Are Your Time Savers Actually Time Wasters?

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

I love my gadgets. I have calendars in my phone and computer and am not certain what I would do without my technology! I still purchase hardcopy paper planners but rarely use them. I set timers for myself for tasks that I need to complete, set reminders for appointments I have to attend, and check my email and Facebook updates on my phone throughout the day. I do all of this to save time, right? Using my phone as my go-to item and setting reminders and timers makes me more effective, right? Hhhmmm maybe not. 

Once I discovered that my To-do list had its own To-do list I knew I had to make some drastic changes! Here are some truths I discovered about my "time savers:"

• Being "active" doesn't necessarily mean I was productive. Starting and stopping projects, adding to my To-do list and having stacks of projects organized by urgency didn't always equate to getting it done. Just because I completed 10 of my 15 items on my list doesn't mean I completed them at 100% of my capacity. I'm much better served to do five of those items and do them at 100% rather than doing 10 and doing them at 50%. 
• I need to cut back on my gadget dependence. Constantly checking my phone for a blinking light that indicates I have an email, text, Facebook mention or phone message can be exhausting. Also, checking the gadget light makes me a slave to the gadget and distracts me from the work at hand. I'd written in a previous post on mindfulness that I have learned to step away from my computer at a decent hour -- before dinner time -- and not get back online until the following morning and not even then until I'd had my breakfast and enjoyed the newspaper. 
• Keeping a central To-do and even a running To-do list on a notebook by my computer has been working out best for me. It lets me see, at a glance, what I need to do that day, what I accomplished the day before and what the rest of my week looks like. 

What time saving tips or time wasting habits do you care to share? Feel free to post them on our Facebook page. 

Comments

[Robbi]

I, too, have a hard time being productive and not being distracted because as a blogger and social media manager I need to be online... it's a balancing act.

[D2D Print]

I would love to work offline, unfortunately/ fortunately being an SEM requires me to be online for a good majority of my work day. I try and stay productive, I set up my schedule in a Google Docs the night before and so far that seems to be working for me.

[Kylex]

Being "active" doesn't necessarily mean I was productive.

I just loved it how you nailed that line.

Apart from procastination, what hampers our productivity is Distractions.

Keeping the gadgets at bay is the best.

Further, how far my experience serves, working offline is more productive than working online.

Really great post, Robbi! Keep writing :)