Hi there!

Productivity, a phrase we hear so often, but what does it mean to you?  What measures do you implement in your day to day activities to gauge if you are productive and hitting those targets you set yourself on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis? 

It can be overwhelming if you don’t have the right systems in place to ensure you make best use of your time.  If I had to choose the 5 most important productivity tips with the greatest impact on my life, these would be my top picks:

1. Don’t wait for others to set your deadlines, set them for yourself

Doing this instantly puts you into proactive mode.  Setting a deadline means you have a limited time frame and forces you to clarify your priorities, no procrastination.

2. Learn how to estimate your time

Every task has a benefit, but it also has a cost, in time and effort. The time should justify the benefit. Say you want to declutter your Inbox, how long will it take you? 1 hour? 5 hours?  Is 5 hours worth the benefit?  If you can't estimate time accurately, you can't make good decisions about how to invest your time and effort to get the best return on investment.

3. Use your brain for thinking, not remembering

I can't stress how much this has helped me increase my productivity!  Decluttering your brain is one of the best ways to increase your creativity, focus and mental energy.  Jot down ideas, follow up to messages, meetings to organise, whatever is keeping your mind on overload!

4. Rank tasks by importance, not the order you received them

When you're in the thick of your day-to-day doing, it's really easy and a trap to just mindlessly go through tasks as they come up. You run the risk of ending up spending a big chunk of your time on ‘low value’ tasks and wasting time.  Make a habit of regularly stepping back to ask yourself refocusing questions before deciding on your next action that makes the biggest impact.

5. Start with the big picture, work down to the details

Before diving head–first into a new project, make sure you start from a high level. What's the ultimate objective of this task? What are the must-haves? What isn't really essential? It can prevent you from spending unnecessary effort and drill down to what's really important.

These 5 tips of project managing your time and productivity will pay dividends for you in terms of growth and effectiveness. I challenge you… try them and see how they work for you!

To your success…

PS At the beginning of each week, I write down the top 3 goals I want to achieve in order of priority that will have the most impact on my business. I also write a daily ‘to do’ list to break down the tasks I wish to achieve.  Tip:  be realistic!

Here is my gift to you to provide some structure and help keep you on track: take a few moments at the end of each day to give gratitude for every task completed, congratulate yourself you have done a fabulous job!

Live simply | Dream BIG | Be grateful | Laugh lots