Find Hidden Productivity Pockets in Your Day

Do you know that feeling that your workday was crazy-busy, you took care of everyone else’s needs, but you didn’t get any of your own stuff done? It happens to everyone, but when this goes on for several days in a row, it’s easy to get frustrated. For managers and service professionals, this problem is particularly tricky because “being available” is a crucial part of the role.

One way to regain a sense of control over your time is to look for patterns that may be happening naturally in your day which you can convert into intentionally scheduled or batched activities, such as:

Cries for Help: Do people seem to need you most at a certain time of day? Is it first thing in the morning, is it right after lunch, or before the end of the day? Consider scheduling Open Door Hours (like university professors have office hours listed on their doors) to encourage people to save up their questions and decision-making requests for these times. Ask people to call or visit you during these times rather than managing issues through email threads.

Email Volume: Is the heaviest concentration of email you need to turn around related to international time zones? If so, plan to spend a concentrated block of time replying to email at this time rather than dipping in and out of the Inbox all day long.

Phone Calls: When is the best time to connect with people by phone, rather than playing phone tag? Have a call list ready, and blast through a bunch.

Internal Meetings: When is your team most focused and productive? Create a daily stand-up meeting routine, and a weekly tactical meeting block – and maintain a sharp agenda. If team members prefer different times of the day (or time zones), consider a rotation so everyone is (in)convenienced equally.

Client-Facing Meetings: If morning coffee is the best time to meet with your clients, reserve 1-2 mornings per week for this, and schedule your appointments strategically so you are going out for several meetings all in one go. Then you have the afternoon to yourself for follow-up, projects, internal matters, etc.

Escape Activities: Do you find yourself Facebooking, chatting or similar right before or right after lunch? This may mean your concentration or motivation is waning at this time of day, and that your lunchtime should be adjusted. Alternatively, lose the guilt about the escape, and reframe it instead: Build it in as a planned transition or reward activity, and refrain at other times. Be sure to change your online status to unavailable so your friends can understand and respect your on/off times.

Quiet Moments: When are those golden moments of peace when you can actually concentrate and get something done? Early morning? After everyone else has gone home? Plan for this, and rearrange your arrival/departure times accordingly. If you tend to work late in order to wait out everyone else, consider going to the gym or out for a bite before the 2^nd shift. Your ability to focus will be enhanced, and you will get more done after the boost.

Errands: Keep a running list of errands you need to run, and try to knock off a few on your way to or from an external meeting or lunch.

Making the most of naturally-occurring patterns is a great way to find a win-win between your needs and those of the people around you. With a small amount of tweaking, your biggest challenges could become your most productive pockets in busy days!