Does it feel like you don’t have time for anything these days?
It seems like if you talk to people they’ll tell you that they’re busy.
We have this way of filling up our lives with things that make us feel busy and at times it can be overwhelming. It’s almost like in our culture today it’s only acceptable to be tired and busy and working all the time or doing something all the time.
Even CEOs can use a little work on their schedules because there are ways to save time.
Why save time?
Finding ways to cut things out will open up your schedule for only the most important tasks. And it will give your brain a rest so you can be your best when you’re working on the most important tasks each day or each week or whatever.
Let’s get into some tips, tools and apps that can help you, the busy CEO, save time.
1. Pin Tab (Google Chrome)
Email is one of the biggest distractors (and time wasters) in the normal workday. If you’re a CEO that spends a lot of time with the browser open on your computer maybe doing research or reading reports or whatever then it’s important to close that email tab.
I know it distracts me. So when I need to hunker down and write a blog post or do some other task I’ll pin the email tab on my browser. This will shrink the tab so you can’t see if you have a new email. You won’t be able to see if someone is chatting with you.
You could always close it, but if that’s too scary then pinning it is a good option.
In Chrome, simply right click on the tab and select Pin Tab. Or you can use a shortcut add-on like this ###a href=”https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tab-pinner-keyboard-short/mbcjcnomlakhkechnbhmfjhnnllpbmlh?hl=en”>one.
2. IFTTT
I’ve been dipping my toe into IFTTT more and more. It stands for If This Then That, which is classic software or coding language. That’s basically what software does. If something happens then the software knows to do something else.
What are some tasks you do all the time on your computer? The ones you repeat over and over.
Do you save photos from Gmail into Drive?
Do you transfer notes from your iPhone to Google Drive or to Dropbox?
There are tons of IFTTT recipes for things like this.
Let software do some of the repetitive work in your life and you’ll save tons of time.
3. Schedule Everything
Interruptions are another huge time waster. This is especially true for those in business. During the last year at my last job the company was growing fast and my boss, the CMO, was in meetings all the time. And he was getting interrupted all the time with people going into his office, phone calls, emails, etc. It was coming at him from everywhere and I could see that it was cutting into his work.
I’ve had this happen to me a little bit. One thing I try to do is schedule everything. There are very few things in life that need to get done the moment you learn about them. Phone conversations can be put off. Email responses can be put off. Everything can really be put off.
Look at all the times you get interrupted during the day. Do it for a couple days and make a note of all those things. Then make it a point to schedule all those things. It may drive a few people crazy in the short-term, but that gets into the next tip.
4. Set Expectations With Everyone
Your life right now might be in the place where people around you expect to hear back instantly. Texts, emails, phone calls, etc. They expect you to be there and available right away. It’s kind of the curse of the iPhone. People know that you have your phone in your pocket.
It’s really all about expectations. It might take time to realign expectations, but it’s important that you do so. Tell those closest to you that you’re not going to respond to email other than once or twice during the day. The same with phone calls and texts.
If you tell people when you’ll respond that’s usually enough for them. They might not wait a week for a response to a question, but one day is usually just fine.
Taking away immediacy allows you to better schedule your time and you’ll get more done.
5. Turn On “Do Not Disturb”
This is another way to avoid interruptions. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb. I do this at night for everyone accept for the people that might have an emergency like my wife. And I’ve spoken with her that during certain times during the day I probably won’t have my phone or see notifications.
You could leave your phone in your desk drawer, but the Do Not Disturb feature works really well. You can set it for certain times of the day or turn it on when you need to shut out the world and get things done.
6. Pocket
Pocket is one of my favorite apps. I like reading articles. The trouble is that I’ll often get distracted during the day with articles.
Pocket is an app that allows you to save articles to read later. And it usually cuts out the ads and distractions within the article. It’s a nice experience for reading articles.
What I find is that articles I think will be good really aren’t that appealing when I open Pocket to read before bed or after dinner or in the morning. That saves me time from reading so many articles and I can still read the ones that I do really find appealing. I just read them at appropriate times.
7. Avoid Meetings At All Costs
Think back on the last few meetings that you had…
Where they really necessary?
I’m thinking back to my boss again. He was in meetings all the time and I asked him once what all those meetings where about. I think he started realizing that he probably could consolidate some of those meetings. He could probably turn a few meetings into email conversations or phone conversations. Sometimes if he put off a meeting the other people could probably still do their job and do what they were supposed to do.
Some meetings are necessary, but in general it seems that we fill up our days with meetings. Maybe it’s because we’re social beings. We like being around others and in an office setting meetings are a good way to do that.
But they’re big time wasters. If you can avoid them at all costs you’ll save a ton of time.
8. Create A System For Finding Things
Another time waster in business life is taking time to look for things. I’m pretty good at being organized. It kind of drives my wife crazy sometimes, but there’s a method to my madness. I rarely have to even think about where to find something if I need to find it.
That includes email archives, Google Drive docs and spreadsheets and the little paper I do have in my house.
This goes into your daily life too. Get rid of clutter in your life like in your house. Find a place for everything. It might seem simple, but you’ll save time if everything in the kitchen, garage and basement have their own places. You won’t even have to think about finding things and that will save a ton of time.
9. 0-1 Social Media Networks
Just about everyone spends time on social media today. There are good things about it, but it can be a big time waster. A simple rule for social media is to limit yourself to 0-1 social media sites. That means that if you’re using Facebook then you probably don’t need Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest. More than one just starts bleeding your time. And it’s difficult to have self control when it comes to those sites because there is always something new on the feeds.
If you can, cut them all out. You won’t really be missing that much. I have to do it from time to time; cut things out. The main site I use is Twitter and even on Twitter I limit the number of people I follow.
10. “Watch Later” On YouTube
This works just like Pocket. I get trapped into watching YouTube videos sometimes. I like watching trailers. The Watch Later feature is great because if I see something I can save it and go back to it. Many times I’ll realize that I don’t really need to watch it and will skip it and delete it.
The other key is to have a specific time when you’ll watch videos. Mine is usually when I’m eating my omelet every day at 10:00 AM. That is a window when I’m taking a break from work and eating and I can watch videos.
Conclusion
Whew. That post got to be pretty long. I have my Gmail tab pinned. I have YouTube and Twitter closed. I have articles saved for later in Pocket. And I don’t have anyone interrupting me with phone calls, texts or trying to schedule meetings.
Follow some of these tips. Use some of the tools. If you’re too busy and aren’t able to get anything done then it’s time to look at all the things you do every day and find ways to cut things out. That’s how you’ll get more time. These tips and tools will help.
