Success Advice

3 Steps to Managing Your Time and Maximizing Your Workday

Published

4 years ago

Apr 11, 2020

Image Credit: Unsplash

If you’d like to learn how to manage your time better so you can maximize your success, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

Modern technology has transformed when and how we work. It’s created a way for people around the world to work together, but it’s also redefined the workday. The traditional 9-to-5 no longer exists — we all have constant access to our work.

The ability to connect with people globally is incredible. My company has a team in Ukraine, which is in a time zone six hours ahead of where our main office is located. We also work with a number of freelance designers and web developers who set their own schedules. Using technology that didn’t exist 10 years ago, we easily assign tasks, communicate, and triage any issues that come up on a day-to-day basis — and all for people working in different times and places.

Integrating separate workflows means we’re not tethered to a set workday. However, this flexibility comes at a price. Many people with “flexible” hours end up working more hours, as the boundaries between home and work blur. A 2017 study determined that, on average, employees spend eight hours each week answering work emails after they leave the office. Even when we leave the office and head home, it seems, our devices make us perpetually available.

Finding Time to Get More Done

Our increased ability to work anytime, anywhere can make time management a challenge. For those who set their own schedules, it can be even harder to wake up focused and ready to work, but mornings are a critical part of setting a productive tone for the day.

Research shows that we’re sharper in the late morning. We complete tasks with enhanced speed and increased accuracy. This may not be true for everyone, but it’s compelling evidence that prioritizing those first few hours after you wake up will result in higher productivity and better results.

No matter what time of day it is, finding your best time to work and the best way to work is a huge part of being productive. Nontraditional workdays increase the risk of distraction or procrastination, so it’s critical to form habits that help make the most of your time.

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” – Bruce Lee

Here are three ways to use the time-management tools needed to address your “always on” obligations effectively:

1. Filter Tasks by Importance

Organizing your workload into smaller tasks and ranking them by importance helps reduce your chances of feeling overwhelmed and identify which jobs are urgent and which can wait. As you filter tasks, consider why your contribution to the company matters and what passions are driving your work.

This will help you determine priorities and renew your motivation. There are always new challenges to overcome with a business, but staying focused on your purpose can keep you motivated to rise early and get to work.

As you organize tasks, plan to tackle the most important work in the morning and leave more straightforward tasks for the afternoon when you’re not quite as sharp. You’ll make the most progress early in the day, which will feel great and let you relax more as the day wears on.

2. Start With the Big Projects

When you have the power to control your own schedule, don’t push important client meetings or more difficult tasks off to the afternoon. Preparing for a meeting earlier in the day will give you more motivation to get up and move with purpose.

Establish uninterrupted time to get certain tasks done during the day, too. Maybe this means blocking off time from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. to noon on your calendar. Regularly setting aside time early in the day can free you up to work on projects that need special attention. Then, move on to things that require slightly less attention in the afternoon.

Your clients or team members are also more likely to be happy in the early hours before they’ve been bombarded with massive amounts of work. People tend to wear out as the day goes on, especially if they’re working long hours in startups or trying to finish a project before a major deadline.

“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.” – Dale Carnegie

3. Outline Rules for How You’ll Work

With a flexible workday, it’s helpful to set boundaries around how you’ll work. Start by setting a time each night to turn off your computer and mute notifications. It’s almost impossible to unwind if you’re constantly being Slacked and emailed in your downtime. Blocking off parts of your schedule so others know not to disturb you during certain times allows you to focus all your energy on maximizing productivity during your peak hours.

As the CEO, it can be hard to ensure that I’m available to people when I need to be. I have to be flexible enough with my own schedule to fit in everyone else’s schedules. When I’m not scheduling client meetings in the morning, I’ll often work from home in those early hours to get work done.

Then, I will spend collaborative time with my team members in the office later in the day. Realizing where, not just when, you are most productive will help you determine the boundaries you should set to do your best work.

Whatever time limits you set, communicate them to your team members, as well as any freelancers or partners who might need to get in touch with you. When you’re working with teams overseas and the time difference is drastic, let them know that you won’t see the communications until working hours. That way, they can still send an email or message you on an app when it’s convenient for them without disturbing you in the process.

If you’re looking to make your workdays productive and your time balanced, you have the power to do it. Be willing to commit to these simple changes, and enjoy the benefits of a well-managed day, no matter your schedule.

What’s your biggest productivity hack? Share your ideas with us below!

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John Furneaux

John Furneaux is the CEO and co-founder of Hive, a collaboration hub and project management tool that powers companies like Uber, Starbucks, Google, and Netflix. He has spent his entire career as a specialist in tools that help teams work together most effectively, acting as everything from strategy consultant to lead on implementing SharePoint for the U.K. Department of Education to creator of Hive.

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How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

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In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.