Monisha Longacre | Founder/CEO, Productivity 101 and Author of Practical Productivity
When I was serving as a vice president at The Weather Channel managing weather.com, I also had two very active young children and a traveling spouse. One day, a colleague asked, “How do you do it all?” After giving it some thought, I realized that I had cobbled together a system of tactics to help me keep up with everything – mostly through trial and error. Since that time, our lives have become increasingly more demanding and complex, so I wanted to share these tips to help others find ways to make the most of their time to make the most of their life.
Productivity is such a heavy word and sounds like a ton of work. But my goal is to help others realize that you cannot do everything. There simply are not enough hours in the day. So, the key is to figure out how to focus on getting the most important tasks done efficiently so you can maximize the time you spend doing the things that you love and enjoy. I hope that readers find a few tips in the book that they can adopt to help them make better use of their time.
While technology has improved our lives in many ways, it has also increased expectations of our time and our productivity. It’s harder than ever to disconnect or set boundaries since we are connected and accessible 24/7. We also have higher expectations for ourselves in terms of fulfilling all of our roles all of the time so learning these skills has become more important to prevent burnout and to promote more balance in our lives.
We all talk about time management, but the fact of the matter is that we can’t actually control time – we can’t pause, rewind or fast forward it. Instead, we should rethink what we’re trying to “manage” and reorient our focus to the things that we can and do control: our priorities, our energy, and our attention.
It’s hard for me to pick my favorites since there are so many different tips. I included several really simple tips that you can put into action immediately. For example, the “Two-Minute Rule” suggests that if a task takes two minutes or less, you should do it immediately. I use the “Daily Top Three” to prioritize and focus on just three tasks from my to-do list each day. Or you can “Eat the Frog” by committing to tackling your hardest, highest-value task first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
Some of the more challenging tips help you learn how to prioritize using the Eisenhower Matrix, focus using the Pomodoro Technique, or brainstorm using the Three List Assessment. There’s such a wide variety that I am confident there’s a tip or two for everyone.
The good news is that improving your productivity is a skill that can certainly be developed. The bad news is that each one of these tactics requires focus, practice, and tenacity. After all, you’re training your mind to think differently and shifting your mindset won’t miraculously change overnight. But there’s a proven process for creating new habits or breaking bad habits that’s also included in the book.
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priorigami (free personal task management app)
Monisha Longacre is the Founder and CEO of Productivity 101 and Author of Practical Productivity.
Monisha Longacre is the Founder and CEO of Productivity 101 and Author of Practical Productivity.
