In my previous blog post I mentioned some things I do to increase productivity. Of all of them the one that might be most easily picked up by others is making use of what might otherwise seem like wasted time.

Just because you’re stuck in line at the DMV or airport, waiting to pick someone up or be picked up, or in grid locked traffic doesn’t mean the time has to be wasted. Find something productive to do. We’ve all got dozens of menial tasks that don’t take long individually and are easy to put off because they seem so small. The problem is that those little things can quickly add up and collectively they can really become something that would take a huge chunk of time. If you’re someone who has lots to do and gets frustrated by wasted down time, don’t fear, there’s hope. The key is to take care of the little things whenever you get a free moment so they don’t accumulate in to an unmanageable task.

If you have a smartphone, don’t waste its power playing games. Unwaste your wasted time by answering emails, updating your calendar, or brainmapping what you need to do. And even if you don’t have a smartphone (what busy person doesn’t though?) or you temporarily lost it (as I tend to do about once a week) consider getting a moleskine or other similarly handy notebook (not the laptop kind…the old school notebook kind). I find my moleskine to be great for list keeping, writing out blogs when away from a computer, or outlining tasks. In fact, I actually find the blank page of a moleskine to be far less restrictive and void of the many distractions of a computer. They are great for jotting things down as they come to you.

You can also use the time to make and return phone calls. I’m actually pretty terrible at connecting via phone because I’m training people for most of the day and I try not to answer or make calls during face-to-face meetings or when I’m training someone. So whenever I find myself with a couple minutes to spare I’m on the phone catching up on my voicemails and missed calls.

Finally, here’s some advice on getting things done on flights. Don’t let the cramped seating, dry air and absence of wifi or power slow down your productivity train. I make the habit of answering emails on my iPhone right up until they close the cabin doors of the jet (and sometimes later if I feel like tolerating the glare of people who believe the airline perpetuated myth that leaving your phone on during flight is some kind of danger). Then during the 5-15 minutes at the beginning and end of the flight when all electronics are supposed to be turned off, I pull out my trusty moleskine or read the latest sport science research article I’ve printed in hard copy to take with me. If I know I’ll have at least a 15 minute window during the middle of the flight where ‘use of electronics is approved’ I’ll pull out my laptop. In fact, in the 3 years after I left my doctoral studies at LSU (prior to completing my dissertation) to take a job coaching at Army, the only time I could ever find to work on my doctoral dissertation between 50+ hours a week of Army responsibilities and another 30+ to run my company, was on the flights I would take 4-6 times per month. While these 10-20 minute blocks of time didn’t amount to much individually, the work accomplished quickly added up and I finished my dissertation shortly after resigning from my job at Army.

Which brings me to quote that was recently featured on Athletic Lab’s wipeboard:

If you can move a grain of sand a day; eventually you will move a mountain.

If you make the most of what might otherwise seem like wasted time you’ll easily find yourself more productive than ever.

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So I’m waiting in line at the NC DMV (actually I was…but now I’m not) to get my drivers license transferred from NY (where I haven’t lived for 2 years) to NC (where I’ve been living for a year). Everyone had told me that the NC DMVs were bad for wait times and they weren’t wrong. Anyhow, this down time is giving me the opportunity to update this blog (sorry it’s been a while). Given the circumstances, I figured it would only be fitting to write about how you can make the most of your each and every one of the 86,400 seconds in your day. Given that I have the tendency to always overload my schedule I’ve become pretty adept at jamming as much as possible in to my day. Here’s some tips that I’ve personally found useful. Note that these aren’t going to work for everyone but if you’re a hard driver like I am then consider giving some of these tips a try.

