Gratitude Guide to Getting More Done in Less Time

Gratitude-BulbHere is your gratitude guide to getting more done in less time! How did this come about? This past weekend I spent 3 intense, long, full days in Dallas learning about how to make my business work more for me! You may or may not realize that  I have started a website, I Need Help With Word Press to help people quickly create websites. As I embark down this path, I realized that I should learn about Social Media and Marketing. As a result, I realize that I need to get more done in less time!

Let’s face it: Time is a luxury. You, me, and everyone else only has 1440 minutes per day and they go by quickly! You surely don’t want to waste any of them! And when you are experiencing every one of those minutes, you want to have them filled with gratitude!  By maximizing your efficiency, you can complete every item on your to-do list with time to spare! When you check off those to-do list items, you will feel the gratitude flow over you!

 

By following these suggestions, you can get more done in less time:

1.      Organization. Organization is the key to successful time management and having your gratitude levels soar. Take a few moments before completing a task, whether small or large and create a time-saving game plan. Lay out all of your supplies; know exactly where you’ll start and where you want to finish.

  • Create a checklist and check it twice. When laying out your supplies, place them in the order that they’ll be used. In doing so, you’re able to shave a few seconds off of your project time whenever you reach for supplies. It doesn’t seem like much, however, you will feel more grateful when you get into the rhythm of efficiency!
  • Even if you don’t have supplies, you can still benefit from a checklist. Create milestones. If you’re checking the milestones off as scheduled, you’ll know that you’re on the right track. If you’re checking them later than scheduled, it’s time to speed things up.

2.      Work in spurts. If you have a time-consuming task to take on, rather than dreading the hours of work that are ahead, work in spurts. Working in spurts of 25 minutes, with a five-minute break in between, still allows you 50 minutes of work time without feeling worked to the bone. If you are working on some heavy duty mental work, you will certainly feel more gratitude for those breaks!

  • It’s important to focus solely on the task at hand while working in spurts. If you take even a two-minute break, you’ve lost two minutes of work time and increased your break time by 20%.
  • Concentrate on the one task at hand. If you’re painting a room, the only things that you should be doing throughout your 25 minutes is rolling paint onto the wall and reloading your paint roller. No using the restroom, changing the song, or helping your spouse in another room – just painting.

3.      Power-up correctly. Here is one tip that I certainly need to work on myself. In order to be efficient, it’s necessary to start the day off on the right foot. First, get a good night’s rest. If your mornings are dependent on your consumption of coffee, drink a healthy sized cup of coffee accompanied by an equally healthy breakfast.

  • Wake up early. You’ll find that you’re more energized after breakfast and coffee at 7:00 am rather than 11:00 am. Plus, you’ll add extra hours to your day, which allows you to cross off tasks on your to-do list even sooner. Then, the rest of the day is yours!

4.      Eliminate all distractions. Distractions are a part of life and everyone’s schedule is susceptible. Rather than trying to fight them off, eliminate them completely.

  • Turn off the computer, place your cell phone on silent, and unplug the television and all other things that are known to be a distraction to you. In doing so, you’ll be less likely to channel surf, catch up on your Facebook friends, or chat away when your friend calls.
  • If you need to get something done on the computer in a timely fashion, block the websites that are known distractions by using LeechBlock, a Firefox plugin/Chrome Extension, etc.. This plugin allows you to restrict your visitation to the websites of your choosing.

5.      Invest in time-saving assets. The final, and possibly most important step, is to invest in items or services which permanently shave minutes off of your day. It may be more money upfront, but you can potentially shave hours of chores off of your to-do list each week.

  • Invest in an automatic floor cleaner to automatically clean the floors each week. Also, a lawn mowing service, purchasing a dishwasher, and opting for carpooling are additional strategies that can shave time off of your to-do list.

Whether you’re hoping to finish a complex task more quickly or simply shave minutes off of your everyday responsibilities, it can be done. Increasing your level of efficiency and focus are the only requirements. To this end, these simple tips will make maximizing your time a breeze.

There is a short program by Jason Fladlien – Double your Productivity for Life.  He offers many tips to double your productivity and you can use these tips over and over. I have to warn you… when you click on the link, his page is filled with a lot of hype. Talk about salesy – it is a real turn off. But, if you can get by that and check out his system, you might find it very useful. Being skeptical, I tried it out ONLY because of the money back deal he had. I was pleasantly pleased with what I received. I have to admit – the gratitude levels kept moving higher as I work this system.

Be Well.
Paul.
The Gratitude Guru

2 Comments

  1. Laurence Hansen on March 14, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    Great ideas here. The biggest challenge I have is eliminating distractions, specifically Kona, my cat.

    This morning I only had to remove her about six times from my desk. That didn’t totally deter her. It wasn’t long before she was once again on my desk. This time, though, she sneaked into a place to the side of my computer monitor while I was really concentrating on work and didn’t notice her.

    For a short time at least, concentration and focus won out over the distraction of a cat on my desk.

  2. Peter Wright on March 14, 2011 at 4:18 pm

    Great post Paul.

    When I moved back into full time “thinking & creative” type work after a long period as an employer and farmer, using my time effectively was the biggest hurdle I faced.

    I use a system which incorporates most of your points, with the addition of a timer to limit the time I spend on less important stuff and to record 30 minute blocks for the more demanding things so that I don’t get distracted by the need to look at my watch.

    This system has made a huge difference to what I can accomplish in a day.

    Like Laurence, I haven’t sold the cat problem.

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