Sometimes it feels like there’s not enough time in the day to get everything done. Do you ever feel like you’d like to have more time to do what you actually want to do instead of what you have to do? I’ve discovered a few time-saving tricks to help you supercharge your productivity so you can do just that. I call them the Time Crunchers. These techniques help you to get more things done in a shorter amount of time. Instead of driving yourself to be relentlessly productive you ‘ll work smarter and more efficiently. All of these techniques have helped me and they can help you, too.

Time Liberator #1: Batch your activities.

Every time we switch from one task to another our productivity slows. Even if you think you’re the best multi-tasker in the world… you’re not! Turns out only 2% of us are actually any good at it. The rest of us are just fooling ourselves. Whether you’re aware of it or not, every time  you switch back and forth between activities it takes time for your brain to catch up.  So…. if you want to get things done more quickly, batch your tasks together. It’s like creating a mental assembly line, so keep your brain running at its highest efficiency.

Answer emails all at once.

No more checking emails every other minute while juggling other tasks (which costs brain efficiency every time, btw). Choose regular times each day when you will respond. Once or twice per daily is best, and make sure you stick with that schedule. You might choose to check once in the morning and once at the end of the day (or whatever times work best for you).

Write first, edit later.

Writing and editing use two different parts of the brain. Switch to one and the other one turns off, disrupting the flow. You will write a heck of a lot more a heck of a lot faster if you complete your writing before you start editing. If you are writing more than one piece of content like a series of articles or blog pots, finish writing the series before you switch gears to edit. If you’re If you try to edit while you’re still writing, you’ll interrupt the flow.

Create a batch of photos, art, or images all at once.

During the pandemic I used the same principle to become an eBay top seller (which was not even one of my goals, but happened naturally since I batched my tasks!). I made piles of things I wanted to sell, then photographed them one by one. Next I wrote all of the descriptions and uploaded everything . Bingo! I created multiple posts within minutes.

Complete phone calls all at once

Have you ever noticed that you get in the groove of speaking on the phone after awhile? Capitalize on this and ride that wave!

Batching activities works for so very many things. Here are a few more ideas to try:

• Cooking (roast several days’ worth of chicken and veggies, for example or bake a double batch of your favorite muffins and freeze half)

• Getting dressed (choose your outfits for the entire week, hang them together on one side of your closet so they’re ready to go)

• Errands (saves gas, and you only have to get in the car once)

Time Liberator #2: Voice dictate instead of writing or typing.

When I was a single parent running my own business I learned to to write quickly on the fly. Instead of lugging around my laptop computer, I’d whip out my phone, open the Notes app, then tap the microphone icon and voice dictate what I wanted to say. Voice dictation became my new best friend because ti was so much faster and easier to write texts, emails, or anything else that way. The words go straight from your brain to the computer, instead of going through a whole bunch of extra steps. I wrote emails and blog posts while waiting to pick my daughter up from school, or sitting at the dentist’s office. This technique also works well for grocery lists, or any other content, including college essays! There is a caveat, however. Make sure you read everything over before you send it. Sometimes voice dictation will make some seriously rude or inappropriate blunders!

Ways to use this technique:

Texts.

Put your cursor in the text message box, then click on the microphone icon (bottom right corner for iPhone users) and start talking.

Emails.

Hit reply, then click on the microphone icon and go to town.

Articles, essays, poems, journal entries, or other written pieces:

Open up text notes on the iPhone, then press the little microphone icon and start talking. When you are through, email it to yourself so you can copy/paste, and then edit it in Pages/Word/Open Office. It’s seriously amazing how much more you can get written this way.

Time Liberator #3: Use Calendly For Setting Appointments.

There’s nothing more frustrating than a dozen back-and-forth emails trying to set appointments with someone. That’s where Calendly comes in. This handy tool has saved my life and sanity, and it can do the same for you. And hey, it’s free!

