Sometimes when I have loads of work to do, I felt the stressed, the moment I woke up and started thinking about how can I be more productive.
Instead of get things moving, I feel tensed and overwhelmed. It’s a feeling of panic, of adrenaline shooting from my chest outward. My mind was unsettled, my heart was beating fast.
This happens to me periodically— I feel like I have so much to do, and I start to worry. I’ve learned to manage it, so that while it still comes up, I now have trust that I’ll be fine. And that, in turn, helps it to go away sooner.
So what do you do when you’re overwhelmed ?
Here are top six ways to quadruple your productivity and have more time to enjoy your life that was shared by David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity.
The practices work for me. I share them with you in hopes that they’ll help you.
1. “What is the next task that will get me toward my desired outcome?”
This is a powerful question which will put your productivity through the roof. Always ask this question upon completion of a meeting or task. Never leave your goals or plan without a clearly defined and scheduled next action item to make it a reality.
2. Plan Your Week.
Spend at least half hour at the beginning (or end) of each week taking stock of what you accomplished the prior week, what you didn’t accomplish, what you learned and what your desired outcomes are for the week to come. Many people dive right into the week with no plan of what they want their week to look like and get frustrated when noting gets done. Be intentional and committed. Things will start to happen. Spending half hour sharpening the saw will make the week’s cutting all the easier.
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced everyday. ” – Jim Rohn
3. Schedule It.
Things do not get done unless you schedule them. Prioritize your list of task that needs to get done. Reserving time on your calendar forces you to be honest with yourself and get completed only what is reasonable in the time you have available.
4. Schedule a Buffer.
Most of the things we do takes longer than expected, we need to be prepared that things always come up that we didn’t plan. Schedule buffer time for these.
5. Give Yourself Strict and Short Deadlines
Parkinson’s Law states that the time required to complete a project is directly proportional to the time you have available. In other words, if you have time to waste, you waste it. Give yourself enough time to complete a task but not a moment more. Set these limits up in advance.
6. Do Not Check Email First Thing in the Morning
This is very important step to take if you want to get things that matter done. Regardless of what you are doing email will immediately throw you off and suck the time and energy out of your life. Get your most important things done in the first 2-3 hours of the day. Then check some email and a little Facebook news feed.
7. Do Your Most Important Things First.
First thing in the morning, get a good workout and healthy breakfast. Before you check your email. Do your most important things first that you have scheduled and plan for the week.
Focus on being productive instead of being busy. – Tim Ferris
**To read more on strategies and tips for powerful living and achieving your personal best, you can download the FREE ebook on How to create a life of abundance below.
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