Get more done, waste less time, do more with less. These are time-hacks that we all aspire to. But why is it always so difficult? Why is it that we all seem to struggle when we have to sit down to get some work done? Within a few minutes of taking on a task, we often find ourselves staring at a wall with our mind wandering or reaching for a snack to get ourselves 'energised' for the task at hand.

I'm going to share with you what I learned this week about time management and productivity.

After months of sitting on the fence, I decided to take advantage of the chaos that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Finally, I took the plunge and invested in myself, purchasing a course from the business of design educators, The Futur. An optional add on to my purchase was a 90% discounted rate to sign up to their exclusive Pro Group. Without hesitation, I signed up for this too. I'm so glad I did because even after one week I feel more energised and focused to get shit done!

The Futur Pro Group is broken down into modules, beginning with a focus on getting stuff done. This is all time management and productivity work. Here I found some super useful tips that you can put to action with instantly to boost your productivity and time management.

Time tracking

Legendary management consultant Peter Drucker famously said – 'What gets measured, get's improved.'

The main advantage of tracking your time is the increased awareness of how much time you are wasting. And identifying which tasks are eating more time than they should. An extra side benefit is that it will help you to eliminate multitasking and switching between tasks too often. Both of which have been proven to be less productive and cause more stress throughout the day.

What is time-tracking?

Time tracking is simply recording how long it takes you to do each task throughout the day. This may sound like a bore and yet another task, that eats up more time in your day. Time tracking can drastically help to identify where you are losing time that could be better used. Even the simple act of starting a time when you begin a task helps to get you focused on the task at hand.

As a graphic designer tracking time is often a big requirement to help assess how profitable a job is. It enables you to look back and see how long work takes, rather than guessing. You can use this data to make better judgements on job estimates and profitability in the future.

I've been tracking my time for different projects at work for years now. This week though, I decided to take it to the next level and time-track my life also. Activities like, social & entertainment, health & fitness, personal development, chores & admin. 

How to begin time tracking?

You can use a simple pen and paper, spreadsheet or there are a lot of apps out there that can help. I've been using Toggl Track for a few years now. It's really easy to use, available on both desktop, phone and online. You can set up prompts to help remind you to keep track of tasks. At the end of a day or week, you can easily look back and see where you are spending the majority of your time. Word of warning – you might be in for a bit of shock.

Sprints

Sprints are an excellent way to channel your attention into a single task at one time and fully immerse yourself. Helping you to achieve the 'Flow State' that helps us reach our maximum potential and creativity.

How to work in Sprints.

A sprint is a window of time where you remove all distractions and focus on a single task. Follow this with a short break to recover before beginning another sprint.

What a Sprint looks like

Working in Sprints can be achieved with 5 easy steps. 

1. Begin by removing all distractions
2. Set a clear goal
3. Begin a timer (90 minutes) 
4. Take a break to reset (20 minutes) 
5. Repeat.

Working for 90 minutes followed by 20 minutes rest works well to ensure deep focus and peak performance whilst working and avoid overworking into burn out. 

As creatives, it's easy to get carried away and work for hours without taking a break. The problem with not allowing time for rest and recovery is that you can easily become burned out. Burn out usually leads to high levels of stress that take days or even weeks to recover from. 

Intentional time setting

Business philosopher and life coach Jim Ron once said, 'When should you begin the day? As soon as it is finished.'

If you ever find yourself staring at your computer and thinking 'what do should I start now?' Then this tip is for you. 

By being more intentional with your time, you can avoid wasting time staring at a blank screen. Get more done with your day and feel more productive. You can even feel less guilty about taking time off.

Planning your day before you start helps ensure you stay on track and make the most efficient use of your time. Realise that switching tasks or multitasking kills productivity. Tasks like checking email often interrupt our day constantly. Modern society often has us thinking that we need to be available and responsive all of the time. By planning your day before you begin, you and your colleagues or clients will have a clearer understanding of availability. This can help to reduce stress and create a more productive workplace.

How can intentional time setting help you?

You can plan out your entire day ahead of time. Schedule time more efficiently and avoid becoming overwhelmed by taking on too many tasks at one time. 

Don't forget to schedule a time for rest and recovery too. Life is all about balance. Scheduling time for breaks, meals and exercise will help you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Your mind is like a computer processer. If you have too many things open at once, it will inevitably become overworked and slow down or even crash. You have to take time to slow down, switch off and recover. Using these time setting techniques can help you avoid feeling guilty about doing the things you love doing.

What to do to begin time setting

Using a calendar, create time slots for tasks you need to complete. 

Try blocking out management tasks in short 15-30 minute windows, such as meetings, checking email, responding to calls. 

Block out creative tasks with 90 minute-2 hour windows. Creative challenges take a much deeper focus. Creativity needs a lot longer to get flourish and for you to get into a zone and begin connecting dots. Allowing longer periods for your creative work will help you to solve the more challenging problems. 

Summary

Embracing better time management and productivity habits. Can drastically help to improve your work performance but also your wellbeing. Better time management can help to reduce stress and improve productivity. Helping you to achieve your goals more effectively.

Give some of these techniques a try and see if they can help you to become more productive and focused. Share other techniques that have and haven't worked for you below.

Be your best self!