Interested in getting home from work earlier?
Implement this productivity tip that will help you to focus and get more done. Here it is:
Think in the morning. Talk in the afternoon.
Work on your most important projects in the mornings. Schedule your people time in the afternoons.
Many of us spend our mornings in meetings. By doing this, we lose precious hours of focus. The few hours that we have prior to lunch are critical hours when we are often most alert and have the most potential to get things done. By focusing during the morning hours you can make advances on your highest priorities and most challenging tasks. Afternoons are a good time to schedule meetings. After focusing on your most important tasks all morning, you can focus on people time in the afternoon. This may not be possible for you all of the time but even small strides in this area can make you more productive. Here are a few steps for moving in this direction:
1. Take control of your schedule.
A lot of people are vying for your time. If you aren’t careful, your schedule might end up being completely controlled by other people. In light of this reality, I seldom schedule meetings for the current week that I am in. Instead, I always set my schedule on Friday for the following week. By doing this, I can plan focused time for projects in the morning, and meetings in the afternoons. Instead of allowing others to control my morning schedule, I am always working one week ahead. For more about this, check out my post “How to take Control of your Crazy Schedule.”
2. Write down your three most important tasks (MIT’s) for tomorrow before you finish work today.
Plan tomorrow morning before you go home today. When you get started tomorrow morning, focus on your MIT’s before anything else.
3. Don’t open your email first thing in the morning.
One negative email can hijack all of your productivity in a given day. Consider, instead, spending 30 minutes immediately before lunch to power through your inbox, and 30 minutes at the end of your day doing the same. Email can control all of your time. Don’t let it by starting your day with email.
4. Use your mornings to write, think, create vision, prepare sermons, and work on the organization.
When planning your schedule take advantage of those morning hours to do your best work.
5. Set your meetings for lunch time and beyond.
Commit to your MIT’s in the morning and then schedule people time in the afternoons. By doing this, you will have already been a creative visionary. Now you can focus on your meetings without worrying about all of the other things that you have to do.
Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.
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