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A Run-Down On Zero Float In Project Management, Plus Tips On How To Manage It

Zero float in project management

We’ve all managed a project at one point or another. Whether it’s planning a party or leading a large project at work, it’s important to understand the tasks that lead to the desired outcomes. One of the first steps many Project Managers will do is create the project’s timeline in a series of tasks. When mapping out the project, each task gets a duration for competition. It will become clear which activities depend on others and which ones have more flexibility. When there is no extra time between activities, we have zero float, and it is considered a critical activity. A series of critical activities that are dependent on one another make up a critical path.

If a critical activity slips and doesn’t meet its deadline, it causes the project finish date to slip. And this is usually a no-go in project management. Mainly because deadline slips, even the small ones, typically have massive financial costs. For the average size project, even a 10 percent overrun can result in a $5 million hit to the project’s profitability. Using the critical path method allows Project Managers to decide which tasks should take precedence, anticipate potential slips in the schedule, and make necessary adjustments. This makes project delays less likely and, therefore, project success more likely.

Got some zero float activities in your project? Here are 4 tips to help you manage them:

1. Start with a thoroughly defined project scope

Without a well-defined scope that addresses all the project details, it’s pretty hard to achieve a killer result. All of the deliverables, no matter how small, need to be agreed upon by the project’s parties. This will provide the guideline for which activities need to be included in the project. Without a complete scope, it’s pretty hard to come up with an accurate project timeline. What ends up happening is deliverables get added on and your zero float tasks have to slip. Wreaking havoc on your budget, time constraints, and project quality.

2. Prepare for all possibilities

When looking at your critical path, start thinking about the “what if” scenarios that could pop up. By thinking about these potential situations in advance, you’re more prepared for anything that can happen. And if you look at the history of projects, especially those major high-risk ones, things happen, and contingency plans go a long way.

You may want to look beyond your critical path at the tasks that have extra slack to prepare for these “what if” situations. You can use extra slack to extend a task, giving yourself more resources to allocate to the at-risk zero float tasks.

You can also think about the zero float tasks that are most likely at risk of delays or other issues. See how the rest of the critical path is affected and how you can shorten particular task durations. Here are a few things you can do to fast track your tasks with zero float:

  • Change a task’s constraint (usually time, scope, or cost) to allow more adaptability in the schedule.
  • Work overtime. No one likes to do it, but often it’s necessary and worth it in the end.
  • Commit additional resources to work on the zero float tasks that will move the project finish date forward.

3. Create regular project update reports

Regular project reports keep all of your stakeholders on top of what is happening with the project. It saves time by summarizing how the project is tracking for all stakeholders at once. Not only does it keep you and your team accountable, but it helps manage expectations by providing a platform to give a heads up if any of your zero float tasks are experiencing slippage.

4. Have a robust change management process in place

More often than not, scopes tend to creep as projects progress and can have a significant impact on the project. Sometimes change is inevitable, and it isn’t a bad thing, but any changes to the scope must be managed correctly. Here are some vital elements of any change management plan:

  • Justification for the change – what are the goals that this change will help achieve?
  • Who does the change affect?
  • Who is responsible for the new tasks needed?
  • How does it affect the timeline?
  • What are the costs?
  • Who needs to sign off?
  • Which stakeholders must be notified?

Suppose a change affects your zero float tasks. In that case, it will likely affect the critical path and, therefore, the project completion date. With a strong change management plan, altering the critical path doesn’t have to be an issue. It can even improve the project’s deliverables in the long run. If you understand how changes will affect those zero float tasks, you’ll be better able to take the steps necessary to manage and achieve success.

Conclusion

When your project has time-critical tasks with no room for slack, they’re considered zero float. With close attention to and management of these tasks, you’ll be on your way to delivering your project on time and within budget. Follow these zero float management tips to help avoid the stress of slipping schedules and disastrous delays!

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Endless Emails Are Killing Your Time. Take It Back With These Email Management Strategies

Email Management

Would you be shocked to hear that the average professional spends 28% of the workday reading and answering emails? It sounds pretty staggering, but it makes sense when you consider that they receive an average of 121 business emails every day, not to mention all of the spam, newsletters, and sales emails.

Whilst email has been a revolutionary tool for productivity in the workplace, it has equally earned a reputation as the chief source of unproductive busy work. There are a lot of seemingly innocuous reasons for this. For example, many of us tend to delay responding to emails in an effort to save time or work on more pressing (or interesting!) tasks. However, this creates a need to re-read emails, costing even more time in the long term. Some other time drainers are over-organizing with unnecessary folders or checking your inbox numerous times per hour. This time wasted could be used for more productive tasks, or put towards creative initiatives that are actually meaningful to the organization. Or even just to have some downtime and avoid burnout.

Time wasting isn’t the only cost of poor email management. Like a lot of things in our modern-day existence, the hidden impact on the environment is more than you may think. While Mother Earth may prefer email to snail mail as the more eco-friendly option, neglecting to delete the unnecessary or old emails in our inbox increases our carbon footprint. This is because they are stored on the cloud, which requires a lot of electricity and, therefore (in most cases), fossil fuels.

Then there’s the monetary cost. One company found that email was costing them in the seven figures, with each individual email estimated at 95 cents worth of labor.

So it’s clear; email management is vital. But how should we implement email management, so that it’s meaningful, productive, and effective?

Here are some easy tips that you can implement to make your email life easier:

To do List

Have a to-do list box

While you might be tempted to organize your emails with multiple folders and labels, this actually is more time-consuming than helpful. Harvard Business Review reports that using folders to manage emails wastes 14 minutes per day. With a handy search button being a core feature of all major email platforms, needing to manually compile folders has gone the way of the dodo.

What is helpful, though, is to have a to-do list box. When you’re putting off an email to respond to later, pop it in this box and refer back when you can. For other emails, try the single-touch rule; When you open an email that you don’t need and will never need again, delete it. For your peace of mind and for our lovely earth! And if there’s a chance you could need it again, the archive box is your friend.

Do it or schedule it in

Sometimes we put off responding to an email because we just don’t feel like it. If responding to an email will take less than a minute, and you have the capacity to do it when you check your box, just get it over with and do it. The accessing, rereading, and thought-gathering process is repeated by going back and doing it later. This wastes unnecessary time and resources.

For your other emails, schedule time in your day to dedicate to answering those emails from your to-do box and executing the tasks that they may require. For the more time-consuming emails, tackling them all at once will save you time and keep you focused on your other tasks throughout the day.

Turn off notifications

While that notification ding may only divert your attention for a couple of seconds, turning them off entirely at work is likely your best bet. One study that had participants turn off notifications for 24 hours reported less stress, more focus, and productivity at work with notifications off.

If it’s likely that you will receive important emails throughout the day that may be time-sensitive, set specific times to check your inbox all at once. This shouldn’t be more than twice an hour, but ideally, every hour works best and allows you to focus on other things.

Be ruthless with the unsubscribe button

Ever get those daily emails from that company you shopped from 6 months ago or an online blog that makes you wonder when you ever signed up for it?

Getting emails from businesses that you’ll never open and don’t care about is a waste of your time and the earth’s limited resources. Unsubscribe whenever the thought crosses your mind, or at the very least delete the ones you won’t open or use again.

Importance of Email Management

Think about who you’re CCing

While you may think that adding every person from the department to an email chain will save time, in reality, most of these ‘FYI’ tactics are unnecessary. If they need the relevant information in the future an email can be simply forwarded to them. Reading irrelevant emails costs us 8 minutes per day, so save other people’s time by including only the relevant people who really need to see this information.

Think to yourself… “Do I really need to send this email?”

If it’s easy for you to walk over to your coworker and ask them a question or give them an update – then why send them an email? Don’t be afraid to just ask them to let you know when they have time to chat. Real face-to-face conversations have a lot of benefits, including saving time through faster problem-solving. Emails tend to produce a back and forth dynamic, often unnecessarily. If you can, cutting to the chase with a face-to-face is ideal.

Conclusion

Are you one of the many people who find that email is eating up your time at work, leaving you scrambling around trying to make time for the other more critical tasks? Then it may be time to rethink how you approach your email management.

With some simple processes and a streamlined approach, you can utilize email for its functionality without falling into the time-consuming trap that it can be.

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4 Steps to Achieve Peak Performance at Work

Achieving peak performance at work

“Unless your talent and skills absolutely dwarf those of your competition, the deep workers among them will outproduce you.”— Cal Newport.

Many mistakenly believe that talent is crucial when it comes to achieving peak performance. Not to say that it’s useless, but no amount of talent and skill will help you perform well if you don’t have the right mindset and work ethic.

Many of us reach peak performance once in a while by accident—the circumstances just align, helping us enter a powerful yet short-lived flow state. The critical question for most of us is, “how do I stay highly productive at all times?”.

Fortunately, we have an answer to that. In this post, we’ll explore the intricacies of entering the flow state and look into what you should do to sustain peak productivity.

Let’s dive right in.

But just what exactly is peak performance?

Peak performance is a state in which someone executes a task with maximum skill, while also showing an extremely high level of concentration. As a result, this leads to exceptional output of high quality. Even better, people can enter these states for longer timeframes and do so on a regular basis. Here’s how you can achieve this:

Managing attention and focus

1. Managing attention and focus

A crucial part of peak performance is focus. Concentrating for extended periods of time can be demanding, but it’s definitely something you can cultivate. There are plenty of ways you can go by doing this:

Let’s start by taking a quick look at a few practical things to help you sustain productive focus for longer:

  • Eliminate all distractions from your workplace. Very often, we don’t even notice how our attention shifts from what we’re doing to other, less important things like phone notifications. Practice minimalism when it comes to your workstation.
  • Keep your workplace clean and tidy. A cleaner table will help you concentrate for longer.
  • Consider investing in a comfortable chair. Many of us tend to hunch our backs over our tables, resulting in undesirable posture, low oxygenation, and decreased focus.

