16 Ways of Working Faster, Better and More Easily.

We all want things to get done or rather quickly done. As it feels so good to cross things off our to-do list. Please find below a collection of tips and reminders to support you in your productivity working faster, better and more easily.

1. Do the Most Important Tasks First

Set aside time each day or week to make progress on big projects and execute the most important tasks first. Follow the 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle). Examine which part of your work has the greatest impact and focus your energy as much as possible on that part.

Decide what to do with every e-mail you receive, the moment you read it. Deal with it, delete it or delegate it (forward). Empty your email inbox every day.

2. Stop Perfectionism

Release yourself from the pressure to do every task immediately to perfection. Promise to yourself to solve any problems or mistakes later. But for now – just do it!

3. Add a Productive Hour to Your Day by Getting Up an Hour Earlier

Get up one hour early to start your day with a clear mindset and to set your expectations. Enjoy your breakfast in peace. Take the time to do things right, and create a good balance between the hurried world of work and the rest of your life

4. Plan Backwards

Start with the end goal in mind. What do you need to do to achieve it?

5. Brainstorm

Use other people’s brains to help you come up with new, creative ideas.

6. Always Carry Something With You to Take Notes On

Write down all the good thoughts and ideas that come to mind to work better and more easily.

7. Working Quickly in Short, Uninterrupted Intervals

Work in short uninterrupted intervals of 30-45 minutes, followed by breaks of 5-10 minutes. Focus only on the next thing you need to do to make progress. Learning how to say “NO” to interruptions is one of the most valuable skills you can develop.

8. Do All Similar Tasks Together

For example, set aside an hour to go through your e-mail inbox and then answer all your incoming emails (instead of spreading it out over the day).

9. Use the 4 Priority Quadrants of Stephen Covey

Assign each task to one of the 4 quadrants of Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix: unimportant/not urgent; unimportant/urgent; important/non urgent; and important/urgent. Every time you pick something up from your to-do list, ask yourself: “What should I do with this”. Then do it immediately, put it in your calendar for later, delegate it to someone else or forget about it.

10. Fight Procrastination by Making “Do It Now” Your Mantra.

Give yourself a 60-second time limit for making a decision. Gain insight into how much time you really spend on the things that are important to you by recording your time. Keep a list of short ‘5-minute’ tasks you can do while waiting for the train, before starting a meeting, when standing in line, etc.

11. Follow the 50-30-20 Rule

Spend 50% of your working day on tasks that contribute to your long-term, life goals, spend 30% on tasks for your medium-term (+/- 2 years) goals, and the remaining 20% on tasks for, say, the next 3 months.

12. Avoid Multitasking

Multitasking slows down, causes stress and inevitably leads to making mistakes.

13. Clear Your Clutter

Go through your work and living spaces and clear away all distracting clutter and you will be working faster.

14. Visualise Working Faster

Imagine the moment you have achieved your goals. And let your imagination tell you how to achieve it.

15. Create Templates

Modify templates such as letters, reply to emails, blog articles, packing lists, etc.

16. Make Your NOT To Do List

Create a NOT to do list. Useful for keeping track of habits that make you unproductive, such as playing video games and watching TV.