Your to-do list is never empty, you’re not getting home as early as you like, and you don’t feel like you accomplish everything that you want to get done.
This is the problem with most of us. But managing the balance and sequence of events in your day can give you maximum productivity.
Here are two simple steps to get you started:
* First, sit down and briefly answer the following questions:
What are your work hours on an average day and week?
What are your standing meetings—or things that must be done at a certain date and time?
At which time of the day are you most productive?
Are there days of the week that are more or less productive for you?
Once you have answered these questions, take a step back and see how your schedule, meetings, day-to-day tasks, and productivity levels would all fit together into one perfect work week.
Then, use an empty calendar to actually plot out that schedule.
* Now, things come up, and you might not be able to stick to this schedule every week.
Treat those periods of work like any other meeting on your calendar. If people at your company can see your free or booked time on your calendar, you can even put your working time on it to avoid having it taken from you.
Another great way to guard your time is to take the lead in scheduling meetings.
Let people know what times work for you as soon as humanly possible—and ideally, before anyone else has thrown out a time.
If you like to have meetings in the afternoons or on a specific day, throw out 'Anytime after 3 PM' or 'Friday is wide open.'
That way, the options will be anchored in your suggestions, not in times you want to keep to yourself.
Courtesy: www.themuse.com
