Do you have motivation, planning and prioritizing issues like the rest of us?  You have all sorts of great ideas and intentions spinning around in your head, yet most times they never turn into an action.  You’re not alone – be assured!  So how do we battle this tendency that we have to become distracted and moving from task to task?

Five Ways to Work Smarter

1. Get up to speed with technology and use the time savers it provides.  Telephone systems, caller ID, call forwarding, voice messaging, cell phones, scanners, computers and the list goes on.  If you tackle technology head on you will become a more efficient and effective person in your business.  Don’t let a smartphone defeat you!
2. Batch your tasks.  If you multi-task you will end up with nothing completed and a lot of things in motion.  We use different parts of our brain to perform different tasks.  Tackle more difficult tasks, or things you’ve been putting off, first thing in the day.  Don’t move onto something easier or more pleasant until you’ve checked this task off of your list.  If you are more product in the evening, then plan your work around those times, if possible.  That’s the luxury of being an entrepreneur – we can be up at midnight getting something done.  Pay attention to when your peaks and valleys of energy are throughout the day and plan accordingly.
3. Make notes.  Don’t try to be a superhero and remember all of the little details that are involved in your day.  If you have a smartphone, use the voice recorder to leave notes for yourself, if you’re using Outlook to manage your emails take advantage of the categories and task functions to keep things organized and easy to follow-up on.  Use index cards or create a ‘to do’ list in a Word document.  Whatever method you will utilize and follow-up on is the one perfect for you.
4. Adopt an organization system.  There are many options for keeping things neat and organized nowadays.  If you’re in front of the computer and you hate paper clutter, then purchase a scanner and scan your receipts, business cards and papers into your computer.  Maybe a small rolling cart that holds hanging files and has a couple of drawers for miscellaneous items might work better for you.  Find a system that you will use – if you won’t use it then you might as well save your money and time.  Just remember that piles of papers just lead to a feeling of constantly being overwhelmed and snowed under.
5. Write a ‘to do’ list every day.  Time management and setting priorities is a necessity in order to be effective in your work.  Mark off what you’ve accomplished each day and keep notes on the stages of your projects in process.  At the end of the week, you will have a clear view of your accomplishments and tasks being carried over to next week.  Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem.

There are many time management systems available, both free and fee based.  Ask people you’re connected with what organizational systems they’re using and if they would recommend it.  Do your homework before you dive right in, because once you’ve invested the time to load your information in it’s hard to change over to another system.  I recommend checking into Google’s free tools.  Google calendar is a great utility that lets you share your activities with others in your company or group and it is also easily inserted into your website, if you wish to display times available for appointments or bookings.  Don’t jump from one tool to another, otherwise you will end up more disjointed than you were when you started getting organized. 

In closing, I would like to make the following suggestions, as simple as they may seem, that will save you boat loads of time on a daily basis.

• Keep all of your passwords on one sheet, whether it is in a Word doc on the computer or scribbled on a sheet you keep on your desktop.  You’ll be amazed how much time you will save from guessing, digging for, and resetting those many passwords you have set up.
• Keep a Word document with statements, pitches or blurbs that you frequently use.  When you come up with that great introduction paragraph, or an inspiring introductory message for your business, copy and paste!  Don’t wonder about that great verbiage you created but didn’t save.
• Don’t wait for perfection.  If you never put your new product or service out there because you feel it’s not perfect yet, then you will never get started.  Nothing is ever ‘perfect’ and content can always be revisited and tweaked, which you should be doing on a regular basis anyways.

“If we did all we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves” – Thomas Edison

What are your secrets to productivity and staying focused daily?  Join the conversation and leave a comment below.  We use the commentluv plugin so if you have a blog your most recent blog post will be displayed.  Share the love.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope these tips help you work smarter…Tom Loegering

(adapted from a document received from Jerry Joyce)