“Redeeming the times for the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16).
How would you like a job title like Creativity Sparker! That’s what Glen Stansberry is. Here he lists 80 ways to add productive time to our days.
The ones I’ve found most effective in my own life are:
- “Exercise – It sounds counter-intuitive. You have to spend time exercising. But, research has shown that exercise boosts cognitive function, creativity, problem solving and productivity. In fact a NASA study showed employees who exercised daily worked at 100% efficiency after 7 hours, while those who didn’t saw a 50% drop, meaning it took them twice as long to accomplish the same thing. So, exercise, in effect, creates time.”
- “Batch & Focus – Multitasking kills time. Again, sounds counter-intuitive. But, every time you switch your attention, there’s a cognitive ramp up time. It can range from a few seconds to a few minutes. So, if you constantly cycle between checking email, IM, twitter, texts, voicemail, calendars, blackberries, apps, scores, stock quotes, news, current projects and more, then respond to each, the time you lose to incessant ramp-up becomes substantial. Instead, minimize time lost to nonstop cognitive ramping by batching your time and focusing on individual categories of tasks with intense, yet discrete bursts of attention.”
- “During the day, I add extra time to my day by establishing ‘no interruption’ periods. During these periods, I focus my complete attention on specific activities without allowing myself to be interrupted by anything or anyone. This allows me to work faster, smarter, and it eventually leaves me more time to answer email, compose tweets, and make phone calls.”
- “I use a timer to limit the amount of time I spend on daily tasks such as ‘inbox zero’, ‘snail mail zero’, cranking through my lists, etc. This keeps me from getting distracted from what’s really important during my day.”
- “It has been said before, but I’ll put it out there again—close email, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for big chunks of your work day.”