Okay, so now that we’ve eliminated distractions from our surroundings, let’s take a quick look at the things we can do to sharpen our focus during work:

  • Focus on one task and one task alone. Modern society tends to glorify multitasking for some weird reason—the truth is that there’s a whole body of research that suggests that switching between tasks harms your concentration, decreases IQ and makes you less efficient in the long run.
  • Eliminate interruptions at all costs. There’s a bunch of free or inexpensive software that will allow you to temporarily block the apps or websites that you consider distractions. Bear in mind that you can do that on any OS, but it does involve messing around with code, so consider that before going that route. To many, this will appear as a very straightforward step, but rest assured that it will work wonders on your concentration and your performance as a result.
  • Be mindful of Parkinson’s law. This law is usually expressed as “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” People typically execute tasks with the deadline in mind. For instance, if you’ve allotted three months to finish something—you most likely will. However, if you set the deadline for a month and a half, you’ll most likely deliver as well. It’s important to underline that Parkinson’s law shouldn’t be used to set unreasonable deadlines; instead, it should be applied to manage our time better.
  • People often have mixed feelings about meditation, but the truth is that it works. There are very few activities in our day-to-day lives where we actually train our focus, rather than deteriorating it with mindless feed scrolling—and even a very modest meditation practice will work wonders on your ability to concentrate on tasks and avoid distractions. With meditation, you’ll be able to become much more efficient by only investing 10 minutes a day to practice.

Go with the flow

2. Go with the flow

Once you’ve created an environment conducive to long-lasting concentration, you’re prepared to enter the so-called “flow” state. This state is typically known as “being in the zone”—it’s when you’re fully immersed in the task you’re working on. People often feel so concentrated on what they’re doing in this state that they reportedly lose track of time, and a few hours feel like 45 minutes.

So, how does one enter the “flow” state?

  • The first and probably essential step is eliminating internal and external distractions to a minimum, which we’ve dealt with already. To remain focused for longer periods of time, we need to create an environment that will allow it.
  • Understand your biological peak time. People are different. Our brains and bodies have adapted to our environment and lifestyles. As a result, some people are just more productive in the morning, others—in the afternoon, some feel like they’re most efficient in the evening. Carefully observe your energy levels throughout the day and identify the timeframe in which you are at your biological peak.
  • Create the right amount of distraction. Many people believe that in order to focus, they need to work in a silent environment. While this does make sense on paper, this isn’t how our brains work. In fact, working in total silence will force our brains to point their attention to something. However, having a tiny bit of distraction in the form of cafe chatter or ambient music will help your attention remain grounded in what you’re doing.

Challenging Tasks

  • Is your task challenging enough? To enter the flow state, the thing you’re working on shouldn’t be too challenging or not challenging enough. The former will most likely overwhelm you, and the latter will probably bore you. Achieving flow state is all about working on an activity that will provide you with the right amount of challenge, just enough to keep your brain curious.
  • Make sure that your task has a clear outcome. Very often, our productivity suffers from a lack of clarity in terms of what’s expected of us. Understanding what you need to achieve will prevent your mind from wandering and will ensure that you remain productive for a long time.
  • Stay hydrated and caffeinated. Drinking water regularly is absolutely imperative when you’re looking to work for a long time since dehydration will often induce a sense of fatigue in people. Coffee is optional, kind of. Of course, if you’re very sensitive to caffeine, or you just don’t like it, there’s no good reason to force yourself to do it. However, if you drink coffee regularly, consider doing so strategically throughout the day. But have your last cup no later than 4-5 PM since it could potentially harm the quality of your sleep.

Don’t overdo it

3. Don’t overdo it

Bear in mind that working at peak productivity is taxing. This is by no means a casual stroll in the park—it’s a full-blown workout, so expect to feel tired a little earlier than you normally would. This is why it’s important to take regular breaks.

Typical signs of fatigue are lack of concentration, the inability to finish basic tasks, making lots of small mistakes, and so forth. If you notice some of these symptoms throughout your high-performance days, don’t hesitate to take a short break. A good framework for this could be the Pomodoro technique—take a 5-minute break after 25 minutes of work, or take a 10-minute break after 50 minutes of work. But bear in mind that these are just suggestions. Do whatever feels right.

However, try to distinguish fatigue from lack of focus. Sometimes low productivity is the product of distraction and, in these situations, we need to just focus harder and keep grinding.

Another common side effect of deep work is excitement and agitation. I’ve experienced this on numerous occasions. Sometimes after a couple of hours of intense focus, you may feel a mix of excitement and slight anxiety—this is just your brain signaling that it needs a short break. However, it’s essential to remain mindful of these states and not express this irritability towards your colleagues and loved ones. Take a break. Even better, go for a short walk and celebrate your productive work.

Take good care of yourself

4. Take good care of yourself

We often think of peak productivity as something we do during the time we’re productive, but there are plenty of things we need to take care of to be able to perform regularly. Getting enough sleep is a good example.

The quality of our sleep has a massive impact on pretty much every part of our bodies. Sleep is vital for the cardiovascular and immune systems. Aside from that, it provides our brains with the rest that they need, ensuring that we are able to learn new things, think clearly, and remain emotionally balanced.

Same goes for exercise and a healthy diet—while people can definitely be extremely productive without the two, it’s safe to say that incorporating them into your daily life will certainly help you achieve even more.

Emotional wellbeing is another essential factor. Invest time and effort into feeling content with your work. Consider implementing a daily self-check-in to achieve a sense of mindfulness in regards to how you feel, what you’d like to address on a particular day, and what you think is the most important task on your list today.

Another essential part of peak productivity is motivation. There’s very little you can actually achieve if you don’t really feel like it. This is precisely why we should occasionally look at the big picture and understand where our lives are headed and whether we’re happy with this direction.

Make a habit of asking yourself forward-looking questions into a habit. Ask yourself why you’re doing what it is you’re doing? Are the things you’re working on today a means to achieve your long-term goals?

And last but not least—learn to forgive yourself. Remember that you are but human. Sometimes we just happen to slip up here and there—and that’s totally fine. Sometimes, your day won’t be as productive as you intended it to be; it happens to everyone. Stop punishing yourself for the things you can’t control.

The bottom line

Above everything else, remember that sustaining peak performance at work doesn’t have to be a hit or miss gamble. Know your numbers and plot out the strategies for compounding improvements. Set measurable goals and get to work. This will give you direction, clarity, and progressive routines.

Embrace momentum to stay in the flow state longer than your peers or the last time you did. Then track your performance numbers and continue to beat your present record.

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7 Advantages of Cooperative Multitasking (And 4 Disadvantages)

Cooperative Multitasking

Cooperative multitasking is a technique where two or more software applications will share the same resources of a common host processor. This method will queue tasks and attempt to allocate resources between them periodically.

Only one task can run at a time and the program must yield control before the next task can run. This type of multitasking is most useful when concerning a single user with just a handful of tasks.

This method is less popular with modern computers but was heavily used during the 16-bit era. Nowadays cooperative multitasking is used mainly where memory constraints exist.

It’s common to see cooperative multitasking in applications like CICS (Customer Information Control System) or the JES2 (Job Entry System) subsystem.

The operating system will never perform a context switch between processes. If running multiple programs, processes will yield control voluntarily when the process goes idle or is logically blocked by another program. Alternatively, they will cede control periodically so both programs can function.

Now let’s take a look at the main advantages of cooperative multitasking.

CPU Isn’t Being Overworked

1. CPU Isn’t Being Overworked

Since cooperative multitasking focuses on a single process at a time, the full resources of the CPU can be focussed on the task. When multiple programs are being run simultaneously it can slow down progress and it greatly reduces the processing power each program has access to.

With the CPU able to focus its processing power on individual tasks it can complete tasks faster and more effectively. Other types of multitasking lack this individuality and the processing power is split between tasks.

2. Exchanging Data Is A Breeze

Predictable processes are a big benefit to cooperative multitasking. They allow for simpler profiling and testing regardless of when incidents occur. Different people can see the same view as one another even if they are not accessing the project at the same point.

3. Easy to Implement

As with anything, how effective your cooperative multitasking is, is down to the skills of the coder. However, cooperative multitasking is simpler to code than other types of multitasking. There will be no need to implement suspending code as each process will be responsible for yielding control,

This makes cooperative multitasking ideal for single users with a small number of tasks to do. As an individual coder, this should make the coding process nice and easy.

Programming Languages

4. Available in Popular Programming Languages

Cooperative multitasking is predominantly used with popular languages such as Python and Javascript. These programs feature single-threaded event-loops during their runtime which is utilized by cooperative multitasking. Anyone familiar with these languages will find coding a cooperative multitasking system quite easy.

5. Fewer Re-Entrance Issues

Providing there is only a single CPU kernel, you can expect there to be fewer issues with re-entrance. However, this benefit won’t be available if you use multiprocessor kernels.

As there is no chance of tasks or programs being interrupted by other tasks there shouldn’t be re-entrance issues. Interruptions that happen during cooperative multitasking are typically kernel calls, which the coder will permit.

6. Know How Long Processes Will Stay Awake

Another benefit of cooperative multitasking is knowing the exact time frame processes will take. This may need some additional coding but it’s nothing too strenuous. All the coder will need to do is set up loops and events for threads.

Doing this will help you monitor if tasks are taking too long and hindering progress. You’ll also be able to make sure that all your tasks are getting access to the CPU without the hassle of trying to access resources.

7. Great for Single Users

Cooperative multitasking is great when it’s for a single user who only has a few tasks to complete. It will be lackluster if there are many tasks or multiple users trying to run different processes.

Although the principles of cooperative multitasking sound good, modern technology is too powerful. This means that you’ll be better off with preemptive multitasking. However, it can still be useful on embedded devices.

