I can spend my time so quick.
4 hours to burn?
- I can do solitaire.
- I can binge TV.
- I can have a movie running in one tab while doing a sudoku in another.
- I can read The Lion, The WItch and The Wardrobe in one sitting.
The problem with all of these time sinks is that they do not advance my business.
To grow a business, we ADD business owners have to use every tip and trick. We have to use every fancy technique we can find just to get stuff done and keep from getting bored.
And they work.
Here are 6 techniques I use to help improve my time management.
- Pomodoro – The simple summary of a Pomodoro is to do a period of really, really fast work and then take a short break where you don’t attempt any work. When I pomodoro, I do 25 minutes of work with a 5 minute break.
- The 4 Quadrants – This useful time management matrix was made famous by Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of HIghly Effective People, but was also used by President Eisenhower as a form of decision making. The 4 Quadrants help you prioritize your activies each day.
- Kanban – An agile method, you simply make 3 lists – to do, doing, done. It can be nice and visual. I think it’s too simple and boring, but I’m not you!
- Time-Blocking – This technique is great to help you build consistent habits. If you’re on the autism spectrum at all, time blocking can be a life saver.
- The Not-to-Do-List – We tend to overcommit. Going through our sizable lists and delegating, delaying, or deleting tasks is essential to success.
There are many techniques for building habits of successful activities. What are your favorite productivity tricks?