Taking Action on Your Time Tracking Log
Productivity is an ever-changing, on-going process for improvement. In the recent article Wonder Where Your Time Goes? Try This to Find Minutes or Hours Each Day the topic of tracking how you spend your time was discussed. Are you still tracking your time? What have you done with that information? Knowing how your time is spent is an essential first step, but taking action to make changes is the ultimate goal of gathering that data. Here are some ideas on how to take action on the information you're collecting.
Block Schedule Activities
Blocking similar tasks together is an excellent way to work through tasks productively. Email is one of the biggest time consumers most of us have. Instead of allowing yourself to get pulled into the black hole that email can be, set specific times of the day that you work on email. Those times should have defined START and END times. This will create not only a sense of urgency for working your email inbox, but also prevent you from spending too much time on this one thing. It is not always easy to work around other people’s (email) expectations, but in time you can influence how both of you work. Realize that the more emails you send, the more you probably will get back. Ask yourself if email is the most efficient way to communicate.Other tasks can work in a similar fashion. If you have multiple follow up items to work though, schedule a block of time to do just that. Avoid being pulled in different directions that will then require you to reestablish yourself in what you were previously doing. If you are in a store environment, try getting all of the scheduling tasks completed at the same time. Or if you are working on action planning or performance appraisals, block time to complete those specific activities before committing to do anything else.
Use the Pomodoro Technique For Your Work
Spend 25 minutes working on a project, then take a 5-minute break. Work four cycles and then take a more extended break. This can work in any environment. If you're in a store, schedule your activities in these blocks as best you can. Some examples: coaching on the floor for 25 minutes, then break and move on to a different project. This can ensure you have dedicated time to specific tasks, but also time to circulate between major activities to follow up on other items happening within the store. This method can help keep you fresh and engaged with what you are doing, versus getting burned out on any given project.
Time Assessments
Assess what you are getting out of your time currently. I was reviewing my data from Apple's Screen Time and realized that I was spending A LOT of time reading through different article feeds and news updates. While I both enjoy that activity and find it useful for both my development (leadership articles) and ability to share that information as research or posts on LinkedIn, it was more time than I believed was necessary. When I took a step back and thought about when and how I was using the RSS application I had, I realized I tended to go there frequently because I was either bored or just had built a habit of doing it at specific times.Based on those findings, I changed some of my routines. First, I eliminated that app from all of my devices and actually switched to the Apple News app. That forced me to remove some of the feeds of information I was getting. Also, the Apple News app is a bit clumsy in its early release and is creating enough friction for me that I do not spend nearly as much time reading information.I separated the learning and leadership feeds into another application. Now I can have dedicated time (and tracking) for that specific activity. I can make better choices on how much time I should be doing that. Instead of having everything lumped together, I can now track my time in the News app and my time reading leadership or retail related articles.
Remove Visibility or Temptations
These can be a little more extreme but can be very helpful in overcoming the most challenging of habits. I have even read about people removing all but the most basic apps (phone, messages, notes)from their phones. I am not at a point where I would recommend that yet, but I have found that making some simple changes can make a difference.I removed my work email account from devices that I do not use for work. At one point I had my work email on every device I owned so that I could always (quickly) check if anything new had come up. Now, I have to be intentional about using my phone specifically for work email. I also turned off the notification badge, so I have to open the mail app to see if something new has arrived - that alone reduced the time in and out of email.Placing certain apps in a folder on a page other than your home page is another excellent way to reduce the visibility to the offending apps. Does Instagram or Facebook suck a lot of your time? Try moving these apps. If you have to scroll through your phone a couple of pages and then find it in a folder, it may create enough time and effort to make you think about whether you need to check your feed right now or not.What will you do with your time tracking information to make a difference in your routines?Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills all at no cost. JOIN NOW!No spam ever - just leadership goodness.