How can you identify your time wasters and improve your productivity?

The idea of “time wasters” implies that any non-productive time is a bad use of our time. Studies show that in a typical 8 hr day, approximately 4 hrs are actually productive. Is that because we are wasting time or that our brains are doing things other than what is expected of us? Meetings and calls are hard to avoid, but social media can be replaced with an activity that helps clear/calm our mind so we are more productive and focused for our next task. We all have times of the day where we are very productive and times we feel brain dead. If you schedule your day to accommodate those times, you will be much more productive during your “happy brain” hours and can move admin/non-thinking tasks to your “brain dead” hours.

Before you can create any type of time management improvement, you first have to map out where all of your time and energy is going. Even the little things/tasks need to be tracked as each piece is still consuming your time and effort in one way or another even if it only takes 5 minutes. Once all of the items are mapped out, then be honest with yourself on how much time each task is taking. Honesty is very crucial as you can't make adjustments to help yourself without a true assessment. Try tracking your items on either a virtual or physical calendar and view the big picture as they are added to get an idea of time frame. Include any breaks on here as well as breaks can be an important way for your mind to recharge.

Ideally study the data and figure out the average time to close a deal/complete a contract and assess the same with every client. Of course always, leave some room for gratitude and figure if you’re client is taking you for a ride or genuinely needing time. It’s great to allow space to your client to evaluate but not at the cost of being taken for a ride. An ideal employe would figure out the difference between excuses and reasons. If your client is excusing you to just buy time: bad sign. If you build that rapport right, your client should be honest and professional with you. Happy closing!

If you work in a shared space or office, use visual cues to let people know not to disturb or that you're doing deep work. Use: 'visible headphones' as DND or a sticky note/Post-It that says 'DND'. I used the former with my then 8 year old while WFH during the pandemic. You'll be amazed at how simple yet effective this can be even with adults.

By mapping your goals with others results and the vice versa! The better alignment the better productivity.. You can't just ignore those wasters but you can limit their interactions. And this could br done by eliminate the goals that requires thier envolvements with you!

Again, do NOT spend your life doing too much analysis. Quickly check out the ones that take most time and don't yield much returns. Throw them out of your life - remove, reduce or delegate. That should give you maximum benefits with minimum efforts.

Remember that improving productivity is an ongoing process. It requires self-awareness, discipline, and a willingness to adapt. By identifying and addressing time wasters, you can make better use of your time and achieve your goals more efficiently.

Sometimes even the little tasks can be tolling especially if there are repeated throughout the week. Analyzing your data is a good way to look at all of the repeat tasks and find out if you can change the cadence. For example, if you wash dishes every day, could you maybe switch to using the dishwasher 2-3 times a week. Also think about the arrangement of your tasks and what can be compiled. For example, if you need to go to the post office, then also run any other errands at that same time rather than going back out later in order to be time efficient.

Work to a pre arranged planner. Mark all tasks as either important, medium or low. Allow enough time to deal with unplanned events. Review at end of month and implement any changes required for follow on months.

Analyze time data through your values lens. Categorize activities by health, family, creativity etc. See if time use aligns with core values. This reveals misalignment and waste. Use values to reprioritize and invest time more meaningfully. Crunching numbers is useful, but examining motivations behind activities better illuminates waste and reallocation opportunities. The goal is living and working in line with purpose, not just productivity.

Prioritize! Phone calls are a big distraction for me. Business calls are important; however, some can wait while working on tasks that require my full attention.

Distractions are considered an internal trial to overcome. Sure, there may be some outside influences, but the choice to limit them falls back on you. Time distraction occurs in three major domains. The first is all the electronics we have around us and the apps or tools tied to them. The second is personal, bound to how well we take care of ourselves by what we choose to keep around our work area. The third are professional distractions. Distractions are dangerous because it is easy to lose time and not realize what has been wasted until it’s too late. Overcome your internal time obstacles and you find your time management is so much better.

Many of us get distracted by spam calls. Use an App that can indicate whether it's a spam or not. Avoid giving your contact details to promotional organisations. If your kids or colleagues constantly ask queries, ask them to collect their queries and reach out at a specific time. Unless urgent, they should NOT be reaching out to you every now-and-then. Do NOT respond to emails or Slack / WhatsApp messages as you receive them. Stack them and respond in one go. The best part to increase your distraction-free periods is to wake up early. Morning times are best where you get min distractions, and you can focus much more.

