Get sh*t done — How to maximise your productivity and free up some time in your busy day

• Don’t try to multitask — I’m terrible for thinking I can juggle 20 things at once. All I’m managing to do is spread myself too thin, distract and interrupt myself and slow myself down! Your brain, like your computer, can only effectively do one thing at a time.
• Make a list — instead of doing 20 things at once (badly), make a list of those 20 things then tackle them in order, one at a time.
• Close your browsers and windows — much like multitasking, having too many browsers, windows and programs open are just distracting, especially with notifications flashing and pinging every few seconds.
• Structure your day — roughly plan out, say, 1 hour first thing as you have a cup of coffee just sorting through the emails that have come in. Then make your list for the day. Schedule your calls and meetings. Leave time for prep as needed. Save the social media for when you’re having a well-deserved cake break!
• Mix things up — your brain can only be productive for so long until it reaches saturation. Take a break, have a chat, check your phone, mix it up to keep yourself refreshed and allow yourself to get back into the zone. Everyone’s ideal ‘in the zone’ time will be different, find yours and structure your day around those chunks as much as you can.

You don’t have to be an organised guru or have a strict daily schedule to free up some of your own time. The best piece of advice I ever read that impacted my working life was in “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss where I sat back and thought, I’m too blinkered by how long I’ve been told my work HAS to take. If I break it down into individual elements, how long SHOULD each one take me instead? Should I really be spending 7 hours a day on emails? I’m not in a reactive job, why do I feel like I have to be reactive, why not become proactive and take control of what I do, how I do it and when I do it to deliver better results to my clients?