Bad Habits That Rob Our Time

Do you ever get to the end of the day and wonder why you haven’t completed even half the things on your to-do list? It is really easy to get caught up in a hundred and one mundane things that rob us each day of precious time – time that we could be using to find new customers, grow our business or build relationships with press and buyers. 

The types of activity that steal our time are:- 

• Checking social media
• Answering emails
• Chatting with co-workers
• Choosing our lunch, dinner, next snack
• Accepting coffees from strangers who want to “pick your brain” or “discuss collaboration opportunities”
• Scouring the web for hilarious gifs

It could be that you disappear down a social media hole because you are too overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, so instead just check on your Instagram whilst you decide what to do first. Or that you have no structure to your day so it is easy to lose track of time. 

Planning your time more efficiently can improve your productivity, help you achieve your goals but also reduce stress and overwhelm. So to ensure that you make the most of every day then follow these simple tips

• Find a work schedule that works best for you – what times of day are you most productive and make the most of that time to get all priority tasks completed
   
• Find a way to avoid distractions, such as putting phone on silent, limiting social media to a coffee break or lunchtime, - put in headphones so you don’t get dragged into mindless chatter
• List your most important tasks of the day – plan this first thing in the morning or the night before. If you ensure you complete those tasks that day then you will feel that you have had a productive day
   
• Use a note system rather than get distracted by other tasks that you remember to do – keep notes or use voice notes on your phone, so that you can then come back to that task later
   
• Use the two-minute rule – if a job can be completed in two minutes then do it straight away because it takes longer to plan to do it later. Use that method in your emails too – if you can quickly reply to emails as you read them, then answer straightaway and clear your inbox – leaving flagged ones to come back to later that take more time to answer. 
   
• Try not to multi-task but focus on each job in turn, as that way you work faster, smarter and retain more information.