Disadvantages of Cooperative Multitasking

Disadvantages of Cooperative Multitasking

Now we’ve gone over what cooperative multitasking is and the advantages it holds, we should look at the disadvantages. Unfortunately, cooperative multitasking is used less and less in modern technology.

It was used frequently during the 16-bit era by both Microsoft and Apple. This was due to the code being easy to write and being able to run on less advanced (and less costly) hardware. Here are some of the major disadvantages of cooperative multitasking.

1. Poor coding can cause issues

If one of the programs or tasks isn’t coded correctly it can cause major issues. One such issue is that a program could hold the CPU forever instead of yielding control. This will mean that other tasks won’t be completed and the only way to release the CPU is by shutting down the computer.

It can be a particular problem in a server environment as it can cause the entire environment to become too fragile. An otherwise well-coded system can be let down by one poorly coded program.

2. Hard to stop tasks after they start

Once an operation is underway there won’t be an opportunity to suspend that thread. It will continue to draw from the CPU’s resources until the operation is complete. This can cause major interruptions to processes if there is an error in the thread.

The user will need to manually stop the operations in order to restore the CPU so it can start working on other tasks. Preemptive multitasking can avoid this by interrupting applications and changing control.

Hard to ensure every task has access to the CPU

3. Hard to ensure every task has access to the CPU

Each task will need to use the CPU for a certain amount and since these tasks are operating individually it’s impossible to guarantee access to the processing power. This will require manual intervention if certain tasks aren’t getting the time they need with the CPU.

This causes projects to take longer to complete and it means the user will have to routinely review things to make sure operations are running.

4. Not a good system for all response times

If you are dealing with response times in milliseconds or microseconds then you should consider a different type of system. Unfortunately, cooperative micro-tasking doesn’t work well at this level but if your response times are more generous it should be okay.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in a cooperative multitasking system then you should make sure it can suit your needs. As long as you’re a single user who has a small number of tasks, this system is ideal. However, in most instances, you will be better off using preemptive multitasking systems.

Although it is not commonly used with modern systems there is still some utility with cooperative multitasking. Certain systems such as JES2 and CICS are known for using this method. It can also be incredibly useful when you’re using embedded devices that naturally have memory constraints.

It’s worth considering your multitasking options before settling on one. Make sure that you can get the most out of the CPU to ensure tasks are being completed quickly and efficiently.

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Why Strong Leadership in Cross-Cultural Environments Is Important To The Employee Experience & How You Can Embrace A Diverse Workforce

Leadership in cross cultural environment

The importance of strong leadership in cross-cultural environments has never been higher as the COVID-19 pandemic has virtually redefined how and where we work. With top talent being seriously considered for job opportunities regardless of geography, leaders are recognizing the essential need to adapt and manage an increasingly diverse and global team.

Being an effective and dynamic leader means learning how to build culturally competent bridges that create a healthy, inclusive, and accessible work environment that drives everyone towards success.

What is Leadership In A Cross-Cultural Environment?

Leadership in a cross-cultural environment means understanding and motivating a culturally diverse team to come together through a shared sense of purpose, which moves the team closer to the company’s goals and vision for the future.

By definition, leaders are individuals who inspire, encourage, and empower their teams to move positively forward. They not only provide the necessary resources to have their team do their job effectively but also encourage them individually to step into their unique abilities so that they can perform at their best. Leaders also have the capability to foster a collaborative work environment that steadily produces efficient results.

The challenge now with a largely remote, globalized workforce is to preserve this type of effective teamwork while also leading a team from multiple time zones and different cultural backgrounds. According to Maryville University, Technavio reports that the global market for cross-cultural training services is expected to expand by $1.2 billion between the years 2020-2024, which is driven primarily by companies’ growing emphasis on cultural awareness and new opportunities created by COVID-19.

As the talent pool continues to boast a diverse group of experienced professionals from across the globe, leaders must evolve alongside their multicultural workforce and create a work environment that is both inclusive and also supports a true sense of belonging. Leading a cross-cultural team can create advantages that help make a huge impact on the company.

Benefits of Leading a Cross-Cultural Team

The Benefits of Leading a Cross-Cultural Team

Successful leaders understand that one of the top benefits employees actively seek is flexibility. In order to foster a positive work environment that optimally performs, it’s important to keep this top of mind as it creates a culture of trust and loyalty when employees feel their time and efforts are valued and appreciated. This is more important now than ever as the workforce evolves into a virtual capacity composed of a globalized team. However, when a team is led successfully despite the barriers, there are a number of benefits:

  • Increased employee engagement – When employees know they work for a company that prioritizes and works with a diverse group of talent, they’re more likely to appreciate the organization and believe in the company’s mission, which results in more motivation, productivity, and overall engagement. Gartner Research reveals that inclusive teams improve performance by at least 30%.
  • Knowledge-sharing through new perspectives– A diverse team can learn a lot from each other. They can share skills, experiences, and information that help inspire the team to think creatively in ways they’ve not thought of before as a result of new perspectives. This greatly improves teamwork amongst individuals from different backgrounds. When the group is able to apply the unique knowledge they have gained from their colleagues, collaboration is more efficient and often innovative.

Greater innovation

  • Greater innovation – According to Maryville University, companies with a diverse workforce are 1.8 times more likely to embrace change and 1.7 times more likely to become market leaders. This is likely because your team is feeling motivated to do their best work under leadership that makes them feel included and safe.
  • Attracts and keeps top talent – 3 out of 4 candidates consider diversity in the workplace to be a top priority when considering offers of employment. (Source: Glassdoor.) An increasingly high number of top talent are searching for work environments that value inclusivity and diversity in the workplace. This allows the potential employee to get a glimpse into your company’s values. You’ll gain more interested, qualified, and A-list job seekers when you prioritize hiring a highly diversified team. As an added benefit, your company’s reputation gains positive traction in your industry as you positively interact with candidates, bring aboard new hires that respect the company’s mission, and offer an employee experience where everyone is aligned in their values and goals, helping to retain your top performers.
  • Increased profits – As employee satisfaction within the company increases, so does employee performance and productivity, ultimately resulting in higher profits. In a survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review, over 1,700 companies across eight countries were examined to assess if there was any correlation between having diverse teams and a company’s overall innovation and performance. The result of the survey was that in all eight countries, there was a statistically important relationship between diversity and innovation. The study continued to show that diverse companies had 19% higher revenue. CMS Wire also echoed a similar finding. Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 36% more likely to see financial returns that exceed the average for their particular industry.

A cross-cultural team can yield so many benefits for the company by bringing in fresh perspectives, new ideas, and inspiration for more inspired creativity, all of which help cultivate a positive work environment.

Challenges of Leadership in Cross-Cultural Environments

The Challenges of Leadership in Cross-Cultural Environments

Of course, having a multicultural environment is not without its complexities. Common expressions that we normally don’t think twice about in everyday life can be easily misinterpreted by others from different cultures, especially in the absence of context. Working in an exclusively remote capacity exacerbates miscommunication in virtual teams.

For example, in a talk given at a TEDx event in Barcelona by Ricardo Fernandez, he outlined some of the challenges he experienced as a leader of teams located in multiple countries and the communication challenges that arose internally. One notable story involves a routine conference call with his team in South Africa. By the end of their meeting, one of his team members relays that he would call Ricardo “just now.”

Ricardo ended the team call and waited. And continued waiting until, after 15 minutes, he sent a message asking if they were going to speak soon as he was under the impression they were going to speak shortly after the meeting. His team member responded, repeating what he had said and sending an image of how South Africans define some expressions of time. Fernandez had thought that they were going to speak in a matter of minutes, while his team member explained that they would talk in the near future, but not necessarily right at that moment. Fernandez was astounded that something as simple as expressions of time led to a misunderstanding. Fernandez also noted that while he was glad the miscommunication happened internally — allowing him an opportunity to digest the difference in expression — he considered that this may have not gone as well if it had happened in a meeting with a client.

This was an instance of the difference in forms of expression. Here are some other common cross-cultural misunderstandings that are common in work environments:

  • Attitudes towards conflict. Generally, any conflict in the workplace is considered uncomfortable and something to be avoided; however, in some cultures, conflict is actually viewed as a positive thing. In most cases, we are often encouraged to identify the root of the issue and begin the steps necessary to come to a resolution, likely involving a face-to-face discussion. Adversely, most Eastern countries like to address interpersonal conflict quietly and prefer written communication as the preferred way to solve issues.
  • Communication style. Having effective communication in the workplace is one of the biggest challenges for teams. This is especially true for diverse groups where language barriers may continuously lead to misunderstandings. Leaders must also be aware that certain cultures often use open-ended questions, rather than declarative statements.
  • Work Style. Leaders should be conscious of the different working hours and time zone differences of the people on their global team to maximize work output and ensure regular communication. It’s important to have an understanding of the various holidays, expectations of time off, and overall work schedule that allows the team to maintain flexibility within their personal lives.
  • Decision-making. Different, more inclusive methods of leadership are certainly on the rise. However, the general view of decision-making primarily in the United States is that of the top-down system. Decisions are made at the top and then rolled down to those who will carry out the assignments and execute those instructions. For some cultures, especially in Japan, decision-making is a collective effort, in which consensus among the entire team is the favored method. Remember that individuals will likely approach decision-making from their cultural frame of mind.
  • Attitudes towards openness. Inevitably, gossip or discussion of personal matters makes its way into the workplace. In some cultures, open disclosure of personal information, emotions, or their involvement with interpersonal conflict is not considered appropriate and is oftentimes viewed as intrusive. It would be easy to assume that their tendency to lean away from these issues makes them appear more defensive or potentially aggressive when in reality, their attitude is a natural response for them. Leaders must keep this in mind when dealing with sensitive employee relations issues that arise within their teams.
  • Cultural Stereotypes. Whether this occurs consciously or subconsciously, cultural stereotyping in the workplace happens more than we think. For example, in an article written by the LA Times, Asian Americans were considered the least likely group to be promoted into a management or leadership role at less than 1%, even though they make up at least 12% of the workforce. There’s a bias that Asian Americans are not as assertive, and therefore are offered more technical roles instead, which ultimately do not provide any ample training for leadership opportunities or skill development.

