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The Ten Most Critical Questions to Answer to Master Time and Increase Productivity |
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Written by Bea Fields
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Page 2 of 2
6) What do you always find time to do?
There are tasks on your task list which always seem to get done. Look closely at this list. From there, you will want to ask yourself why these things are easy for you to do. Do you enjoy them? Do they help you fulfill a core value? Do they allow you to feel a sense of accomplishment? Do they spark your creativity? There are always "to do's" in your life which are working, and these accomplishments can boost your confidence. Once you discover "why" they are working, use these reasons as a way to look at why other tasks are difficult to accomplish. As an example, if you value time with family in the evening, and you are committed to an evening meeting that you never seem to be able to attend, it is probably because this meeting is bumping up against time with your family.
7) What projects are the most important to your overall life and career success?
It is so easy to put off bigger projects which may have a huge positive impact in our lives, because they seem so daunting. I know . . . I wrote two books in two years, and there were times when I wondered if they would ever get done. The thing to know here is that you cannot "implement" or "act on" a project. You can only "act on" each task which is a part of the bigger project. The best way to approach a big project is to sit down and write out each and every step you will need to implement to complete the project and then implement one task each day (or two tasks each day if possible) until the bigger project is complete.
8)What seems to interrupt you?
Life is filled with interruptions. The first step in the direction of reducing interruptions is to keep an interruption log for one week. The log should include:
-The interruption
-The time of day
-The person who interrupted you
-The length of the interruption
At the end of one week, look closely at your data to spot trends in your answers. You may find that a certain person interrupts you or that interruptions are more frequent at certain times of day and so forth. Once you have discovered the repeating patterns of your interruptions, it's time to start making some changes. Speak to the people who are interrupting you, establish office hours, close the door and turn off the phone during your peak productivity hours.
9) How many hours each day do you spend multi-tasking?
The multi-taskers of the world think they are getting a lot done (I am admitting that I am a multi-tasker. Right now, as I write this article, I am not multi-tasking. I am sitting in my dining room away from my other toys and people). The Journal of Experimental Psychology has discovered that it takes the brain four times longer to process each task you are working on during multi-tasking. So, if you are multi-tasking for one hour, you are actually working for about four hours. The best approach with any task is to carve out the time of day and a quiet location so that you can stay focused on that one project only. Your completion time will literally be cut in half.
10) How often are you checking e-mail each day?
Many people think that checking and responding to e-mail is making them more efficient, yet the reality is that checking e-mail multiple times a day creates distraction and causes us to veer off in a direction away from our most critical tasks. It causes a loss in concentration and causes eye strain and fatigue. The best approach with both e-mail and phone calls is to schedule two times each day to check e-mail and to return phone calls. Use the time in between to work on those tasks which are going to help you achieve your most important projects and goals.
If you are someone who is interested in improving your leadership by improving your productivity, contact me today at
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to schedule time for a consultation.
Bea Fields is an Executive Coach, Speaker and Author and the President of Bea Fields Companies, Inc. and the Founder of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training. She specializes in Leadership and Team Coaching for high growth companies, non-profit organizations and medium-sized businesses. Fields is the co-author of Millennial Leaders: Success Stories From Today's Most Brilliant Generation Y Leaders and EDGE: A Leadership Story.
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