Do you feel like you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off? You’re not alone. We’re constantly checking our phones, email, social media and breaking news. Meetings, colleagues, and bosses who seem to think that every idea that pops into their heads is urgent interrupt our work. This isn’t just annoying; it’s hurting our ability to concentrate and actually do our work, leading to more stress and inefficiency. One study found that after an interruption, it takes approximately 23 minutes to get back to the task.
As a business owner, I have many competing tasks and priorities. In addition to doing my main job — crafting and implementing PR and public policy strategies — I need to think about growing my business, invoicing, taxes and many other things a traditional employee doesn’t. It is exciting to run my own show, but at times, I have found myself starting to feel paralyzed by the number of things on my to-do list. This led to procrastination, which only made matters worse.
So I decided to revisit and implement some of my favorite time management tools — the Unschedule and the Eisenhower Box. Here is the secret to productivity: you need breaks. Human minds and bodies are not built to work on tasks for a long time. We lose focus, energy and motivation. Different methods suggest taking breaks at different intervals. More important than using a particular method is finding one that works for you.
I like the Pomodoro method in which you set a timer for 25 minutes of uninterrupted work, take a 5-minute break, and repeat the process. During these periods of concentration, I purposely dedicate myself to one task, turn off my email and silence my phone and leave it in another room or put it in a drawer out of sight. I also like rewarding myself with an hour lunch break during which I do no work. By taking regular breaks, I am more creative and productive. Some of my best ideas come to me while I am on a walk or daydreaming.
Working on a task uninterrupted for 25 minutes is shockingly difficult in most modern-day office environments. I like to work at my office, home or in a coffee shop with headphones on when possible. Open-floor plans present numerous challenges: the phone is ringing, a package is delivered, a colleague is chatting, someone’s brewing coffee, or there’s a meeting. Seemingly all day long.
Using headphones at the office can be a good “do not disturb” signal to the world. In one office I worked in, we put post-its on top of our computer screens to signal “do not disturb.” It actually increased productive communication, because we knew when coworkers didn’t mind being disrupted, and when they needed quiet.
Neil Fiore’s excellent book The Now Habit recommends using an “Unschedule.” I’ve used it for years, especially at times I found myself overwhelmed with competing priorities. It is brilliant in three ways:
- You look at your week and plan breaks and free time first. Then you see on paper how few hours you actually have to work, and it gives you the kick in the pants you need to get started.
- Don’t worry about finishing a task; just focus on starting. If you break a big task or project down into manageable steps and start doing them, finishing it takes care of itself.
- Schedule your time in 30-minute increments. This helps you estimate what you can realistically get done in a workday.
Once I Unschedule my week (download a free template here), I look at my to do list, and evaluate it using the Eisenhower Box. This helps me decide what is urgent, what is important, what is both, and what is neither. Named after former US President Dwight Eisenhower, it suggests scheduling “important but not urgent” activities, ensuring that you actually do them, rather than always focusing on the most urgent issue. Eisenhower was incredibly productive over decades. He famously said, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
Another aspect of time management that I learned later in my professional life than I’d like to admit: saying no. We cannot do everything we want. There’s just not enough time in the day. So get in the habit of saying no. Doing so isn’t impolite, or unprofessional. Saying no is the smartest thing you can do to protect your precious time, which you will hopefully spent on important and urgent tasks.
Outsourcing projects and tasks is a great way to carve out more of your workday for things that only you can do. Barber Communications can help you jump-start and implement strategic communications in your organization. Reach out to discuss how we can help you increase your impact while easing your workload.
First published in September 2019
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