1. GET ON YER BIKE
‘For three years, I lived in Clovelly [Sydney], but worked across town in Balmain,’ says Peter Saw, designer, photographer and founder of Buzzsaw Branding. ‘I cycle commuted, taking a route through Centennial Park. It was quicker than public transport, a lot less stressful than driving through heavy traffic and meant I got daily exercise without having to find time for the gym.’
Melburnians are catching on to cycling’s time-saving potential. In 2015, bicycles made up 17 per cent of peak-hour traffic and the City of Melbourne plans to increase this to 20 per cent by 2020, according to The Guardian. In Sydney, chaotic streets make cycling trickier, but it’s easier when you know low-traffic routes. There are useful maps at Sydney Cycleways.
2. QUIT PINGING AND ZINGING
Unless you’re an 'entertainment' reporter, you don’t need to be the first person to share Kim Kardashian’s latest extreme selfie. What’s more, not every email hitting your inbox must be answered within a nanosecond.
‘I’m a big advocate of turning off notifications,’ says Fiona Craig, life balance coach and author of Stuck in a Rut: How To Rescue Yourself. ‘All that pinging, zinging and dinging becomes reactive, not proactive. It takes you out of the moment and doesn’t move you forward. Schedule three times a day to look at social media and emails.’
Craig’s advice is backed up by a 2009 Stanford University study. It showed that ‘heavy media multitaskers’ (i.e. people who continually flick between accounts) have poorer long-term memory and are more easily distracted than single-taskers.
3. KEEP CALM AND DRINK LESS COFFEE
Less coffee? What? Isn’t that what gets you going—and keeps you going? Well, it’s okay to kick start your day with a hit, but if you’re cranking through three double-shots within the first five hours, your caffeine addiction might be killing your productivity.
‘I love my morning coffee,’ says Mike Cooper, director of Design United. ‘But if I drink too many, I can end up twitching, nervous and distracted by the slightest thing.’
The American Psychiatric Association wouldn’t be surprised by Cooper’s reactions. According to the association’s publication, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, more than five cups of coffee can cause ‘anxiety, agitation, headache, rambling speech and excitement’.
Cooper adds that effective time management isn’t just about timetabling – it’s about quality of energy, too. ‘If you’re constantly running on nervous energy and charging from one thing to another, you won’t get as much done… But if you’re calm and focused, the time you have will expand. Think of it as temporal dilation. Prioritise tasks, by working out which are in the best interests of your business and your clients.’
4. GET UP, STAND UP
For many of us, getting out of bed is the biggest challenge of the day. But yoga instructor and life refinement therapist Natty Dipold says waking up with a bang is crucial to smashing goals.
‘When you wake up, get up,’ she says. ‘Even if it feels uncomfortable in the moment and even if you’re going to work in a job you dislike. Embracing the day gives you a sense of power and will ultimately help you create the life you want to live. It’s important to remember that cultivating change isn’t about big, rash decisions, but about small, consistent alterations in behaviour and thinking.’
To boost productivity further, wake up early. A 2009 study conducted by Christoph Randler, a biology professor at the Heidelberg University of Education, demonstrated that ‘morning people were more proactive than evening types’. Proactivity refers to ‘the willingness and ability to take action to change a situation to one’s advantage.’ Read more here about the benefits of becoming a morning person.
5. TAKE A BREAK
Read the same sentence five times? Re-written an email three times? Going a bit bonkers? Don’t be afraid to stop and walk away.
‘If you find yourself unable to think clearly or getting scattered in your mind, take a break,’ says Kerri Ellis, music promoter and freelance marketing consultant. ‘Have a swim, take a walk, turn on a CD—anything that grounds you. Do not try and work over the problem, as you’ll essentially achieve nothing or just redo what you’ve already done.’
6. BATCH AND BURST
‘Doing different kinds of tasks in focused bursts is useful,’ says Alex Newton, a specialist in business and human rights and former executive in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for six years. He has also worked as a lawyer with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
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