There are many challenges being a leader in a cross-cultural environment, but there are ways that allow you to continue developing the appropriate skills, awareness, and effective communication styles, which help enable your diverse team to thrive.

Become a Cross-Cultural Leader

How To Become a Cross-Cultural Leader

Leadership in a cross-cultural environment is all about learning how to improve upon your current leadership style and expanding your knowledge on the different cultures that make up your team. It’s about taking a step back, carefully examining and understanding any “mistakes” or miscommunication that may have happened, and leaning into your motivation to grow your skills as an exceptional leader. Let’s talk about how you can add to your leadership tool belt and improve how you lead a cross-cultural group:

Be open and flexible with your leadership style

One of the biggest challenges for managers is accepting that not everyone will be onboard with your natural leadership style. What you may think is working with the team overall might actually be stalling their productivity. For example, what you may consider as being supportive by instructing the employee on how to exactly respond to an issue, may in fact come across as micromanaging. If done often enough — where a manager consistently steps into a situation that the employee should be able to handle– the result will be the employee no longer feeling empowered to give you their creativity. Conversely, if you’re too hands off, the employee may feel that they cannot rely on you as a source of support. Being open and flexible with your leadership in a cross-cultural environment will help you adapt to the different work styles on your team, which will make it easier to discover what may or may not be working.

Communicate clearly

Providing context is key. When making an announcement, updating the team, or giving out recognition, try to be as clear as possible with your communication. Be focused and keep things simple. Avoid using too much slang, colloquialisms, or idioms that could lead to confusion. No matter how well-meaning the messaging was intended to be, if there isn’t any proper context, it could possibly offend some of the individuals on your team or leave them confused about the message you were trying to deliver. Your audience may understand the words on a surface level, but not the meaning behind them. In Fernandez’s TedX talk, he gave an example of this very scenario happening during a project launch with his team in India. Because the project had gone so well, he thought it would be beneficial for his team to give them the praise they deserved for the overall success. In one of their weekly calls, he recognized one of his colleagues and said, “You’re killing it out there!”

Now for those who are familiar with this phrase and hear it quite frequently, we wouldn’t think twice. This is in reference to a job well done. For Fernandez, he elicited the exact opposite response. His Indian colleague contacted him the next day and asked him. “What did I do wrong? What can I do to improve?” Fernandez was completely surprised by this reaction. He thought he was providing positive feedback that would make his colleague feel appreciated for his hard work. Instead, the phrase was interpreted in a completely different way. Same words, different meanings. According to Fernandez, the lack of context created this misunderstanding.

Remain a neutral party during conflicts

Remain a neutral party during conflicts

During any interpersonal conflict within the team, it’s the job of any leader to remain a neutral third-party. Reserve any judgments, and don’t openly take sides. Especially in diverse teams, make sure to ask questions, particularly when you’re unclear. Listen, repeat back your understanding of what the person has said, and confirm if your summary was accurate. This is how you utilize active listening effectively and avoid misunderstandings when it comes time to create a solution.

Take advantage of training

Be open to discovering and pursuing training that the whole team can participate in. Focus on development that strengthens communication and team-building. Also search for opportunities that are tailored specifically towards managers and building leadership qualities. This will help you address and resolve team issues in an effective manner as well as work on your own communication style and management, fostering your growth as a team leader. You’ll find that developing leadership skills requires you to think differently, leaning heavily towards strategic decision-making, thoughtful approaches to conflict, and an enhanced awareness of the people that make up your team.

Be accommodating of different cultural customs

In a multicultural team, awareness of the various holidays or customs that occur throughout the year is essential to being a culturally competent leader. It takes more than having the knowledge of different cultures. Leaders must work to practice genuine understanding and empathy across the different cultures that make up the team and be thoughtful and flexible enough to adapt to varying expectations.

Foster a positive work environment

If you prioritize creating a positive work environment built from trust, respect, and support, you’re building a culture of psychological safety. Your employees will feel comfortable coming to you if there are any issues within the team or if they need more clarity on assignment without fear of punishment. In a multicultural environment, you want to foster this kind of trust and sense of community in order to have the most successful outcomes. The hallmark of a culturally competent leader is the ability to bring together people with different backgrounds, motivations, experiences, and ways of thinking and guide them towards a common goal.

Regularly ask for feedback

One of the most insightful ways to gain feedback on your management style is to host regular individual check-ins with your team. Ask for feedback on their needs, what you could do better, and what kind of support is needed from you in order to be at their most successful. This is the chance to open the communication channels, get on the same page, and clear up any misunderstandings. Incorporating a QR Code into your check-in process can streamline feedback collection by directing team members to online surveys or feedback forms.

Regularly ask for feedback

Just remember that when asking for feedback, be open to their comments or suggestions. It’s not always easy to hear criticism, even if it is constructive in nature. This is also an opportunity to get to know your employee on a more personal level, which may help them feel more comfortable with you. If they feel genuinely valued and cared for, your employee may be willing to share honest feedback, rather than share vague or superficial comments. Effective leaders should be able to consistently assess themselves in order to make timely improvements.

Practice patience and persistence

Being a successful leader in a cross-cultural environment takes time and patience. To be able to see the whole picture and nurture each employee’s professional growth while building mutual respect amongst different cultures is no easy feat. It’s a nuanced practice that stretches your skills and refines them.

Think about it this way. Let’s say you have an employee from a different country who is learning how to speak English. When you have conversations with your employee, it may be difficult at first to understand what they’re saying. You may even be frustrated by the difficulties involved with communication and the misunderstandings that are created because of the language barrier. It can begin to feel like it may not be a good fit. This is where persistence and compassion for each other comes in. Leaders need to build strong bridges for their employees, support them, and practice patience. In some cases, they may even need a little extra support from a third party so that they can both improve on their communication differences.

While it may feel easier to replace the employee, you risk losing a potentially competent and productive team member. Persistence, patience, and compassion is the key to fostering an employee’s growth, especially if they’re from a different country. If leaders can’t adapt to the increasingly diverse market, it’ll be extremely hard — and costly — to grow the team, retain high performers, and meet the company’s overall goals.

Treat everyone with respect

Effective cross-cultural leadership ensures that everyone on the team feels comfortable. To help build their confidence and trust in you, show them respect, encourage them to step into their abilities, be humble, kind, and open as there is always something new to learn in a cross-cultural environment. If your employees know that their leader is actively working to understand and appreciate cultural differences, the more likely they are to feel safe and respect you in turn.

Be curious and adapt

One of the most important traits of cross-cultural leadership is being genuinely curious about other cultures that are vastly different from your own. You must be willing to respect and acknowledge that other cultures have their own unique way of working that adds an extra layer of complexity to communication and overall work output. In an Inc. article written by Beth Fisher-Yoshida, she talks at length about how cultural misunderstandings can negatively impact global deals. For example, Yoshida noted that the Japanese have a “relationship-focused culture.” In order to close a deal in Japan, your Japanese colleagues must feel comfortable with you in order to develop trust and respect. Without an intense curiosity for their culture and ability to adapt to this type of approach to business, there are many opportunities for miscommunication and loss of productivity.

The Importance of Leadership in a Cross-Cultural Environment

The Importance of Leadership in a Cross-Cultural Environment

Being a leader in a cross-cultural environment can help you grow both professionally and personally. While you may face unique challenges, leaders and managers can take the necessary steps to ensure that their team remains highly motivated, inspired, and encouraged to meet the company’s goals and bottom-line. Afterall, these are the hallmark traits of a successful leader.

To develop cross-cultural leadership skills that embrace the different ethnicities, religions, races, and cultures, you need a strong sense of persistence, curiosity, and willingness to understand different perspectives. It’s about self-awareness and self-understanding about some of our own biases in the workplace, and the work that we pour into changing how we view differences.

You can create a true sense of belonging in your team by being open-minded while allowing your team to thrive in a safe and inclusive space.

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8 Barriers To Collaborative Working (And How To Overcome Them!)

Barriers To Collaborative Working

Barriers to effective collaboration will arise over the course of a project, and planning for them is essential in successfully overcoming them—while creating a stronger team at the same time!

We’ve talked about how to effectively collaborate in the workplace before, but you also need to know how to plan for the barriers of collaborative working so you and your team can find success at every turn.

8 Barriers Of Collaborative Working & Planning For Success

Here are the 8 most detrimental barriers collaborative teams face and how to effectively overcome them.

1. Communication

Communication is the backbone of any collaborative environment. Teams are only able to function as well as they are able to communicate with one another.

There is one thing that is often overlooked when you think of communication, and it can have a major impact on how the team responds both as a whole, and individually. Communication is more than just what you say to your colleagues. It’s also how you speak to one another. How will you manage communications? Will you meet via conferences or send each other emails? Will you be leaving comments on shared documents and tasks, or will you be making the changes directly to influence the flow of the work? How will communication vary for those working remotely compared to those working from a shared office space?

The Plan

When your team comes together to create the outline for the project, like roles, responsibilities, and expectations, include an area to define the standard for team communication throughout the lifetime of the project. This will help you (and your team) find success while also making communication easier and minimizing any stress felt throughout the team as a whole.

By clearly agreeing on how you will communicate with your colleagues and adding it to the project outline, you will not only ensure everyone is approaching it the same way, but it also gives you something concrete to reference in the future if effective communication begins to diminish at any point during the project timeline.

Role Confusion

2. Role Confusion

No matter the size of the team, having clearly defined roles is an essential aspect of team collaboration. Each member of the team must know what their expectations are—which should be tailored to the skills they bring to the group. When roles are not defined in clear terms for each member to understand and agree to, it creates an atmosphere where tasks begin overlapping to the detriment of the flow of the project.

