7 Habits to Ensure You're Being Efficient

1. Schedule your day: Either at the beginning of each day or the night before, plan out each day. You are only one person and you probably won't be able to do everything. Use a schedule to organize your day into time blocks. Write out a daily to-do list (electronic or in a notebook) and prioritize items by importance.

Remember, only schedule around 70 percent of your day. The other 30 percent will be
filled with interruptions, travel time between appointments and errands, and sometimes emergencies.


2. Prioritize-Prioritize-Prioritize: List to-do items by order of importance and label each item by importance and urgency. Make items that are extremely important stand out by marking them with red ink, a highlighter, or a star. Only focus on a limited number of actions per day.

3. Multi-task small projects and details:Although multi- tasking does not work for everyone or every project, tasks like cooking supper while talking on the phone or ironing while listening to a motivational CD can be effective. Try reading a book on the subway or bus, or a book on tape while driving to and from work. It's more efficient and a good use of time to do simple tasks simultaneously.

4. Say NO more often:Recognize what your priorities are. If someone requests something of you that you are unable to do comfortably or does not fit into your priorities, 'just say no.'

5. Delegate as much as possible:You can't do everything alone. Allow others around you to help out. Allow friends, family, co-workers, your partner or your children to assist around the house and/or office. Many people find this difficult because they feel they are the only one who can do it right. Start off with small steps. Don't hand over an entire project, but instead a step that will save you time and energy. Make sure you remember to thank
these people appropriately.


6. Organize:The more things that are organized both within the home and work environment, the faster work will get finished and the higher quality your work will be. Make lists for yourself and others. Create inboxes and action files.

7. Control your procrastination:
Many of us are procrastinators at heart, although for various reasons. One common phrase used to help combat procrastination is 'do the worst
thing first.' At the beginning of each day, do the one item that stands out the most on your to-do list, or your most dreaded item. Set daily goals for yourself and plan lots of rewards.
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  • Thank you for this awesome article.
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