Feel as if you have so much work to do but not enough time to do it in? Your current work style could be to blame. Ask yourself, are you maximising your time in the best way possible? Have you considered prioritising, planning and delegation? If not, these are great time savers. Maybe you have tried all the above and are still struggling to get everything done. Increasing your efficiency so that you can spend less time on tasks and still do a good job is another option that can save you some time.
The above strategies will vary in results depending on the person and the situation. But if you choose to use at least one of these strategies on a regular basis, it can save you many hours per week.
Clarify what is actually needed
It’s always best to get clear on client’s expectations, especially if you agree to take on a significant task. Find out what they expect from you before you begin the work. This can save you some time, particularly if you find out from a client that a comprehensive plan or initial sketch will work just fine. Sometimes all a client requires is just enough information to give the go-ahead. Not all situations require an in-depth analysis. By clarifying with the client what they actually need and to what level, you can save hours of time on deciding what to do and actually get the task done.
Don’t be afraid to recycle
Save some time on projects by identifying where you can reuse certain elements instead of creating them from scratch every time. It makes no sense to waste time duplicating them when you have them on hand already. Where you can, copy, paste, and edit to save time. You can do this for emails, presentations, proposals and almost anything else that requires communication of a similar nature. Disney applied this technique to some of their animations throughout the years and recycled certain elements very well. See below.
Templates and checklists
Speed up the process when doing routine tasks and develop a template or checklist. This will help to streamline everyday activities. Templates can be used for putting together weekly reports, presentations or standard emails that you send every once in a while. Use checklists for weekly planning, meetings with clients and other repetitive activities that don’t require a lot of thought.
Using templates and checklists will allow you to do a good job in half the time because most of the prep work has been done already. No need to spend additional time remembering what to do and what the next step entails. Keep all of your templates and checklists in a highly accessible place, for example, Google docs. This way you can easily refer back or copy and paste if you need to.
Timebox your work
Tried and tested! This technique will save you the most time by far. Decide beforehand how much time to allocate to a certain task and then stick to it. This is particularly useful for if you find yourself taking too long on a certain step that is required to complete the work. For example, if you tend to over-invest in the research stage then give yourself a time limit and decide to do research only during that time and then stop. It might be difficult in the beginning as you may not finish all the work in the allotted time, but don’t be discouraged, you will get better and become more efficient because of it.
Timeboxing also helps with focus and deciding in advance on how much time you want to spend on a certain task. It addresses and maximises Parkinson’s Law, which states that all work expands to fill the time allotted.
