Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Be More Effective with Time

In the world that we live in we are constantly fighting to keep our attention focused on the task at hand.  I refer to these distractions in life as "Shinnies".  They are just one more thing that will getting you doing something but it will keep you from actually being productive.

I'm not saying that the shinnies aren't urgent, and incredibly enticing and sometimes even important.  They can be all of those things.  What I am saying is that those shinnies are taking you away from the plan that you are currently following.  I don't suggest that you make a hard plan and never make adjustments.  I am merely suggesting that if you do make a change, change the execution of the plan not the goal.  You have chosen to pursue the goal for a reason, why would you stop chasing that one goal.

A philosopher put it another way.
"The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither" (Confucius)


Tools

Another great way to stay on task is to use the proper tools.  Every jobs is easier with the proper tools.  The two most effective tools that I use on a daily basis to keep me focused are Asana and Pomodoro Daisuki.  I use the chrome extensions for both of these tools so they are open to me as soon as I start my day.

Asana is a task management tool, that allows you to manage your personal and business life in one place and add collaborators, like a spouse.  This allows you and your team to stay in sync with changes and tasks that need to be done.

Pomodoro Daisuki is a time management technique that allows you to become more effective with your time.  It uses 25 minute sprints with 5 minute breaks.  The human focus is getting shorter due to the technology lifestyle that we have become accustom to.  Odds are you are probably reading this blog from your tablet, phone or other technology device.

One last piece of software that I use to keep me focused is Pocket.  Have you ever decided that you were going to take on your email (email is going to be a whole other blog post), only to find yourself off on a tangent within 15 minutes.  Reading something that you need or want to learn about or just something of interest.  Pocket is very helpful in that arena because it will allow you to save the article that you are reading, and start reading it again at a later time.  The greatest part about it is that it will sync with your various mobile devices and save them locally so that you can access the article when you are offline.  When you don't have access to the internet is typically when you will have the time to read those articles that you didn't have time for previously.   Pocket allows you to take advantage of that time.

I hope this has helped you.  Please leave your comments, and suggestions.

To your success

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