December 12, 2024 | By David M. Wagner

If I could get you *anything* for the holiday, I would get you more of your most precious leadership resource: your time!

Feeling overwhelmed kills your productivity. It’s hard to know where to start or to focus once you do.

Sadly, I cannot add more hours to your day.

But I can offer a different gift: five techniques to regain control over your time when things get crazy busy.

#1 Plan, Don’t React

When there’s a ton on my plate, I’m often tempted to fight the closest fire – usually whatever’s at the top of my inbox.

Being reactive puts me behind on what’s most important.

Instead, I’ve learned to be more intentional about my time.

Take just a few minutes each morning to assess what tasks are most important, most urgent, and the most valuable use of your time. Set clear priorities and add pop-up tasks to your backlog.

#2 Break Big Projects into Manageable Tasks

I’ve struggled to start projects that I know will take a lot of time.

My (maybe too obvious) solution?

Set an initial task to break the big project into smaller, more manageable tasks.

That way, rather than trying to tackle the whole project, you have something smaller to start on. Followed by another approachable task. And so on.

#3 Timebox Your Tasks

…But sometimes, the smallest task still requires more time than you can find (consecutively) on your calendar.

If I know I can’t complete a task in the time I have available, I’m tempted not to start.

I’ve learned to accept whatever time I have and get done what I can.

For longer tasks, commit to using your available time to get started. You can prioritize completion another day. Heck, you may even finish faster than you think!

#4 Set Aside Productive Time

Don’t you hate those days when it feels like you got nothing done in the face of back-to-back meetings and interruptions?

Here’s what’s worked for me: block off chunks of productive working time on your calendar. Commit to using that time for your biggest priorities (see #1), especially ones that require deeper, uninterrupted thought.

During that time, eliminate distractions: hold your calls, turn off your device notifications, or hide where no one can find you!

#5 Find a System that Works for You

I’ve tracked tasks a lot of ways: using automated reminders, my calendar, sticky notes, manually writing out task lists.

The system that works for me? Trello. (Not an affiliate link, I’m just a big fan!)

The trick is to find a solution that works for you – try a few out, see what helps, and then commit to funneling all to do’s into that one system.

I hope that, as they did for me, these tips will help you regain your productivity and reclaim your energy. If you’re still struggling, prioritize just 25 minutes to chat with me about how coaching can help you get your time back.