Distractions can cause big delays in completing your tasks. Set clear boundaries where possible. If you work from home, have a conversation with your family about specific time ranges not to enter the office to be respectful. Do your best to arrange meetings and phone calls during the optimal time of day for you. If you are not a morning person, it's ideal to schedule calls/meetings to start at least an hour after you have begun your day to allow yourself to settle in and focus better. It's best to understand what your distractions are so that you can look for ways to try to avoid them when possible.

I never answer phone when on the road. I do check emails regularly. Encourage more email social media contacts as phone calls are too instant to really give a perspective . Of course urgent calls should be taken.

Apple, Gmail, and Outlook account for over 90 percent of the email clients used worldwide. That just about guarantees whatever email system you are using today has a calendar and task system already built into the service. Right now, you have two foundational and extremely effective time-management tools. Given the robust nature of the app market, these same tools are available for phone and tablet, so you can sync activities across multiple devices. Become familiar and use these powerful tools to plan and schedule your tasks.

I’ve recently started tracking my duties on my calendar with set time limits. Just testing the waters with this one. Wish me luck ????

Make a to do list and set aside a time slot to complete the task. Align this with your productive time of the day. I am a morning person so, most of the days I start by eating the frog

When planning meetings, it can be helpful to ask “Is this something that can be accomplished or addressed as successfully via e-mail?” in order to avoid meeting simply for the sake of meeting. Ensure meetings and calls have purpose and value added. Otherwise the time may be better spent prioritizing other tasks.

Use a simple pen and paper / notepad. Create different sections in there Section 1 - tasks which are urgent and important - this should be as small as possible. Section 2 - tasks which are important but not urgent. To be done once all tasks in section 1 are done Everything else can be added to a third section if needed. Do NOT put everything in writing - your life goals need not get into this list.

This section is NOT relevant in this article's context. This article is about finding time wasters, and this section is about goal setting.

Regular KPI should suffice. Simple philosophy should always be to do your very best and to bring others on the journey with you.

Rather than strictly following the SMART goals framework, try setting more organic, emergent goals. Allow space for goals to morph and shift naturally rather than feeling pressured to define them rigidly upfront. Check in periodically to detect when intentions evolve based on new learnings or changes in context. This balances structure with flexibility. Strict SMART goals can unintentionally limit possibilities as situations change. Over-attachment to initial goals wastes energy fighting reality. Instead, clarify your broader purpose, then refine goals iteratively as the path unfolds before you. Emergent goal-setting enables agility, self-discovery and innovation.

SPECIFICITY is KEY! KNOWLEDGE EMPOWERING YOU! If you aren't growing, you are dying... sorry, but it's true. The only way you will improve is to know what your goals are. You can only set goals with an idea of where you stand. You need a map to understand your location! Map out where you are and where you want to be regarding skills and outcomes and be specific! I like to use the saying, do nothing of no use! Try to live like that for a week, and your improvement should become rapid! Happy Success-Filled Growth!

Not all critiques are negative but all must be taken on board. Learn from all feedback and keep focused and positive. We are all human and mistakes are a part of life.

Aside from your own assessment, reach out to others to get their opinion. They may change your line of focus and something that seemed important, may change priority based on a new point of view.

In my experience, allowing people to interrupt your tasks can be the #1 destroyer of productivity. If someone interrupts you while you are working on a project, tell them that you want to set a time to circle back to the conversation. By intentionally setting aside time to speak with your team, you show them that you value them enough to give 100% of your attention to your conversations with them. Additionally, your own productivity increases because you will stay 100% focused on any projects that you work on.

URGENCY is typically the keyword that acts as the main derailer of productivity. What's urgent for someone else, is not necessarily a top priority for you or the company. Ask clarifying questions to identify what the random meeting or call is about and prioritize accordingly. When someone says they "need a few minutes of your time" - always assume it's going to be 30 minutes and decide if that's an interruption that is worthwhile. Just because we live in a remote world, does not mean we owe others answers within 30 seconds. 98% of requests can typically wait at least an hour to be looked at.

I find it helpful to time block when working on multiple projects simultaneously. I allocate specific time blocks for different types of tasks, such as research, vendor meetings, and logistics planning. I also regularly review my progress efficiency by periodically assessing my progress against my event plans. If the two do not correlate, I adjust the strategy to make sure I'm staying on track.

In my experience you should quickly analys who is talking useful and who is wasting time so that you could skip those who are time waster because they don't have value for time and just passing theirs time and forgot that the time is money. So only those who know the value of the time are the prosperous people.