TIME IS THE great equalising currency of all people, of all nations, across all ages. How we value and spend time is the critical difference between those who achieve their goals and those of us who may be really busy, but getting nowhere.
Looking at how we spend time and the output we are actually achieving from our energy spent over an hour, or a day, or a week allows us to find ways to work smarter. How would you spend an extra hour each day?
While you ponder that, here are 10 quick ways to increase productivity and reclaim time for you.
1 START WITH A PLAN
Sit down every Monday morning and set out each day for the week. It’s a lot easier going into your week with a game plan because it gives you structure and avoids repetitive tasks. Setting aside a time in the morning or afternoon to unplug from emails and phone calls to get to your actual deliverable tasks will make a big difference to your productivity.
2 GET IN THE ZONE
For property managers, look at your rent roll and arrange tasks through geographical area or zones. This saves you having to drive back and forth to suburbs when you can do it all in one go. You can do this by downloading GPS tracking apps that will optimise your routes. Just type in the addresses and let the app do the work for you! Road Warrior Route Planner takes into account real-time traffic, availability and your busy schedule.
3 CLEAR DESK, CLEAR DESKTOP
Regularly clean up and go through emails. If you don’t do this you’ll find you look at the same email five times a day. Keeping a clean desk keeps a clear mind.
4 KEEP IT MOBILE
For property managers, accessing owner or tenant details on the road is a big time saver. Use your time wisely when driving and make sure you have mobile access to your information. Remember though, road safety comes first so make sure you have hands-free!
5 THE MYTH OF MULTITASKING
Shut down your inbox and ignore your emails while focusing on more pressing tasks. Setting up rules in your inbox that alert you via mobile when an email comes in means you can concentrate on the important stuff.
6 TECH IS A SERVANT, NOT A MASTER
The increased use of mobile technology has given people access to their work lives anywhere, at any time. The work-life balance is being blurred more and more. Using collaboration tools like Asana creates accountability, responsibility and aims to make workplaces more productive, but make sure that notifications are turned off when you’ve left for the day.
7 LEVERAGE A LENS
Take hours from your day through the use of mobile inspections where you can. Use Skype or Zoom to talk to landlords remotely, but maintain the personal touch with video conference facilities.
8 AUTOMATE YOUR AUTOMOBILE
Make sure you’re logging car trips efficiently by downloading the log book app to keep track of your routes for you. The Logit App is free and ATO-compliant.
Set a time limit for your danger jobs where you are likely to get distracted.
9 TREAT YOURSELF
We always encourage taking a timeout for a little pamper session, giving you time to recharge and reboot. If you really don’t have time and need luxury on the go, it’s still possible! Glamsquad, LUXit, Priv or CityMani are the ‘Uber for beauty’. Mobile beauty services are a new phenomenon that aren’t going anywhere, so jump on board – and it’s not just for the ladies!
10 TIME BOXING
It is easy to spend longer than needed on jobs, or get absorbed in activities that you enjoy doing, versus the jobs you are avoiding. Set a time limit for your danger jobs; the ones where it’s easy to get distracted. Give yourself 30 minutes or an hour, and then come back again tomorrow with another time box.