1. Multitask whenever appropriate – While recent research indicates that multitasking may actually hurt productivity I think there’s enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that multitasking is a necessary part of getting things done effectively for many people. The key here is to only multitask when it’s appropriate and with tasks that are compatible for high effectiveness. I’ve found that my ADD brain tends to operate best when there are little ‘distractions’ and if I can make these distractions things I actually need to do then it’s a win-win situation.
2. Stay up late and sleep less – Although many people in today’s society get too little sleep, many of the most productive people in history were either insomniacs, night owls or both. I’m a nightowl who can quite easily stay awake until 3 or 4 am and generally do fine with just 5.5 hours a night. If I feel tired I try to listen to my body and take a nap or get to bed early. I can only speak for myself but I find I am actually MOST productive late at night….especially at tasks involving high cognitive effort or attention. While there’s no doubt evidence regarding the pitfalls of insomnia, for many it can lead to getting more done.  Read this interesting article on why night owls make more money and are generally smarter.
3. Make eating productive – I love to eat and because of my fast metabolism I do it often. While I certainly appreciate sitting down to a leisurely meal with family and friends, a meal can also double up as an opportunity to get things done. That might mean working at your desk while you eat lunch, having a lunch or dinner meeting, or grabbing a snack while you drive somewhere.
4. Drink coffee and tea – Not only are coffee and tea great for you due to their antioxidant properties, they can also help increase productivity by increasing alertness, ability to focus, and capacity for higher level cognitive thought processing. Read this blog I wrote about the positive effects of coffee.
5. Overload your schedule – I’ve found that if I bite off more than I can chew I often find a way to chew it anyhow. By overloading my schedule I force myself to get things done. I will say that this has backfired on me at times and that trying to do everything is never a good strategy.
6. Eliminate wasted time – We’ve all got times in our day when we find ourselves standing around waiting for someone or something. This is inevitable. Instead of just letting this time go to waste use it to knock out small tasks. I’ve found if I can knock out a short call, send an email on my iPhone or jot down notes in my moleskin that I can reduce the number of seemingly small tasks that would otherwise quickly add up over the course of the day.
7. Schedule and plan ahead – Failing to plan is planning to fail. If you’ve only got so many hours in your day and you want to make the most of them take the couple minutes it takes to sort out what needs to be done and when it should be done so that you ensure you get everything done and do it in the most effective order.
8. Set hard deadlines – Deadlines mean you’re accountable for a task within a given time constraint. When you’re accountable you’re more likely to get things done. When setting deadlines make them realistic but ambitious and don’t get mushy with ‘next month’ deadlines…use hard deadlines with specific dates and times.
9. Maintain fitness – Exercise is not only great for your body but it’s great for your mind. Exercise improves our ability to focus and there is some research to indicate that it is linked to increased cognitive abilities. Taking a couple hours a week to do some vigorous exercise will really help you to relieve stress, think more clearly, and get more done.
10. Rest hard – This one’s important. If you’re going to red-line the productivity meter on a regular basis you’re going to have to stop for a tune up and refueling every now and then. When you do, do it well. Don’t half ass your R&R or you’ll return to work less productive. Avoid the temptation to ‘do a little’ or ‘get ahead’ by thinking of the time spent relaxing as an investment that will pay big productivity dividends when you resume work.

I know many will flame me for some of these suggestions (especially the first 6) but I have a rationale explanation for all of them and they work well for me. Can you think of any others that I should add to the list?

As I mentioned in my last post I had been working for 7 days a week for the past couple weeks and it had been wearing on me. Yesterday I took an early day off (I just had one training session in the morning to coach) and went to the beach with my family

. Today I slept in. And now I feel completely (or almost completely) refreshed and ready to hammer again. Even when you know how important breaks are sometimes it’s hard to force ourselves to take them. They’re important not only for life balance but for productivity.

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The 2 minute rule is a self-imposed rule that I’ve found useful for increasing productivity. It works like this- if a new task comes up, I immediately ask myself if it can be finished in two minutes. If it can, I do it right then and there. On the spot so to speak. This strategy has worked well for emails (which can quickly pile up otherwise), phone calls, and even short blog posts such as this one. Not only does this get things off (or prevent them from ever going on) the ‘to do’ list but it also gets you on a ‘productivity role’ that makes handling bigger tasks easier and also places a loose but relatively easy-to-follow restriction on the time you devote to smaller tasks.

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If you’re anything like me, the two sticking points of a project are getting started and getting finished. I know, I know, you’re probably saying “what’s left? that’s everything!” it’s not my intention to be witty here. What I mean to say is that the hardest parts of any project are taking the leap to start the project and to finish the last 5% of any project that I’ve started. Here’s 2 quick things that I find myself TRYING to do so I can at least minimize these firewalls to progress.

1. If you’re in a productivity jam, throw quality control out the window so you can get the ball rolling. Too many times, I find myself not doing something because I’m not in the mood / groove to get it perfect. When I just start mind mapping and get something done, it’s easier to start making some progress towards the finish line.
2. If the end result of a project is dependent on someone or something else, make sure you get your part of the project to them as soon as possible so THEY (or it) can do the work they need to do and you can get back to doing other things. I personally deal with this one all the time with projects that I either farm out or seek the help of others (DVD production, video digitization for biomechanical analysis, text editing) or things that are computer (but not personal work) intensive (video encoding and encryption, DVD burning, video uploading to video sites like Vimeo and YouTube).
3. Try not to take on too many tasks. I’m probably the worst person in the world about this but it’s made me realize that it can hurt as much as it can help. When you overload yourself too much, it’s not good for your health and it makes it difficult to complete what you’ve already got on your plate.

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