The Plan

Before the project begins, meet as a team and document each member’s specific role and expectation, and make it easily accessible to all team members throughout the lifetime of the project.

When determining role allocation, allow each person to be involved in the decision-making process and in the expectations they are having assigned to them. When people have been provided some control over their tasks, they become more closely aligned with them, often resulting in a higher caliber of work being completed.

3. Skillset

When designing your team, choose team members that have different and complementary skill sets. When the members of your team have skills that are too alike, the group will be at a disadvantage compared to a more well-rounded team, and the project will suffer because of it. When you’re lacking various skill sets, members will begin feeling more stressed as they are having to work outside of their strengths and improvise when problems arise. This often leads to an underwhelming final product, as well as lower employee morale.

The Plan

When designing your team, consider the skills of each individual, and use that to create a team that is balanced and able to meet the full range of demands of the project. Often, when teams are created through this lens, you’ll discover an increase in skill development in the team as a whole, as each person grows their weaker skills by the examples set from the members that are stronger in those areas. This will not only allow for a wider variety of pairings for future projects but also create a more skilled workplace altogether.

Diversity

4. Diversity

Diversity brings multiple perspectives and mindsets to a team. If a team is lacking diversity, it becomes one-dimensional. When your collaborative team has similar outlooks and mindsets, a disconnect begins to form between the needs of the project and the diversification of your team, creating a final project that fails to identify with a variety of people.

The Plan

When considering how to structure your team, look for colleagues that have varying levels of expertise and a wide range of diversity to bring together multiple perspectives, skills, and mindsets. By diversifying your team, you will create a project that will appeal to a variety of people and find higher rates of success, because it was created in a way that accounted for a wide array of personalities and perspectives.

5. Work Ethic

Everyone will have varying levels of work ethic and collaboration can become toxic for the team as a whole when each member is not working to their expected capacity, especially if it begins affecting the project as a whole. When one or more people on a team are failing to put in the work needed, and are causing others to have to work harder to meet the project expectations, it increases stress within the workplace and decreases the effectiveness of the team.

The Plan

When you develop your team, consider how each person has performed individually in the past. Look at the quality of past projects, previous deadlines and if any were missed, yearly reviews, their standing amongst their colleagues, and most importantly, their likelihood of aligning with the goals of your project. This will help each person on the team to be more focused on creating a final project that exceeds expectations and allow you to hold members accountable for their roles in previous work.

Scheduling

6. Scheduling

Finding a time that works for everyone on your team to meet and work through finer aspects of the project can be a challenge, especially as remote work is on the rise. You now have to schedule not only around the daily routines of multiple people but in some cases, even around time zones. This can lead to missed deadlines and the flow of the project being thrown off due to the lack of communication and failure to connect throughout the lifecycle of the project.

The Plan

When forming your team, consider ways you can make communication easy without restricting it to specific timelines. Work on a document collaboratively where you can leave comments to other team members, or highlight concerns. Take a record of all parties availability for virtual meetings, and set one meeting a month (or an interval that works best for the needs of your project), and keep it steady, so it becomes easy for each member to plan around and include in their upcoming schedules. Record the meetings for members to go back and review, or for those who are unable to attend, so they can still access them and make any necessary adjustments or reach out to the team leader if they require clarification. Adding these into your collaborative plan will help alleviate any scheduling difficulties and ensure each member is always kept up to date.

7. Leadership

Leadership plays an essential role in any team atmosphere by managing and supporting each member, responding to outside factors influencing the project, and setting the tone of the workplace as a whole.

When leadership is lacking, collaboration quickly deteriorates as members begin feeling unsupported, lacking guidance, or even feeling isolated. This can make project completion difficult and can reduce employee morale. It can even create competition between your team members if they are seeking to gain recognition above others.

The Plan

Allow each team member to have an impact on the decisions being made while guiding the entire course of the project. You will set the tone for your entire team, both in how they treat one another, and how they complete their tasks. Maintain respect for each of your colleagues, and ensure they feel comfortable coming to you when they need your assistance or guidance. Guiding the project is important, but supporting your team and ensuring they can find success is equally as important to the outcome of the project and the morale of your team.

8. Environment

Organization in the workplace creates optimal success, productivity, and efficiency. A workspace is inherently unique to the person designing it. When working collaboratively you’re not only sharing a workspace but also working expectations (and habits).

For example, maybe you thrive in an office space that allows for untapped access to other colleagues, while someone else may work best when they have time apart from the group in a distraction-free atmosphere where they can focus deeply on their tasks. These are aspects that may come into play while working collaboratively, or in a workplace as a whole, and can wreak havoc if not addressed and planned for.

The Plan

Whether it’s for a specific team or the entire workplace, find ways to create an environment that encourages everyone to thrive. Consider each individual’s needs and plan for how those can be respected within the environment.

If someone needs uninterrupted time to focus, create a way for them to meet that need, whether it’s an expectation that people schedule uninterrupted time on a shared calendar (for teams), or assign specific spaces throughout the office that are off-limits for conversations and are focused on quiet, individual work. If some people work better by brainstorming and working closely together throughout the entire process, assign a space where open communication is prioritized, like a variety of available collaboration rooms.

Let everyone’s voice be heard and plan as a team, whether it’s company-wide via a survey or team-specific during a small meeting. When everyone feels they have taken part in the decisions, your team will work much more cohesively and produce higher qualities of work.

Overcome Barriers to Effective Collaboration

How To Overcome Barriers to Effective Collaboration

The collaborative nature of teams leaves room for some dysfunction, but it does not have to be that way.

Consider the size of the team. The more people that are on a team increases the complexity of coordination and communication, leading to decisions that require more information, meetings that are increasingly difficult to accommodate everyone’s schedule, and tasks can take longer to complete with more opinions to consider.

Avoid groupthink. This is when people feel uncomfortable speaking up when it is different from the group consensus. While it may seem ‘easier’ to avoid conflict, groupthink actually limits creativity and can lead to poor decisions. This can happen in groups of any size (large or small). Prioritize making the best decision, even if that means suggesting a different direction.

Create trust with confidence. Effective collaboration requires trust to be able to communicate well and understand the other members on the team. When team members work well together, shared goals are achieved efficiently and effectively.

Conclusion

When you plan for the potential barriers your collaborative team may face, you are creating an atmosphere where you and your team can easily navigate the obstacles that arise and can work together in a respectful and powerful way, leading to higher success rates!

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The Simple Guide to Choosing A Great Startup Idea

Choosing A Great Startup Idea

Have you been thinking about creating your own thing? A business with you at its head so you can finally be your own boss. For many people, this is just a dream but if you’re laser-focused on making it a reality, this article is for you.

Deciding you want to be the boss isn’t enough on its own. It’s the start of a lot of hard work and that includes settling on a startup idea. Unless you have created a startup before, it can feel incredibly daunting to think about.

Once you know what kind of business you’re creating, what problem you are solving, and what your customers will want from you, you can start to build your product or service. What this means is you’ll need a solid startup idea before you can make progress.

That’s where this article comes in as we delve into how to choose a startup idea. Perfect for people who are feeling energized to start but need a little help nailing their ideas.

Can’t think of anything else

Be so excited you can’t think of anything else

Passion is going to be the single most important thing you need at this stage. Often people create their products because of a personal problem they have. They may have a unique insight into the problem or they’ve identified a pain point that no one else has solved.

Startups take a lot of time and energy so it’s important to have a strong passion behind them. The startup journey can be as long as 8 years and while passions may decrease over time, it’s vital to have at the beginning to drive your growth and desire.

Before you start building your thing, be honest with yourself about how you feel about the idea. You’re going to be working on this for a while, and it needs to be something you can sustain over time. Is this idea really something you want to be spending energy on?

If you can answer “yes” to that then you’re on to a winner and it’s worth developing this idea.

Pick a small market with great growth potential

Pick a small market with great growth potential

Market size is really important to consider at this stage of your idea. It is hard to make a lot of noise against the titans unless you have something truly unique and exceptional to offer. If your idea is too similar in a crowded market, you may not find your audience.

Instead, it’s good to find a smaller market that has great future potential that will be easier to access and then scale alongside.

If you’ve identified a market that has low demand and that’s unlikely to increase, this probably won’t be worth investing your time in either. In order for a startup to grow or boom, you need to supply something that has sufficient, and growing, demand.

The key here is to find a market that will see its demand increase but isn’t too overcrowded. This is the sweet spot and it has the perfect conditions to disrupt the industry and make a splash.

Solve a problem (especially if others are scrambling for a solution)

Every business needs to be solving a problem whether you’re providing products for general consumers, business to business, or client-based services. This problem needs to be significant enough that people are actively searching for solutions.

Whatever your product is, it needs to be more effective than what other companies are offering. Take a look at new approaches to familiar pain points and provide a solution that eradicates the problem.

You have the perfect solution and your competition is 10 imperfect, less effective ones. You could also look for problems that users are trying to solve that don’t have a simple workaround. Can you provide them with a solution that can save them time or money?

Identify trends and changes in consumer behaviors

Think about companies like Uber, they were able to identify that people wanted an easier way to book a cab. They could offer digital payments and GPS tracking which makes things easier and safer for travelers.

If you can identify changes in behavior early enough, you can position your business to take full advantage of things. This feeds into the idea of picking a market with growth potential. In cases like this, the early bird catches the worm.

A great way to gauge trends is to use Google Trends which shows the search interest in particular topics. When you’re developing your startup this is a great resource to see if demand is increasing.

Risks associated with the startup idea

Understand the risks associated with the startup idea

Different ideas carry different risks so before you settle on an idea, it’s important to check this insight. It will help you to identify how attainable your idea is and if you should pursue this or not.

There will need to be another honest conversation with yourself about your capacity to carry risks. Things to look out for are how long it will take to develop, how much capital you need, and when you can expect to turn a profit.

