Tricks that Organised People Use

How can some people get so much more done in a day than others? Whats their secret and how can you be more like them?

1.      

• JUST DO IT – Stop procrastinating about how much you need to get done, and get started. The mere time it takes to worry and moan could have been used much more wisely and you could have taken something off the TO DO list easily. Some of the most productive people swear by doing what hurts most, first. Getting the worst of your days tasks over and done with can really give you a lift, and you may find that you can get loads more done than you thought, and the opposite is true if you are leaving the worst jobs til last, your subconscious will try and delay getting to these tasks, and as a result you will go slower, feel slower, and feel very demotivated.

• BREAK UP LARGE TASKS – we all have them, tasks that feel overwhelming, and sometimes as a result we can’t even start them. There never seems to be enough time in the day to complete it, and so whats the point starting? Productive people break up large tasks into easily accomplished smaller tasks, that can be done in smaller chunks of time. Before they know it, the whole task has been completed and with a lot less stress.

• VALUE YOUR TIME – Productive people tend to ask themselves before they start a task whether it will get them further towards their goals or not – i.e. is it worth them spending their time on? Non productive people don’t differentiate tasks like this and can find that they are spending time on jobs that make no real difference to anyone.

• PRIORITISE – Your TO DO list will have everything you want/need to do on it, and it can be easy to do those which interest you most first, however, to be productive you need to ask what the top priority is, and do that first. If you had to do only 1 thing today, what would get you nearest to the end goal?

• YOU CAN DO IT – If you think like this, then you get more done, pessimists don’t make productive people!

• MAKE TIME FOR THINGS - Having all your tasks on a TO DO list is great, but won’t get them done any quicker. You have to work with both your TO DO list and your DIARY. Schedule tasks from your TO DO list into free time in your diary and you will find that you will get things done more quickly and not feel overwhelmed.

• DON'T GET SIDETRACKED - When doing a task, don’t answer the phone or deal with any other distractions (people will leave a message if its important). When you stop a task it takes a long time to get back into it, and productive people know this. For large tasks that require a lot of thought, consider moving into a quiet room and asking colleagues or family not to disturb – you will get it done a lot quicker and then have more quality time after its done.

• DELEGATE – If you aren’t good at a specific task, why waste more time and effort trying to do it if you can get someone in to do it? If you can master the art of delegating this can be a very powerful tool to getting things done.

• DON’T BE PROUD – If you can’t do something, don’t waste time trying to work out how to do it yourself, ask for help. This way you learn for next time, and you still get it done. If you can see something coming up that will need help, get the right person available at the right time.

• GET THE BALANCE RIGHT – To be productive you need to balance work and play. If you aren’t happy with your life then you aren’t likely to be productive, as you have no reason to get things done quickly and efficiently.