First, create your free account. Then edit your availability calendar to show the days and times you are accepting appointments. Once you’ve set your schedule, share your Calendly link with your people. They choose the appointment times that work best for them, and you’re all set. You can even have Calendly send appointment reminders so you don’t have to!  Calendly also links to your Zoom account to set up video conferences.

So simple. So elegant. Calendly will save you so much time and headache. Create your fee account HERE.

Time Liberator #4: The 80/20 Rule, or The Pareto Principal

The Pareto principal is strikingly simple: it states that 20% of our activities yield 80% of the results. In other words, only 20% of what we do is actually a worthwhile expenditures of time and energy. So…. figure out which 20% of what you do is creating your results and get rid of the rest!

Most of us spend a lot of time running around thinking we are being productive. Wouldn’t it be nice to run around less? At the very least it will help you free up some time to do things that you love. Or give yourself a bit of a break from time to time.

Make yourself a lovely cup of tea  (or coffee if that’s your thing) and write a list of your daily/weekly/monthly activities. Analyze the data. Which of the activities on your list yield worthwhile results for you? Ditch the rest! Getting rid of the deadwood leaves room for new growth and all that….

Templated emails

If you work or run a business, chances are you write the same or similar emails over and over. When I was running my wedding photography business I had a set of email templates for every stage of the customer journey. It began with my welcome and onboarding email, and ended with a thank-you email with links to post reviews.

All I had to do was open the email template and customize it with the client’s name and other personal details, and hit send. Each email took a few minutes instead of 20-25 minutes. I can’t imagine how much time it saved me! Countless hours. Not only did it save me a oodles of time, it helped me stay efficient and organized.

Write out workflows and checklists.

There are many moving parts to any business. Knowing all of the steps of your customer’s journey from start to finish helps you to plan and to stay organized and on track throughout the process.

If you work in the business world, you can use a workflow and/or checklist for your projects. But this idea also has other real world applications. For instance, we have a checklist we refer to every time we go camping or backpacking. That way no one starves and nothing important gets left behind.

 

Time Liberator #5: Simplified wardrobe.

If you ever had to wear a uniform to school when you were a kid then you know how easy it is getting dressed in the morning when you only have a couple of choices of what to wear. (Even if you hated the uniform getting dressed was a snap).

If you want to streamline your morning routine you can apply the same idea by choosing a few key pieces of clothing that are interchangeable. A couple of tops, a couple of bottoms, and presto! You have your own personal uniform.

If you’re not thrilled with the idea of a personal uniform, or worry that it might cramp your style, here’s a list of other humans who have adopted a personal uniform and freed up their energy for other incredible accomplishments:

• Albert Einstein bought several versions of the same grey suit.

• Georgia O’Keefe made her own clothing out of cotton, silk, and wool, all in black with touches of white trim — a style she continued her entire life.

• Steve Jobs signature black turtle neck, a pair of basic Levi’s jeans, and a pair of shoes, mostly from New Balance, was Steve’s outfit of choice. He owned hundreds of the famous black turtle necks.

• Johnny Cash nearly always wore some combination of black pants, vest, and suit jacket…topped with a black cowboy hat.

• Vera Wang goes for comfort first, using leggings and a t-shirt as her building blocks. Her creativity shines through in the accessories, which range from snazzy belts and boots to couture overcoats.

• Karl Lagerfeld is rarely seen without a black suit, white tie, gloves and of course, those sunglasses. Although he switches it up with varying iterations of the jacket.

• Adele is so committed to outfit recycling she is wearing just one Burberry dress for the entire length of her tour. Just one dress! (It’s a Burberry, in case you’re interested.)

• Hilary Clinton You don’t think “pant suit” without also thinking Hillary. She has, over the years, mastered this powerful look.

• Ellen Degeneres A blazer, skinny pants and button downs round out Degeneres’ signature style.

 

Now that you’ve got this list to get you started, which one resonated the most for you?