Time management: How to be more productive and ‘get shit done’

Hello! 

Life is pretty busy, huh! You've got your career, brilliant ideas to share with the world, a side hustle to manage, sleep to catch up on, exercise to power through, and a to-do list that just never seems to end. 24-hours in a day sounds like we've got plenty of time to get through everything, but sometimes it just gets away from us, the weeks add up and before you know it you're halfway through the year. 

If you know me, you know that I'm always running at a million miles an hour. I like to keep myself busy and my to-do list is always growing. But I'm also known for getting shit done. I like to think of time management as my superpower! So I thought I would share with you some easy tips and mindset hacks to help you be productive and move forward with flow instead of force.

Whether you're a business owner, a busy Mum or you're trying to kick some personal goals; this is your guide to becoming a "get shit done" kinda person!  

Goals and Big Rocks: 

Everyone has goals. They might be business goals, life goals, personal goals or just a goal for the day - We've all got something we are working towards. Goal setting helps you set intentions and makes you feel like you've got a direction, and keeps you feeling inspired and excited. I like to write my goals down in my diary so that I can see it right in front of me, but you can also try a digital calendar, a whiteboard or even just the notes section of your phone. 

Every morning I ask myself "What is your big rock?". Regardless of how long my to-do list is, there is always one non-negotiable item that needs to be done today to help push you further towards your goals. By identifying my one major rock before starting my day, I can structure my time to ensure I'm not just ticking small things off my to-do list, but I am also moving towards my bigger goals. And if nothing else - at least today I got one step closer towards a goal that I have identified is important to me.

Lists:

Your brain is like a desk. When you've got stuff all over your desk, it's tough to feel productive and get shit done. If you're continually adding items to a mental to-do list, your brain has to work in overdrive to remember and manage everything. With so much brain activity, you'll struggle to stay on task, remain productive, be inspired, think innovatively and keep focused. 

Did you know Approximately 1500 words run through your brain each minute?

That sounds exhausting enough. So as soon as I think of something that needs doing, I write it down on a piece of paper. Getting the information out of my head and onto a list keeps my brain as a clear desk, where I can come and sit, be still, be inspired, stay focused and get shit done without being overwhelmed (or distracted). 

Eat The Frog:

Another way I like to start my mornings is to eat the frog. After setting my goals and writing my lists, I always work out what is going to be the hardest thing to do, something that's going to use the most brainpower. Most people, especially creatives, are most productive in the morning. After a long day of using our brains, thinking creatively and problem-solving, we can struggle to find the energy to undertake big tasks. 

Decision Fatique

You might struggle with energy, or the quality of your work might suffer too. Decision fatigue  is a psychological phenomenon which suggests that a long session of decision making will lead to deteriorating quality of the decisions made. This is what can build up throughout the day as all our decisions accumulate and if you leave your big task until the end of the day you may experience exhaustion from decision fatigue.

When you’re in a state of decision fatigue you can become so overwhelmed that you end up making no choice at all, or completing work that you’ll only need to re-do later. Doing the thing that's going to use the most physical or mental energy in the morning will ensure you give every project or task the attention it deserves.

Have you ever noticed brides planning their wedding are so picky and selective at the start and by the end, they say to caterers, the groom or the bridal party to pick one themselves? Or, even after you have a long day at work of making decisions and exercising your willpower to be polite to colleagues and bosses, when your partner asks you what you what for dinner, do you snap at them? Or do you find it hard to decide and just settle for the easiest option? This is an example of decision fatigue.

FUN FACT: Major politicians and businessmen such as Former US President Barack Obama, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have reduced their everyday clothing down to one or two of the same suits. This limited the number of decisions they had to make in a day to decrease their decision fatigue and free up their mental energy to make more important decisions and work on their big rocks… like running a country!

Five Minute Rule:

This one is my secret tool. If something is going to take me less than 5 minutes to do, I just do it there and then. It might be quickly replying or sending an email or text, cleaning something or just entering some data into a system.

There is no point putting these small items on my to-do list and just watching that list get longer and longer. The five-minute rule helps prevent the to-do list from getting overwhelmingly long (or my head space getting messy) and is a great way to surprise other people with your efficient responses. 

Done is better than perfect:

We all know a recovering perfectionist (guilty!), and this can be a hard sentiment for some people to accept, but too many people spend too much time getting ready, just to get ready. There is a big difference between someone that says they want to do something and someone that goes out and does it. 

I have to credit Mel Robbins for this one, but the 5 Second Rule is an absolute game changer. She’s written a book on it, so go check it out if you want to understand the research and psychology behind it. It is a great metacognition trick which allows you to outsmart your brain and beat it at its own game. The rule says we need to countdown from 5 and then just do whatever it is that needs doing.

It's probably not going to be perfect, but if you wait for something to be perfect before you launch it or to be the perfect person before you start, you'll never get anything done. Waiting for perfection prevents you from being successful, from supporting other people, from finding new opportunities, and from getting shit done.  

Notifications and Batching:

First things first, turn off your social media notifications.  Being online and connected all the time means our brain is continually pulled in different directions. It's so easy to get distracted and addicted to the dopamine hit that comes with a new like on Instagram or a message on Facebook (we are all just junkies looking for our next hit), but checking these notifications and interrupting your flow of work probably isn't going to help you get any closer to your goals. Trying to stay on top of these notifications all the time is also how you end up feeling anxious, overwhelmed, unproductive and busy without getting anything done. 

Your brain works better when you batch tasks and focus on one thing at a time. I like to group my tasks into similar jobs so that I can switch my entire focus to the task at hand. I always set aside time to check my notifications during the day, but I try not to let these pop up while I'm working.

Timers

Parkinson's Law suggests “works expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. This psychological phenomenon depicts that if you give yourself a week to complete a two hour task, the task will likely increase in complexity and become more daunting in order to fill that week. It might not take any extra time, but the stress and tension associated with the task will definitely make it feel like a huge weight!

Essentially the work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Just think about how often it takes you an entire afternoon to clean your home, but if your friend is 15-minutes away, you can miraculously clean your entire house before they arrive?

Designated time slots will keep you on-task and productive! This is why I love setting time slots or setting timers for each batch of work, and make a little game of racing yourself.

Treat yourself 

I know a lot of us are doers and we're always working towards big goals, but it's important to celebrate the small wins too! I like to set myself little goals throughout the day, which I reward myself for completing by picking something off my "joy menu". These joyful celebrations might be a sweet snack from the HSE, getting to look at social media, taking a walk outside or calling my Mum.

I find these treats are a great way to keep my motivation up during the day and recognise my hard work and progress! It’s also a great way to treat yourself when you’re racing your timer and giving yourself a break between your batched activities to be able to stay energised and switch up your energy before moving on the next task that might require a different skillset or mindset.

Resting and boundaries 

Even get shit done people need time to rest. I'm always doing something and setting new goals, but the reason I get shit done is that I've got really good boundaries around my work. I treat my business as a 9-6 job, and after hours I'm not on my phone, I'm not in my emails, and I'm not on social media.

I don't work over the weekends, which is a luxury I have now that I didn't have when I was building up my business. If you don't rest, you're going to burn yourself out, and you'll never end up kicking any of your goals. 

I would love to hear your best hacks for getting shit done? With the right mindset and little hacks, we can all become more productive and make progress towards our goals with flow instead of frazzle.