Time management tricks, tools & tips [closed]

Answer 1

(Slightly off-topic)

They says there is no such thing as time management. You can't manage an hour and get extra 20 mins out of it. Well, I recently discovered that you can. It you're listening to podcasts or watching recoded web casts, you can speed up the play speed. I found that it also helps me stay focused on the content rather than drifting off and starting check my email during the natural pauses. Then I saw Jeff's post on the same topic.

Answer 2

Stay productive: When I'm working on a boring project and notice I don't do anything useful but reading news, I set a timer. Simple enough, set your mobile on a 1-2 hour timer. Work during that period. When the timer rings, take a break and feel good about yourself :)

For some reason, this works (for me and a couple of other people I know)!

Answer 3

I read this rule somewhere, and I use it every day...

• If someone asks you to do something - if it takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately. If it takes longer, put it on your list and come back to it.

This really works for me.

Answer 4

I close email and listen to soothing music. Of course, this tactic really is all about minimizing distractions.

Answer 5

The trick the Getting Things Done system teaches is to have a trusted system you can put action items into. That way you don't have to keep "juggling". To keep with the metaphor, you can put the other balls down and have confidence that they will not be forgotten. Then you can concentrate on a single ball at a time. There are many, many other excellent tricks GTD teaches. Well worth getting the book.

Answer 6

I have an old laptop that I remove the wireless card from and sit on a completely quiet room away from distractions. Whatever I can't get done without the internet is just leave until later. My biggest problem is that I gooel to find a solution and end up doing 30 minutes research on something a blogger has mentioned in passing. I still find it takes me a good hour before i get into the flow of not distracting myself.