on.

3. Plan how long you will work on each of the 6 items

Make a note of how long you will work on each of the 6 items.

4. Plan when you will complete each spefic task

Write out a schedule, which should include the exact times of when you are going to work on each specific task.

Items that are reactive like “got a minute” meetings and reading and responding to email, should also be scheduled into your day.

I like having this on paper, since the physical presence of it forces me to follow it since it is always right next to me. I also like the satisfaction of physically crossing an item off of the list.

5. Check how productive you’re being by checking your results

Most people check how productive they’ve been by checking the amount of items that they have crossed off the list at the end of the day. Attending a useless meeting or responding to 100 emails is not likely to have moved your practice forward.

Make sure that you are getting the important things done like planning strategy or cold calling to book meetings with potential clients.

6. Keep on pushing

This productivity system works extremely well, but it is not easy to follow.

It is always easy to say that you will plan your day tomorrow, or that you just have to reply to this email right now. In order for this system to work, you must have pigheaded discipline to work within your schedule and to schedule your day every day. After about a month it will become a habit and it will be much easier.

If you truly want to improve your practice, then start by increasing your productivity with this system. Once you have mastered it, you can push your staff to follow this system. Just think how much would get done if everyone in your practice was working on the six most important items on their to-do list today. It would likely be the most productive day in your practice’s history.

If you want to read about the system from Chet Holmes himself, you can find an article on his site here: How to Master Time Management.

Time Management Tips Powerpoint Presentation

By Justin - Get free updates of new posts here

Looking to significantly improve the productivity at your firm?

Here at Email Stopwatch, we have implemented the system included in the powerpoint presentation below and we have found a drastic increase in our productivity.

Time management

View more PowerPoint from Laura Berthiaume

Have questions? Leave a comment and we’ll get back to you.

You can find the Chet Holmes book here: Ultimate Sales Machine

The Secret Powers of Time

By Justin - Get free updates of new posts here

Watch this video to see how your perception of time affects your work, health and well-being.

This video is narrated by the author of The Time Paradox, Professor Philip Zombardo.

What’s really interesting is that Philip and his team have put together a free questionnaire that you can take that will tell you more about the way that you perceive time. I took it and it really made me aware of how I think time and how it relates to my life. You can find it here: Time Perception Questionnaire

The results questionnaire made me realize that I generally will worry about the future, instead of enjoying the present. Although this is good in many ways, it also could potentially make me less happy because I’m always worried about the future instead of enjoying the present. The survey really gave me an interesting amount of insight and I highly recommend it.

If you’re interested in learned more about how you perceive time, you can get The Time Paradox on Amazon here: The Time Paradox

5 Extraordinary Productivity and Time Management Articles

By Justin - Get free updates of new posts here

Time and Productivity Tips Finding enough time in the day to get everything done is tough.

I’ve tried a few different tactics to make my days more efficient, but I’ve found that a lot of the advice available on the internet is junk.

That is why I decided to put together this list of my 5 favorite articles on time management and productivity. These articles will ACTUALLY help you better manage your time.

So without further ado, here are five of my favorite time management/productivity articles:

The thoughts in this Wall Street Journal article are fantastic. How much time are you spending on unimportant things, like checking email and Facebook? This article dosen’t provide tactics, but more of an overall strategy to thinking about how you spend your time: Are You As Busy As You Think?

If you spend a lot of your time in useless meetings, then you’ll love these thoughts from Seth Godin: Getting serious about your meeting problem

From one of the writers and stars of our favorite TV show, Jerry Seinfeld’s tip on how to accomplish things: Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret

A fantistic article on organizing your email so that you save time by focusing on what needs to get done instead of tasks for others: The Airtight Inbox: A Day In the Life Of an Email Productivity Evangelist

Lastly, although some of the answers are better than others, I found that this page from Quora gives you a variety of time management tactics: How can I increase my productivity?

Do you have a favourite time management or productivity article? Leave it in the comments.