Struggling with time? Discover now my 5 tips for Hyper-Productivity!

A lot of people are asking me how I manage to do so many things within each day, so I decided to share some tips with you.

1. SWITCH-TASKING — NOT MULTITASKING

Let me clear one thing out. I might be called a “multi-tasker”, but in reality I am just doing a lot of things. This doesn’t mean I am doing too many things at the same time. I am just switching from one task to the other with a high speed throughout my day.

I have seen people trying to do many things simultaneously: talk on the phone with a client, while reviewing a PowerPoint presentation and texting their spouse for dinner plans. Unless you belong to the 0,001% of the global population that can indeed split their mental power across many things, there is no way you can be appropriately dedicated to your different tasks.

What is even more worrying is that we tend to do things in an automatized way without really understanding what we are doing. A study from the Western Washington University had a clown rising a unicycle around the campus, whom 75% of students didn’t notice while talking on their phones. Inattentional blindness is what the researchers call this, highlighting that when our brains are distracted, they are not registering what is happening around us.

So, going back to our topic here, I am always focusing at one thing at a time, trying to give it my maximum attention & focus. In this way, I manage to complete it at a full extent, quickly and efficiently, being able to move to my next task with a clear mind.

2. DELEGATE ON-TIME

Among the many tasks we need to accomplish, there are some that involve other people as well, either partially or things that can be fully delegated to other people. Knowing upfront which are these tasks and briefing/asking help from for the people that are going to support you, is going to save you a lot of time.

First of all, the other person will be able to work in parallel with you in a topic that is of your interest and by the time you are ready to start working on that thing, you will have all information/background in place. This will ensure you jump straight into completing the task instead of starting from scratch and needing to do it in 2 phases.

3. YOUR PLANNING BIBLE

I know not everyone is very organized or feels like doing so, but if you have a lot of things that need to be done or want to do a lot of things, you NEED TO HAVE A PLAN.

Each Sunday afternoon, I spend 30 minutes organizing my agenda for the whole week. My plan includes all type of activities: planned business meetings (especially the ones happening out of the office), shopping from super-market, cooking, shopping, personal beauty&care, gym time & planned entertainment nights.

Then, I try to distribute the activities in a way that I get the maximum synergies or that I save the maximum time. For example, I am trying to use the home delivery option of super-markets, so as to avoid having to spend 30 minutes per day getting in the super market (where you need to queue for a parking space), shopping, queuing again to pay and drive home. Also, if I need to visit a specific Mall which normally is packed, I plan to get there first thing in the morning so that I don’t spend more than the time I need.

And there you are: you just saved 30 minutes that you can use for an extra half an hour at the gym or a quick coffee with a friend.

4. DREAM BIG

I was always a big fan of setting big objectives and splitting them in smaller tasks. Having the big picture in my mind and knowing exactly where I want to go, helps me stay motivated. Otherwise, it’s very easy to get lost or not prioritize correctly what are the activities that will bring you closer to your dreams.

I am trying also to let other people around me know what are my biggest priorities, so that everyone first understands my choices and second, they can support me in this journey.

5. SPEND YOUR ENERGY WISELY

Each one of you has a different circadian rhythm that leads to a specific chronobiological clock. Some people are more energetic as soon as they wake up and some others after 17:00. Some people need 5 hours sleep per day, while others at least 9 in order to function properly. Knowing when you perform best and scheduling your tasks accordingly is going to deliver miracles for your productivity.

In specific for the ones of you that are working in an office, the biggest mistake I usually monitor, is checking your e-mails first thing in the morning and jumping right to answering them. The results is that you spend the first hours of the day, where normally you are well rested and your mind could focus on more sophisticated tasks, in doing e-mail handling.

What I have discovered to work really well is to dedicate your first 1–2 hours in the office on the most difficult task in your plate. In this way, you make sure you dedicate your most efficient time in doing so and you have a sense of accomplishment that helps you deal very efficiently with the rest smaller tasks throughout your day.

As a last note, people often believe that I never rest or that I never engage into fun activities. This is not true. One can and should do everything; he just needs to plan well for everything. For example, I will spend 40 minutes each single day in reiki healing on myself and 10 minutes on meditation. This is more enough to decompress me and refill my energy levels for the next day. You just need to know what relaxes you or what makes your mind fly away and make sure you plug it in your daily activities.

Doing many things is not an objective, but the way I see things, discovering new territories and engaging with new topics is part of the happiness equation.

Have a great productive weekend ahead!

Photo credits: Pixabay