Use simple strategies to create weeks of ‘free’ time
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Do you work in a corporate role and find yourself torn between the excitement of taking on new projects and the seemingly overwhelming challenge of fitting them into your busy schedule?
If you do, you're not alone. Many professionals face this dilemma, struggling to find time for important projects alongside their daily responsibilities. But fear not, in this article I share three simple but powerful strategies that can create weeks of 'free' time, unlocking your productive potential, helping you get more important projects done and propelling your career forward.
Why is getting projects done important to a business?
Let’s start by getting clear on why projects are good for business. Leaders face two important but at times competing priorities:
Running the business – through securing customers, satisfying their needs and creating value for the organisation and its owners
Adapting the business – making it better by finding new ways to satisfy customers and becoming more competitive, helping it survive and thrive into the future.
Projects play a vital role in adapting a business, delivering change that helps it survive and thrive. Becoming great at delivering projects therefore is an essential business capability.
Why do professionals in corporate roles need to be good at projects?
Professionals in corporate roles such as Human Resources, Safety, Finance, Information Technology, Legal and Strategy are ideally placed to lead and deliver important workplace projects. The scope of these roles extends throughout an organisation, enabling connections and relationships to be formed that help make delivering change easier.
Not surprisingly then, employers are requiring people in corporate roles to be able to deliver both their core functional responsibilities and important improvement projects.
In a recent study I conducted, analysing 100 job ads on seek.com.au across six corporate roles, I found that 98% explicitly required candidates to deliver outcomes related to their functional responsibilities while also driving or participating in projects that fostered change and improvement in their function or the broader business.
Mastering the skill of fulfilling responsibilities for running and adapting the business simultaneously is a game-changer for corporate professionals that will help propel your career forward.
How do I make more time for projects?
One way to do this is by creating ‘free’ time. Its ‘free’ because you either claim it back from activities that you no longer need to do or by getting more done with the time you have.
Three strategies that will help you create ‘free’ time are:
reducing distractions,
eliminating unproductive meetings and
increasing your reading speed.
How do I reduce distractions?
Distractions in the workplace pose a significant obstacle to getting things done. Studies reveal that up to 70% of office workers feel distracted, with the average employee experiencing as many as 56 disruptions per day.
Best selling author Nir Eyal in his book ‘indistratible’ says, distractions are choices we make—that divert us from achieving what truely matters. Recognising this empowers you to become 'indistractible' by taking proactive steps to prevent distractions from stealing your valuable time.
Nir identifies two main causes of distraction:
Internal triggers: These are feelings and thoughts that generate discomfort, such as boredom, stress, anxiety, or fatigue. They prompt us to seek relief by shifting our focus away from our current tasks.
External triggers: These are cues in our environment, like interruptions from colleagues, phone calls, and technology alerts, that divert our attention and disrupt our flow.
Research indicates that 90% of distractions stem from internal triggers. Becoming aware of your own triggers and the types of external distractions you regularly encounter empowers you to intervene and prevent future distractions.
Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, found that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain focus on a task after being interrupted. When considering the time spent pursuing the distraction in addition to the time to refocus, frequent distractions can accumulate to weeks of lost time and productivity each year.
Nir has dozens of practical tips and techniques to manage both internal and external triggers that cause distraction. Here are two I have found particularly helpful.
Timeboxing
Adapted from Agile project methodology, timeboxing involves allocating specific blocks of time for tasks and strictly adhering to them. This disciplined approach minimises distractions and enhances focus, ultimately boosting productivity. Timeboxing has been ranked as the most useful productivity hack in a Harvard Business Review study of 100 productivity techniques. Elon Musk, known for his productivity, utilises timeboxing to stay focused.
To implement timeboxing effectively:
Determine your priorities: List and rank your daily priorities from highest to lowest
Schedule your work: Allocate dedicated time blocks in your calendar for completing tasks that align to your priorities, starting with the highest
Make it a habit: hold yourself accountable for sticking to the timeblocks and review progress regularly to see where you can improve
I've incorporated insights from Cal Newport's book 'Deep Work' into my version of timeboxing. By distinguishing between Deep Work and Shallow Work, you can allocate specific time for focused, distraction-free concentration on tasks that require your cognitive capabilities to their fullest. This approach involves colour coding your diary to identify periods of Deep Work and taking proactive measures, such as moving to a quiet room and turning off alerts and noises, to minimize the risk of distraction.
10-minute rule
Ever found yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media or getting lost in a sea of news articles when you only wanted to be distracted for a minute or two?
The 10-Minute Rule can be your secret weapon. Instead of succumbing to distractions immediately, consciously wait for 10 minutes before acting on the urge. Research shows that 90% of the time, the distraction urge will fade away after those crucial minutes. Uncomfortable emotions are temporary, and you can ride the wave to regain focus and productivity. Give it a try and save valuable time each day!
How do I eliminate unproductive meetings?
Meetings can be both valuable and time-consuming. For professionals in corporate roles, meetings can consume roughly of 50% of each week. If you feel trapped in unproductive gatherings, it's time to take charge. A study by Atlassian found an average of 31 hours per month is wasted in unproductive meetings. That's nearly one full day every week!
Start implementing these three golden rules to eliminate unproductive meetings:
No agenda, no meeting, no exceptions: Insist on having a clear agenda that outlines the purpose, topics, decisions, duration, and key participants. It's essential for productive meetings.
Meetings are a "HELL YES" or No: Only attend or schedule meetings that are absolutely essential. If the same information can be conveyed through email or a quick call, opt for that efficient route.
Value your time like a CEO: Assess the value you bring to a meeting and leave once your contributions have been made. Communicate your intention politely and save yourself from unnecessary time drains. Remember, your time is valuable!
How do I save time by speeding up my reading?
Corporate professionals spend an average of 2-4 hours reading every day. For most of us, we stopped learning how to read in fourth or fifth grade primary school.
Did you know you can boost your reading speed with simple techniques? On average, adults read between 150 and 250 words per minute. By contrast, former US president John F Kennedy was reported as being able to read at 1,200 words per minute. By learning to read faster, you can save a significant amount of time each day.
Jim Kwik, a global learning and speed-reading expert taught himself how to read faster after a childhood brain injury forced him to relearn how to read to keep up with classwork. In his book ‘Limitless’, Jim includes the following technique that can help you double your reading speed with surprisingly little practice:
Visual Pacing: Break the old habit and use your finger to guide your reading. To practice this technique, run your finger underneath each row of words like you are drawing a line across the page as you read. Do this for four minutes. Mark where you got to at the end of the four minutes. Then do it again and set a timer for three minutes and try and read the same number of words in that time. Once you get comfortable reading the same number of words in three minutes, reduce it to two minutes. This technique keeps your focus sharp, prevents wandering thoughts, and can double your reading speed.
This article is around 1,500 words…how long did it take you to read? Less than 3 minutes and you are a speed reading rock star, any longer and you have an opportunity to improve and create more time to get projects done.
How can I use these strategies to create weeks of ‘free’ time in my calendar?
Implementing strategies to manage distraction, eliminate unproductive meetings and learn new skills like speed reading can give you an incredible advantage. Saving just two hours a week through these techniques will give you more than two weeks of ‘free time’ a year.
If you want to search for other ways to create time in your day, consider how you can better manage your thoughts, take control of your environment, and improve what you do.
At ThinkClear Group we help people in corporate roles excel at delivering projects. If you’re looking to level up your project delivery skills and fast track your career or team development, book a discovery session today to learn how we can help.
Let's unlock your project success together!