How to Get Your To-Do List Done Faster—Without Hiring an Assistant

If you want to get more done faster, you have to be in control of your energy. It’s important to recognize when you feel overloaded so you can take a break, regroup, and tackle your work from a new angle. One way to take back control is to schedule your time spent on email so you can avoid constant distraction all day.

Another important step is to take care of yourself. Be honest and acknowledge how you feel about certain tasks. Learn how to say no to items on your to-do list that aren’t necessary and focus on the tasks that will have the most impact on your bottom line. Try to work when you feel most energized and productive, and finish the most important tasks first.

Sometimes the list of what you need to do isn’t adjustable and everything must be done; when this is the case, delegate so you can optimize your personal and professional time. Meetings will help, but keep them brief, to the point, and goal-oriented.

Your time is valuable, and there are ways to maximize your efforts without draining your energy. Learn more in the infographic below.

Increase Your Productivity with These Tips

• Avoid overload

  • To keep working at a productive rate, it’s important to manage your energy
    • When you hit a wall, take a break, regroup, and tackle the problem from a new angle
    • It’s more efficient to stop working than try to make something out of nothing

• Schedule times to check your email

  • Don’t refresh email every five minutes hoping to find something to distract you from the task at hand
  • Schedule a few times throughout the day to check email
    • Beginning of work day: Get in the loop with what’s happening
    • Additional scheduled times: Allows you to communicate effectively while avoiding constant distraction all day

• Be honest with yourself

  • Explore why you don’t want to work on a task
  • By acknowledging how you feel you can move on and get it done

• Learn how to say no

  • Instead of, “I can’t,” say, “I don’t”
    • Make it clear that it’s not that you can’t do the task, it’s that you don’t have the time or energy

• Follow the 80/20 rule

  • Focus on 20% of the things that are important because they yield the greatest value
    • These are the need to do tasks that will have the most impact to your bottom line

• Find your productivity period

  • Identify when you feel most energized and productive
    • Schedule work that requires the most effort during this time

• Finish the most important tasks first

  • Instead of wasting your energy on dreading a task, getting the important task out of the way first, helps improve energy levels

• Plan your day before bed

  • Spend a few minutes thinking about the next day’s tasks, write them down and prioritize them
  • This sets you up for an easier start the next day

• Delegate and Outsource

  • When a task is either not within your scope of work or you know someone who could do it better, delegate or outsource it
  • Optimize the effectiveness of your time spent on essential tasks that create value to your personal and professional life

• Bundle similar tasks

  • Bundle similar tasks instead of scattering them through the day
  • This keeps momentum going as you work on everything related to a similar activity

• Gain control of your meetings

  • Long or pointless meetings waste time and solve nothing
  • Remember to:
    • Make meetings brief and to the point
    • Standing during meetings helps keep them short
    • Have a specific goal for each meeting and keep conversation focused
    • Only have people who must be there present
    • Avoid meetings that are lectures
    • Have meetings later in the work day
      • Mornings are typically people’s most productive time

Conclusion

By adhering some of these productivity tips to your day, you can help your company run more efficiently and make your workload less stressful.