7 Scheduling Tips Guaranteed to Increase Productivity and Enhance Fulfillment
A chicken without a head is active but not productive.
Productivity is about being effective with your time, energy, resources, and talent.
Calendar and schedule:
Tenaciously manage your time if you ever hope to achieve amazing results.
#1. Monitor your use of time. Many leaders find, after monitoring their use of time, that they’re chasing distractions and doing things others should do. Keep a time journal for a week.
#2. Schedule time when you don’t do things for others. I try to concentrate appointments on specific days. Monday is usually the lightest day of my week.
#3. Choose one priority a day.
Tip: Delete items from to-do lists that you’ve been carrying forward for several days. They drain you.
#4. Schedule blocks of heads-down work time. Close your door. Turn off email and the phone. Hang a sign on your door that says, ‘Do not disturb’. (Give your entire office permission to block out uninterrupted work time.)
#5. Check email at the top and bottom of the hour.
#6. Launch early. Stop working, reworking, and perfecting before you launch. I give myself a maximum of two hours to get a 300 word article written and posted. The article I post is never perfect. My wife and readers point out misspellings, confusing sentences, and grammar errors. Editing happens on the fly.
#7. Go to bed early so you can get up early.
Bonus tip: Get someone else to work for you.
How might leaders manage their time in order to achieve amazing results?
I find that when I suggest #4 to block out uninterrupted productivity time to leadership audiences that is where I get more push back which I attribute to the indoctrination of the thought that “open access” is top value to the team concept of leadership. You have validated my argument that productive leadership requires a schedule of solitude of focus.
Thanks Anita. Open access is valuable. It’s not a moral absolute. 🙂
The feedback I get is that organization enjoy the power, control, and freedom of establishing heads-down work time. Generally, people love it.
Thanks for jumping in.
What do you do when you really aren’t able to establish routine? And frankly don’t enjoy it. Knowing it is a key component of productivity, this is my greatest hurdle.
Thanks Miss. It might surprise you to know that I’m not a routine person either. I hate doing the same thing over and over. I love chasing shiny objects.
Purpose and commitment help me establish routines. Getting up early and writing a daily blog post, for example.
Maybe a small does of routine would be worth a try. What might you do at the same time everyday? Could you write down one priority every day? Could you walk around the office every morning to great colleagues?
Thanks so much for your comment.
I like it. Thank you.
Using a calendar to chart your time is useful. If you look into the future, it is possible to see whether you plan to spend your time on your priorities. It’s easy to say something is a priority, but the proof is where you spend your resources. As a leader, time is a significant resource. So if you are not spending your time on what you say are your priorities, it’s clear to your team that your stated priorities do not match your actual priorities. Matching your priorities with your resources goes a long way toward increasing productivity and enhancing fulfillment.
Thanks R.A. I really enjoyed your comment. In particular, ” It’s easy to say something is a priority, but the proof is where you spend your resources.”
How you manage time tells everyone what matters, regards of what you say.
Love the article, great tips, and I particularly like #6, especially since I’m just start to blog. Thanks for your rich content and passion.
Dan, I really enjoy your posts. Sometimes they even make me laugh. “A chicken without a head…” is dead 😂 But I get your point. Have a great evening!!
Start your calendaring with ‘the end’ in mind and move backward toward today, if you are able.
I wanted to thank you for going over some scheduling tips. I’m glad you mentioned it’s important to schedule blocks of rest. This seems important especially if scheduling it for other employees can make them return to work ready for the rest of the day.