Every startup will have repercussions if growth is slow, mistakes are made, or the idea fails. It can be costly to create a startup and if you are investing your own money you need to know how much you can handle losing, in a worst-case scenario.

Pick something you are ready to fully commit to

It isn’t going to be easy to do this so you need to be ready to commit to the idea. You need to know how much time you can invest into this, especially if you will be developing your business alongside other commitments.

Full commitment doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning other work, forgoing the needs of your family, and only living and breathing your startup. It might help if this was the only thing on your docket, but that’s unrealistic for many.

The important thing to do is make sure that you’re ready to keep working on this. As mentioned previously, working on a startup can last as long as 8 years. Are you motivated enough to do that?

You need an idea that you’re fully committed to pursuing. If you aren’t then you risk putting things off or getting in the way of the business’s growth. Those who do this without full commitment are more likely to see the business fold.

Conclusion

Starting your own business is as exciting as it is scary. Prepare yourself by fully researching business ideas. Understand your competitors, consumer sentiments, changing trends, and the risks associated with this industry. Don’t rush into anything without doing your research first.

Take your time to workshop ideas, zero in on a problem (and solution), and make sure this is something you are passionate about. It’s your passion and desire that will see you through the late nights and hard days.

Once you have a solid idea you can start the next phase of creating a startup. You’ll need a kickass name, an incredible team, and a solid pitch for investors. Then you will be a few steps closer to bringing your business to market.

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Staying On Target: How Time-Management Fuels Motivation, and Vice Versa

Motivation and Time Management

The relationship between motivation and time management is an interesting one. Being super motivated is great, but if you haven’t effectively managed your time, all that motivation will be wasted, as you get bogged down with inefficiency. Excellent time management skills means you’re more likely to accomplish your tasks effectively, skyrocketing your productivity. This then leads directly to your work being appreciated, leaving you feeling motivated to continue the cycle!

This relationship means that an understanding of time management is incomplete without understanding motivation, and vice versa. Motivation is derived from two sources – intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivators are those external factors such as pay, company culture, and benefits. Obviously, an employee who is fairly compensated and passionate about working with a great team is going to perform better. More subtle are intrinsic motivators. These are from within; you want to do something because it is interesting and enjoyable to you.

So how does time management play into this? One study on the relationship between time management, job satisfaction, and motivation among university teachers in Pakistan demonstrates that employees with time management training report greater motivation, job satisfaction, and work/home life balance. Time management improves intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction by effectively controlling and planning time to reduce stress (one of the most critical factors in professional success). Through goal setting, prioritization, planning, and performance evaluation, time management helps make employees happy, healthy and motivated.

Here are 8 tips to help you manage your time like a pro to stay motivated:

1. Be realistic

At one point or another, most of us have probably taken on more than we can handle. It’s hard saying “no” when you want that promotion or raise. But being overworked can prevent people from practicing time management, leading to dissatisfaction and demotivation. This is why it’s important to be realistic – of yourself, your team, and your employees. Avoid burning out by setting realistic goals for yourself, both short-term and long-term.

Tasks don’t take everyone the same amount of time, and if you need a bit longer to achieve something and do it well, allow yourself that time. If you feel that you are being overworked and can’t keep up with the workload you’ve been given, have an honest conversation with your boss. Luckily, it’s a workers market (finally!) and any good workplace will know your value and be willing to give you the support you need.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a people dimension in time management. Your planning must reflect consideration for dealing effectively with other people and their influence on your time and schedule.

Select goals and schedule in advance

2. Select goals and schedule in advance

Planning out your day and your week ahead of time will do wonders. Think of your tasks and set out time blocks that allocate periods for each. Again, it’s important to be realistic and give yourself buffer time in case some things run long and time for small but frequent breaks. Scheduling in breaks also helps keeps you motivated because you have something to look forward to.

When you set goals that you’d like to accomplish for each day and schedule time to achieve those goals, you’ll feel motivated to work towards something rather than spending time figuring it out as you go.

3. Prioritize

Have you ever been in a situation where you have something super important on the agenda, but it also happens to be the most tedious task? So instead of getting that very important thing done, you engage in productive procrastination, working on the more fun tasks that are not pressing whatsoever, and scrambling to get the important thing done right before the due date.

This is why prioritization is critical. As much as we may want to put off the boring tasks, giving ourselves time to buckle down and work on urgent matters works out for the best in the long run.

That being said, balance is also necessary. If you know a particular task will be draining for you, schedule shorter periods to work on it and start further in advance. In the popular book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Stephen Covey explains that we should schedule time to achieve our priorities rather than prioritizing our schedules. So instead of just working on something important and urgent, we balance our schedule by blocking out time for important and non-urgent things. This helps us prevent and anticipate, rather than crisis control.

Adapt and adjust on the daily

4. Adapt and adjust on the daily

Life is unpredictable, so unexpected events are a given. You’ll often need to re-evaluate your goals to accommodate the unforeseen. When you expect the unexpected, it’s a lot less likely that this will affect your ability to adapt and accomplish. With adequate time management in place, tackling whatever is thrown at you won’t hurt the rest of your goals.

Adapting on a daily basis is important because life is dynamic. Giving yourself a chance to review your schedule each day allows you to reevaluate your plan and consider if it is still relevant and prioritized in the right way.

5. The four Ds

When planning out your schedule, try using the 4 Ds of time management strategy. They are: Do, Delete, Defer, and Delegate.

Do: If you have a task that needs to be done that takes less than two minutes, make like Nike and just do it! If it’s something that takes longer, allocate the time to do it (see above).

Delete: Decide if the activity will get the long-term result that you need. If it won’t, or has no perceivable benefit, simply move on.

Defer: When new requests come in that are both non-urgent and non-important, add them to a list to refer back to. This allows you to refocus on what is on your table now.

Delegate: It can be hard to let go, especially for us control freaks, but sometimes you just have to share the load. Think about whether your time is spent more productively by delegating the task or doing it yourself. If someone else can do it, let them.

Portability

6. Portability

Covey recommends that time management needs to be a factor on the go, meaning it should be an engrained personal habit and not just something we do at work.

We all occupy many different roles – in our business, personal and social lives. We are employees, parents, friends, mentors, romantic partners, etc. We’re often expected to give our time to each of these roles, and approaching time management as a portable skill that transcends the workplace helps us become effective in any position we occupy.

Each day, as you would for work, think about your different roles and set out 3 goals that you’d like to accomplish for each. Set the time out to achieve these goals. As you meet the needs of your roles, you’ll feel motivated to keep it up. Eventually, this will become habit.

Stop multitasking

7. Stop multitasking

While this may not be exactly what you want to hear, it’s the truth: multitasking is a myth. When trying to do multiple things at once, you’re really just shifting your attention between tasks. Multi-tasking isn’t practical, nor is it efficient. It really just wastes time and makes it more likely that your work will have errors. To help you focus on one thing at a time, try to take short scheduled breaks between tasks.

8. You don’t need all those apps at work!

We all carry a certain rectangular device in our pocket that is scientifically engineered to suck as much time away from you as possible. Yes, phones are absolutely dreadful for distracting us, but are also essential to how we work today. Try to avoid the whirlpool of distraction, where a text turns into a 30 minute Instragram scroll, by simply remaining conscious of your actions. Even just asking yourself questions such as ‘do I really want to scroll through my feed, or do I have work that I need to get done’ can make a big difference.

At work, simply relying on motivation as our drive to complete tasks is a mistake. The fact is, humans are complex, and we can’t be super motivated 100% of the time. Time management is therefore crucial to motivation, because it provides a structure through which we can stay on track to fulfil our responsibilities. And at the end of the day, what could be more motivating than reflecting on all you’ve accomplished, and being sure that you have the tools to tackle whatever else comes your way.

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6 Principles of Time Management To Help You Get More Done

Principles of time management

Understanding the key principles of time management can help us be more productive throughout the day. We all aim to be more efficient with our time, get more done, and steadily check off everything on our ever-growing to-do list…but it’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed.

Nowadays, the demand on our time is constant. We’re pulled in various directions that consistently fill up our schedules, leaving no room for things like a personal break to help us recharge and continue being productive.

Time management principles can support and elevate our efficiency and establish stability in most areas of our lives. It can help us to achieve our goals, create a work-life balance, and feel more personal satisfaction—even when we feel like our time is limited. With effective time management techniques, we can begin to implement these into our daily routines that improve our focus, block out distractions, and take back control of our time.

Plan Ahead

Principle of Time Management #1: Plan Ahead

Preparing for the busy week ahead can help you prioritize your tasks and develop a meaningful schedule that keeps you on track. But it’s so much more than listing out all the things you need to get done. There’s a way to do this effectively that supports your productivity…

It’s called the Ivy Lee Method.

In 1918, one of the richest men in the world, Charles Schwab, hired a consultant by the name of Ivy Lee to help his team reach their maximum potential in terms of efficiency. Lee spent approximately 15 minutes with each executive of Schwab’s team and outlined a simple routine for each to try. They were given this strategy:

  • At the end of the workday, they were to come up with 6 tasks (and no more than these 6) that they would like to see accomplished the following day.
  • After identifying the 6 tasks, they were asked to prioritize them in order of importance.
  • The next day, they were instructed to focus on completing the most important task on their list.
  • When the first task was completed, they would repeat the same procedure for the second task.
  • They would repeat this for the entire list.
  • Lee instructed that any tasks not completed for the day be moved to a new list they would create that evening and repeat the steps in the process.

This process worked so well with Schwab’s team that Lee received an equivalent of $400,000 for this one-time consultation.

James Clear, the author of “Atomic Habits”, explains that the genius behind this strategy lies in its simplicity. It’s easy enough to follow with very little complexity. While Clear acknowledges that its straightforward nature is often subject to criticism as it doesn’t take into account events such as emergencies, the Ivy Lee Method is a reliable, structured system that even if distractions were to happen, we can return to this method and continue with our priority list and rearrange as necessary.

