5 Simple Tips to Take Back Control of Your Day

by | Feb 11, 2020 | Uncategorized

It’s easy to lose control of your day and waste time on unimportant tasks. But it’s also fairly easy to take back that control and have the kind of productive workdays that move you toward your big goals. Here’s how:

  1. Turn off all messaging. When you’re working, disable Dropbox, Outlook, Facebook, etc. Turn off texts. Especially make sure to switch off your new email alerts. That ping (and pop-up) is going to 100% distract you 100% of the time.
  2. Only check email three times a day during your workday. Many people immediately check email when they wake up, then again first thing upon arriving at the office and then throughout the day. Checking email when you first walk into your office will almost always pull you into a dark, unproductive hole. Start your day doing something important—and that’s not email. Schedule 30-minute email checks three times each day. Maybe at 10, 2 and 4. When the 30 minutes are up, close your email and move on. If you need more time than that, work on email after hours or delegate more or unsubscribe from things.
  3. Schedule important tasks on your calendar—even, or especially, meetings with yourself. Have a big project to work on? Schedule a 75-minute meeting with yourself to devote to that project. Some experts suggest scheduling your entire day. I’ll leave that one up to you.
  4. Do something you don’t want to do every day. What are you avoiding doing? Do you need to give feedback to an employee? Should you already have called a former client who might not be receptive to your call? Maybe you’re an introvert, but you need to take a walk around the office and talk to people. Do those things you’ve been putting off. Schedule time each day for something you’d rather not do. You’ll be glad you did.
  5. Get uncomfortable. Do something that makes you uncomfortable. Learn something new. Push yourself. Talk to an employee about something they are doing (or not doing) even if that conversation will be hard. Doing something that you aren’t necessarily good at will ultimately pay off—you’ll get better through practice, you’ll learn something new and you’ll accomplish something that needs to be done.

Do these simple things every day, and you’ll do what you do better.