Time is a limiting factor in most people’s lives. There is always so much to do and not enough time to get it all done in. Given this reality, we are all looking for techniques to increase our effectiveness. Here are 5 tips to increase your own effectiveness right away:
- Stick to a regular sleep, meal and exercise schedule – consistently give your body what it needs to perform at a high level;
- Prioritize your top 5 action items every day in rank order and always debrief your progress at the end of the day - make sure you are always focusing on the most important tasks at hand;
- Plan your work, work your plan – Once your prioritize your action items, don’t just start doing them, think through the best way to do them first;
- Figure out your most effective time of the day (it varies by person) and if possible schedule your most important work then;
- Focus on one thing at a time and rigorously avoid distractions – multi-tasking is a myth and only ever dilutes your effectiveness.
Most people live their lives reactively rather than proactively. Instead of controlling their time and schedule they let events control them. If you always choose to just make it up as you go along, don’t be surprised if you are often disappointed with the outcomes you are getting. Create some basic structure to your daily life and you will actually end up feeling liberated to do more of what you want to do because you will have more time to do it in.
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Filed under: Business, Personal, Your Actions Tagged: | action items, effectiveness, Limiting factor, outcomes, priorities, proactive, reactive, schedule, structure, Time management
In my own effectiveness, I’ve found a lot of value in keeping to a regular sleep, work and eat schedule. When you do things routinely, you quickly find the best ways to maximize your time.
So true, leaders who lacked of sleep may affect its productivity from work and can’t think well to make good decision making.
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