Another reason why this method is successful is that it forces you to break the habit of multitasking and only allows you to focus on one task at a time. To be able to complete a task efficiently, we need to devote our full attention to it, lessen the stress that is a result of too many outside factors stealing our focus, and work towards achieving a single, specific goal.

Planning ahead can keep us highly focused on the most essential tasks and limits our distractions.

The Pareto Principle

Principle of Time Management #2: The Pareto Principle

“80% of results will come from 20% of the action.”

This was a generalization first introduced by economist and philosopher, Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto and was later defined as the 80/20 rule. After initially observing how only 20% of his pea plants generated about 80% of the healthy pea pods in his garden, he began to look at other areas of seemingly uneven allocation. He went on to notice that approximately 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. To support his observation, he carried out surveys to different countries and discovered a similar pattern.

So, how can we apply the Pareto Principle to our own everyday lives? If you take a look at the apps on your phone, out of the 80% you have downloaded, you likely only use about 20%. Or, if we apply this concept to athletes, 80% of their results are produced from 20% of their hard work. In this example, it only makes sense that these athletes put their full focus on that 20% to make the most use of their time.

Now, let’s use this in the context of our productivity. According to the 80/20 rule, approximately 80% of our work results are due to 20% of our efforts. So, just as with the example using athletes, we should devote time to refine our processes and focus on this 20%.

We can do this in a few easy steps:

  • Identify your most important goals. Depending on what you would like to accomplish, this may mean examining your current status, what will need to happen in order to achieve these goals, and what you need to take off your plate so that you have the capacity to meet your objectives.
  • Prioritize your goals. Allocate your efforts to the goals that need the most attention so that you can get the highest output.
  • Focus on these goals only. For example, if you’re a team lead that would like to see a particular project accomplished at the end of the quarter, you’ll want to identify the tasks that will help you get to this goal. Any other unrelated tasks can either wait until the next quarter or be eliminated entirely based on necessity.

Avoid distractions

Principle of Time Management #3: Avoid distractions

We live in a world full of distractions, especially as more and more employees value flexibility in their schedules, which includes spending less time in an office setting and more time working from home. From messages on our phones to notifications that pop up on our computers, our attention is constantly pulled in a variety of directions, interrupting our focus.

There are simple ways we can build boundaries that enable us to get more done and tune out the noise.

  • Avoid social media. For some of us, this is a tough one. Social media has become a way to escape our stress. However, if social media is interfering with your productivity and setting your phone aside or minimizing your browsers isn’t making much of a difference, it may be time to download an app that blocks social media from your screens for a period of time. Here are a few that you can download right now:
    • Freedom app – free to use for the first seven sessions
    • RescueTime – free for the first 14 days of use
    • Sarene – free limited trial
    • SelfControl – free to use
  • Put away the phone. Another hard habit to break, but once you get into the routine of turning off your phone, setting it to airplane mode, or just setting it out of reach for a defined period of time, this will help you decrease the number of distractions that can interfere with your productivity.
  • Let people know you’re unavailable. If you have certain people that you speak with regularly, it’s a good idea to let them know when you will be unavailable. This way, you can set some boundaries during the times that you’ve set aside to truly focus. This will also limit some of the notifications that may pop up on your screens while you’re working.
  • Dress for the occasion. Although you might be tempted to stay in your comfiest outfit while working from home, it helps to get out of your PJs and get dressed for the occasion when you want to boost your productivity. Making this an essential part of your routine can help send signals to your brain that it’s time to focus rather than relax. According to The Cut, dressing for work can help sharpen focus and improve confidence. Staying in your comfy clothes might actually increase the temptations to be less productive.

This approach isn’t limited to our clothing either. Creating a workspace that is conducive to productive work can also help prevent the number of potential distractions.

Break big tasks into smaller pieces

Principle of Time Management #4: Break big tasks into smaller pieces

Desmond Tutu, a South African Anglican cleric and theologian, once said, “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”

If we examine this through the lens of our productivity, it means that we might find a task overwhelming and hard to do because of how daunting the project may seem at first, but it’s completely possible to get it done if we break it up into smaller, more manageable chunks. This lessens our feelings of overwhelm towards complex projects.

Breaking up bigger tasks into smaller ones can also help overcome another hurdle: getting started. Sometimes, the issue with managing our time starts at the beginning. Because we’re likely in a state of stress, it halts our productivity, and we’re more likely to avoid the task we need to complete.

Alternatively, we can have so many ideas that we easily spend a ton of time debating what we should even do. But if we’ve taken the time to trim, prioritize, and divide the project into feasible parts, we’ll have an easier time committing to the smaller task and actually completing it.

Create margin for unexpected tasks

Principle of Time Management #5: Create margin for unexpected tasks

As important as it is to manage our time in a strategic and organized manner, it’s just as vital to ensure you’re making space for unexpected tasks. We can plan as best we can to avoid having surprise projects or last-minute requests, but at times, it can be inevitable.

The best way to protect our time is to create windows in our schedule dedicated specifically for “catch-up” time. The best way to accomplish this is to review your calendar for the day, or week, and carve out these particular blocks. This achieves a couple of things for you:

  • You continue to think proactively.
  • You avoid some added stress when unexpected requests come your way.
  • If you don’t end up using the time to catch up or work on projects, you’ve reserved some free time for you to enjoy!

Saving room for your unexpected tasks can help create flexibility in your schedule so that you’re still able to get your tasks done and provides an opportunity to incorporate some time to get ahead and stay productive.

Make time for self-care

Principle of Time Management # 6: Make time for self-care

When we feel that time is working against us and there’s just too little of it to get anything done throughout the day, we’re often stressed and mentally and physically exhausted. For many of us, it’s not a priority in our hectic schedules. However, in the end, our health is a huge factor in our overall productivity. It’s essential that we take care of ourselves in order to have a clear mind when managing our time.

According to Forbes, self-care is actually good for your cognitive functions. Russel Thackery, a licensed clinical psychologist, provided Trello with insights into how this works in relation to productivity. Thackery stated that people who make self-care a priority often have an easier time concentrating and end up producing more.

Those who learn to take care of their mental and physical well-being often exercise regularly and practice meditation or other mindfulness practices. They make room in their schedule to have this safe space to recharge and lessen their stress and anxiety.

One of the most important aspects of self-care is understanding that it looks different for everyone. It doesn’t necessarily mean a weekly trip to the spa or getting a regular massage. It can be as simple as reading a book that brings you joy or enjoying your morning coffee in peace.

When you’re working, self-care can manifest in the form of frequent breaks. It’s important to step away consistently to prevent feeling burnt out by long stretches of extreme focus. Taking breaks can help maintain performance throughout the day and decrease overall mental and physical exhaustion. Think about it this way: Taking frequent breaks helps you recover so that you can think creatively and get your work done faster. During these breaks, you can do anything that relaxes you. It’s your chance to step away from work altogether and return refreshed.

These Important Time Management Principles Will Help You Be More Productive

Whether you’re looking for ways to increase your overall productivity or are truly struggling to manage your time, these important time management principles will help you build an effective routine so you can get more done.

It all starts with taking a few moments to plan ahead and prioritize your tasks according to necessity. Anything extraneous should be trimmed from your schedule to allow you to have more flexibility with your time. Lessen your distractions by being conscious of what is diverting your attention and take actionable steps to eliminate them during your dedicated windows of productivity.

Be aware of longer, more complex tasks that require more of your effort and break them into smaller assignments so that you lessen your feelings of overwhelm. Stay proactive and make space for unexpected tasks that are an inevitable part of our workflow. And finally, prioritize your health and wellbeing so that you can feel restored and energized when you return to the task at hand so that you can complete it as efficiently as possible.

Use your time wisely (and save your sanity) by implementing these useful methods into your daily routines!

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12 Powerful Time Management Tips & Tricks for Every Style

Time management styles

Did you ever see the bumper sticker that read, “Warning: Dates in calendar are closer than they appear?”

Time has a way of whirring past us. And unless we find a way to maneuver through the days and weeks, deadlines creep up out of our blind spot, and we’re completely unaware.

Effectively managing time has a lot to do with understanding our personality. Some have a tendency to take on too much, while others may focus on the wrong things.

With the right techniques and tricks, it’s possible for every style, the procrastinator included, to get it all done with time to spare.

Personality and Time Management

Internal wiring plays a large part in how we approach daily activities. Optimists, as it turns out, tend to show up late. Over-committers can hardly sleep at night thinking about everything they’ve taken on. Others dabble in one project after another, oblivious to the clock and looming deadlines.

When you’re looking to understand how to better manage your time, it’s helpful, as the Delphic Maxim says, to “know thyself.”

1. The Learning Styles

Your learning style–visual, auditory or kinesthetic—can help shape a time management method that works for you.

Visual

A visual learner needs to see information. They learn best from things like graphs, charts, pictures and videos.

A system of writing everything out helps a visual learner manage time. To-do lists, a good visual calendar app, or a wall calendar are all great tools for this personality. Color-coding projects and urgent to-dos helps as well.

Auditory

Lectures, podcasts and audiobooks are the realm of the auditory learner. They learn best from listening to the spoken word.

After a meeting, auditory learners may find their heads full of everything they’ve just heard.

Creating voice memos is a way to release all the thoughts and to-dos. By turning the memos into text, everything can be organized and prioritized into to-do lists.

Kinesthetic

Kinesthetic learners want to touch, feel and do. They love being on their feet and working in groups. They need to swing the racket and pick up the ball, and are the first in line for new product releases.

A tactile method of time management works well for kinesthetic learners, such as a large calendar white board, with colored sticky notes that can be moved and arranged, depending on the project and date.

