Creators and creatives all seem to suffer from procrastination. Instead of finishing a presentation or even a song, we get distracted. When the time comes to do hard work, tidying the bookshelf seems more appealing. This article will explore great time management techniques that you can use at home or in the office or studio.
Why we procrastinate (in simple terms)
In 1955, Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote an essay in the Economist, the first line read, IT is a commonplace observation that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
Essentially, if someone is given a task to complete in a set time, they will fill that allotted time to complete that task. It is very common in projects for good progress to be made, only for a slump in the middle, and then a surge of activity towards the end.
When I was a developer, if I was tasked with a deadline to complete a project by the end of the week, it would be completed by Friday. If was given a project to be completed or a report needed to be written and sent before the end of a set time, there would be a huge rush to get things ready before the time would elapse.
If we give ourselves a tighter deadline, then maybe we might be able to get more done within that time.
Tip #1 is to aim for shorter, but realistic deadlines to complete tasks. Give yourself a realistic deadline to complete a task. This could be to write a report, write a chapter in a book or learn a song. If you give yourself a large deadline in the future your mind will see a large gap of time where you don’t need to work hard.
Pomodoro
This leads me to tip #2. Using the Pomodoro technique is great for anyone that feels as though they dither their time and want to be more productive.
As mentioned previously, the Pomodoro technique is essentially a 25-minute timer, and within that time period, you work solidly to complete the task.
What I like about this method is that it helps you to beat the clock. If you are a competitive person, this will work great for you. The downside to this technique is that not all tasks will take 25 minutes to complete. However, after the 25 minutes are completed, you are then permitted to take a short break. Breaks are great for productivity as they help ‘refresh’ your brain. Working continuously is not always predictive, despite what you might think, and taking short breaks every 25 minutes can help boost your productivity.
Create a to-do list
#3 – Create a to-do list and prioritising that list.
Ideally, your to-do list should be short – 5 items as a maximum. The reason is that creating a list allows us to know the work we need to do without wasting time guessing or assuming what we need to do next.
Prioritise
When we prioritise a to-do list it is easier to know what we have to do. You can create a rating scheme:
- 1 – High
- 2 – Medium
- 3 – Low
You can also use the MoSCoW technique as well to sort tasks and objectives.
Must-Have – What needs to be done, no obligations.
Should Have – These are not as important but should be seriously considered
Could Have – What things could you do that, but can wait
Would Be Nice – These issues can be left to last. Only do these once all of the main priorities have been completed.
Prioritising allows you to confidently know what you have to work on and to prevent anxiety by not working on things that aren’t going to help you.
The Pareto principle can be of some use as well. Focus your efforts on what is going to give you the best results.
For example, if you are in charge of an e-commerce store focus on the 20% of products that will give the business 80% of the sales. If the majority of sales come from t-shirts, then focus on t-shirts, instead of spending more on items that aren’t as performing. Maximise the potential of the strengths and not the weaknesses.
Don’t multitask
4th on the list of time management techniques you need to use is saying no to multitasking.
It might seem like we are being productive by multitasking, but in fact, we are being less productive than we think. Contrary to popular belief, no one is good at multitasking. We all work best when working on one task at a time. Shifting our minds to different tasks takes us time to get up to speed with what we need to actually do.
Saying No – reducing distractions
Tip #5 time management techniques creators need to use simply say No.
Saying no to people doesn’t have to come across as harsh. If you have a deadline you need to hit, then being honest with people and saying that you need to finish or prioritise something is key to being productive and managing your time.
If you don’t say no to people, then you aren’t giving yourself the respect that you need. Learn to say no and give a reason. It is impossible to please everyone all of the time, so don’t bother trying to. Use the tips mentioned previously regarding prioritisation and timing yourself. Give yourself a deadline, and inform the person that requires your attention that you will be able to assist in an hour (for example). Of course, if it is an emergency then you will need to prioritise ‘putting out fires’ before you can continue with your normal tasks.
Disabling notifications, blocking social media apps and sites and closing email applications are other ways to avoid distractions, as well as prevent people from asking you queries. Remember, being distracted will take you 20-25 minutes (typically) for your mind to refocus on the task at hand.
