Gina Trapani, founding editor of Lifehacker, posted a great article last week on FastCompany about the importance of scheduling time for yourself – as much for your own sanity, as for getting things done.
The idea is that we tend to find ourselves so overburdened with meetings that we rarely have that uninterrupted time needed to tackle our to-do lists.
Trapani recommends setting aside a block of time every week to review and regroup.
A simple way to do this is to set your Tungle.me page so that you’re not available at a certain time each week (Tuesday mornings, or Wednesday afternoons, for example). It may take some enforcing at first, but eventually, others will get used to you not being available during that block.
The more challenging person to convince will probably be yourself. The go-go-go habit is tough to break.
Here are 4 ways to make it work:
Sign Out of Email, Twitter, Facebook, et al
Don’t just close them. Fully sign out. The extra step to get back in is a deterrent to reengaging. Email and social networking are the ultimate distraction to getting things done (unless your task for the day is to clear your inbox, in which case, keep that open – close everything else).
Turn Off Your Phone
Put it in your desk drawer if you have to. Whatever you do, make sure it can’t distract you. Nothing kills your pace more than having to get into a separate conversation mid-task. If the call is important, they’ll leave a message.
Seal Yourself Off
If you have an office, close the door. If the environment allows, tape a sign to your door asking people to come back at the end of your “to do time”. Open office? Noise cancelling headphones will be your best friend. They keep you focused, and are a visual trigger to others that right now, you’re in the zone, and they should come back later.
Remind Yourself – The sky isn’t falling
Few things will be so critical that they can’t wait an hour or two. What if you were out to lunch? In a meeting? Home sick? People who want to get in touch with you would have to wait. You’re in your most important meeting of the week – with yourself. Others can wait.
Of course, every office environment is different. What is yours like, and what tricks do you have for making time for yourself?
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