The Dilly-Dallier

2. The Dilly-Dallier

Some people don’t think at all in terms of how many minutes are passing on the clock.

A study found that Type B people, when asked to measure the length of a minute, thought it lasted 77 seconds—17 second longer than the actual time. Extrapolated over two hours, 17 seconds is 34 minutes!

Regardless of our relationship to time, however, we’re all living within the constraints of it. It just doesn’t work if we’re chronically 34 minutes late to dropping our kids off at school, or showing up at work.

If you have Type B tendencies, then timers are your friend. When you’re completely immersed in a project and thinking of nothing else, the timer will jog you back into the time-space realm, and remind you to attend to the other commitments in your day.

3. The Procrastinator

“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.”

If you have this quote pinned to your bulletin board, then you just might be a procrastinator.

Life is certainly no cake walk. Every day entails doing so many things that feel like a chore, and many of us would just as soon eat the icing first. The problem is, we can’t go for too long without mowing the lawn, paying bills, and calling the air-conditioner repair service. The cake must eventually get eaten, too!

One cure for procrastination is called “eating the frog.” This means finding the hairiest, wartiest, most repulsive item on our to-do list, and getting it over with, first thing in the morning.

Oftentimes, we put something off until the last minute because it feels too overwhelming and complicated. One way to tackle this problem is to break the project into bite-size chunks.

Take a newsletter, for example. Say you want to send out one a month. Rather than starting it 8 hours before pressing “send,” plan four weeks in advance: pick the topic in week 1, research and write the first draft in week 2, write the final draft in week 3, and save editing, formatting and photos for week 4.

It’s easy to look over the fence at someone else and marvel at all they’re able to get done. But it’s important to remember that our tendencies, styles and inclinations really make a difference in how we approach time. Your personality is the central clue as to what system works for you.

Exercises to Diagnose Time Management Traps

Exercises to Diagnose Time Management Traps

In the same way that money doesn’t magically appear in our bank account, we can’t conjure up an extra day each week. One can only wish.

Time is a finite resource. And in order to wrangle it around our to-dos and commitments, we must approach it as such.

These next three exercises help identify ways we might be over-committing, wasting our time, or just doing the wrong things.

4. The Over-Committer

It’s not at all uncommon to feel bogged down with endless things to do. Sometimes, even when everyone on the team diligently pulls their own weight, things just don’t seem to get done.

Working harder, smarter and faster isn’t always the solution. Sometimes, it’s a case of taking on too much.

Here is a method for identifying over-commitments.

List every single thing you do in your job, with an accurate estimate of how long each takes (some things take way longer than we realize). Next, add up the time to see how much work you’ve taken on.

If the tasks take 47.5 hours to complete each week, and you only have 40 hours in your schedule, then it’s no wonder you’re feeling snowed under.

One way to solve this problem is to off load. Maybe you can drop a project that you’re not interested in. Or scratch off things that aren’t totally necessary.

Another solution is delegation. Virtual assistants are ready-at-hand to take administrative tasks off of your plate, and allow you the brain space for innovative and creative thinking.

5. The Time Waster

Maybe we want to take on a new project, enroll in a course, or spend time with friends…but just don’t see how we can swing it with our schedule.

Every week has 168 hours, and it’s up to us how we use them.

This exercise entails looking at how we’re really spending our time—not how we think or wish we were.

For one week, record everything you do and how much time you spend at it. This includes meals and meal preparation, sleep, leisure, exercise, time with kids, work….everything. At the end of the week, look closely at the time spent in each category.

The results may unearth some surprises. Maybe you’re spending 8 or so hours watching a series on Netflix, and 3 or 4 surfing the web (shopping, reading blogs, articles). That’s quite a chunk of time!

Simply cutting this internet time in half frees up plenty of time for another commitment.

Similarly, maybe you find that you’re going to the grocery store 3 or 4 times a week. This really adds up, too. Developing a habit of grocery shopping once on the weekends creates a more efficient schedule.

6. The Wheel Spinner

Sometimes, we’re doing, doing, doing all day long, yet never seem to accomplish what we set out to do.

This exercise helps to to align our daily activities with our goals.
Write down everything you do at work for one week, and how long you spend on each task.

On a separate sheet, write down your top three goals for the quarter, or the topics you’ll discuss at your next performance review.

Look at these two lists alongside each other. Do any alarm bells go off?
It’s easy to spend hours on things that have little or nothing to do with our goals. Tasks like responding to emails and messages can take the entire day, if we let it.

As a final step, once we’ve identified any disconnect between goals and the actual workday, it’s time to put systems in place that align work habits to goals.

When we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, it’s much easier to diagnose any issues with how we’re spending our time.

Time Management Methods

Time Management Methods and Hacks

No doubt about it, life continually presents us with a steady stream of things to do. And if we put them off, they only accrue.

Fortunately, there are techniques for every temperament and personality to help keep us on track and stay productive.

7. Reverse Engineer Time

Do you find that every morning is a scramble to get out the door, and that you’re pretty much always at least ten minutes late for work?

Or that, try as you might, you’re always wrapping up a project two days after the deadline?

Reverse engineering helps Type B personalities, procrastinators, or anyone who has a hard time meeting deadlines.

The first step in reverse engineering is to identify the end objective. Maybe it’s to arrive at work by 8 am, or complete a project by Friday. Then, list every task that precedes this finish line.

If your plan is to arrive to work on time, then things on your list might include: get dressed, make breakfast, get kids dressed, walk the dog, drop kids off at school, drive to work.

Next, gauge how long each item on the list takes, and add them up. If everything takes 2.5 hours, then guess what? The alarm is going off at 5:30 (ouch!).

8. Time Block

Some of us have a visceral response to a long to-do list. They make us feel swamped, right out of the gate.

Or maybe we’re precluded from staying on task by a constant deluge of messages and notifications on our phone.

Time blocking helps with these problems. It works just like it sounds: identify the various things you do during the week, then assign blocks of time in which to do them.

Dixie Willard uses this method in her business, Designing Dixie:

“I know that Mondays are my marketing and money days, so that’s the day I’m going to do my bookkeeping, schedule social media posts. I write my blog posts. Marketing-oriented things. Tuesday mornings are small group, then I record my podcast, then client work. Wednesdays and Thursdays are out-and-about days with clients. Then Friday I am back in the office…and then Sundays are fun. I know I have time set aside to take care of things.”

With time blocking, you won’t need a lot of lists, as you’ll already know when you’re doing what.

It’s important to turn off notifications when working on a task, in order to maintain productivity and focus during that block of time.

If responding to dozens of messages is part and parcel to doing your job, then blocking time to do this—say for 30 minutes every 2 hours—allows you to maintain focus on all the other tasks in your day as well.

Plan Tomorrow Tonight

9. Plan Tomorrow Tonight

In the first hours of the morning, most of us are still shaking off the morning fog. And even after several cups of coffee, we’d much prefer to delegate anything that requires thinking too hard.

Creating a daily agenda from this frame of mind is a lot to ask of ourselves.
When you’ve planned your day the night before, rather, all you have to think about in the morning is drinking coffee and getting yourself to work.

Brian Tracy, author of Eat that Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, says it also increases productivity:

“When you make your list the night before, your subconscious mind will work on your list all night long while you sleep. Often you will wake up with great ideas and insights that you can use to get your job done faster and better than you had initially thought.”

When your day is already planned, you don’t have to give yourself a pep talk over the morning latte, or think through the daily minutia, with your head full of fuzzies. Right from when you step out of bed, you have focus and momentum.

Pomodoro Method

10. Use Pomodoro Method

Oftentimes, we have great focus first thing in the morning, but after two hours, we’re distracted and dawdling. Other times, it’s hard to even get started on a project that’s complicated or overwhelming.

The Pomodoro method involves working in small time increments to keep focus sharp. It was developed by Francesco Cirillo, a business consultant, in the late 1980s.

With this method, you set a timer and work on a specific task for 25 minutes. Then, take a short break and work again for 25 minutes. After four sessions, take a fifteen or thirty minute break.

It’s helpful at the beginning of the 25 minutes to set a goal for what you hope to achieve by the end of it. For example, “complete three invoices” or “write two Instagram captions.”

The small breaks let our mind rest and rejuvenate, so we’re ready to focus again in the next spurt.

This method is useful for tasks you want to put off–you can do anything for 25 minutes, right?

11. Try Batching

You know how when you’ve done something a few times, it becomes really fluid and takes less time?

Batching is a time management method of doing many of the same tasks all at once, and getting it out of the way.

For example, rather than cooking dinner every night, you can batch meals on the weekends, or one Saturday a month, and freeze them all. It saves so much time during the week when dinner preparation simply entails pulling lasagna out of the freezer and heating it up.

Monthly social media and blog posts also work well for batching. You can write everything on a single day, and then schedule content throughout the month.

Set up Systems and Routines

12. Set up Systems and Routines

Did you remember brushing your teeth this morning? Some parts of our lives are so routine we do them without even thinking about it.

A system is not unlike a daily habit. When we set up a system around a task, it takes less effort to complete. After a while, we’re so used to the process that we complete tasks without having to think too much about them.

For example, when we open our inbox to dozens of unread emails, business coach Lydia Kaplygin recommends the “4 D” system for going through them:

  • Do: An email that needs to be responded to right away.
  • Delete: Junk mail that goes away forever.
  • Delegate: Messages we forward to another person.
  • Defer: Something we need to do, but not immediately.

When we create systems like this around everything we do, it saves time and decreases burnout and overwhelm.

Other areas where we can create systems include: a morning routine, blog posts, paying bills, creating invoices and payroll.

A Steady Trait

The hare, as we all know, was fast, but he wasted his time.

Time management isn’t about being the most skilled or the fastest. It’s about being strategic. And consistent.

Slow and steady is one characteristic we all could stand to take on. With methodical habits, we meet deadlines and achieve goals.

What time management trick has helped you cross finish lines?