Productivity is on many people’s minds when Monday rolls around. How do you enter the new week?
Do you set aside time to review your plans and to-do lists? Do you move ahead planfully to maximize your productivity – or do you jump right in and sort things out later?
Well, as you may guess, my advice for boosting your productivity from the get go is most definitely to scan and plan! No matter how you track the tasks that you need to address, looking over them periodically and setting goals and priorities helps keep you on track as the days unfold.
One of the reasons it’s so important to prioritize your tasks is because, no matter how well you plan ahead, unforeseen circumstances and demands are going to tug on your time. Your plan is like a thread of consistency that you can come back to over and over – no matter what pulls you onto unplanned paths!
Productivity Tip
Focus is a key element in productivity; and focus can be challenging to maintain when working on-line. So today’s productivity tip is aimed at helping you maintain focus as you start your day … and it’s a simple one.
Rather than open up your e-mail and voice-mail messages when you first hop on-line each day, I suggest that you first scan your to-do list.
You can rest assured that your messages are going to lead to new items for your list; but if you scan it first, you’ll have your planned priorities in mind before you introduce new variables. This boosts productivity by keeping your plans in the forefront. Rather than reacting quickly to new tasks, you put yourself in a position to make proactive, informed time choices if it’s necessary to shift your priorities.
Productivity Tool
Unmark is a Chrome Extension that offers a nice interface for managing your bookmarks. It allows you to create bookmarks quickly and is intended to help you manage bookmarks so that they become more useful to you. Here’s what they say on the site:
Unmark is designed to help you actually do something with your bookmarks, rather than just hoard them. A simple layout puts the focus on your task at hand and friendly reminders keep you in line. Filtering options let you find what you’re looking for.
You create categories for your bookmarks and then take action as needed. For example, if you save something to read or watch later, you would open that category, select the item, take care of it, and then Archive it. This keeps your bookmarks fresh, with actionable items much more accessible.
It’s an intriguing idea. When you’re thinking about productivity, though, one of the key questions to ask is whether a tool offers functionality that your current tools don’t have. It’s also important to consider the learning curve when adapting to something new.
So, if you already use Evernote or Springpad to track items on the web that you want to read, watch or tend to, Unmark may or may not be of interest to you. If, on the other hand, you still rely on bookmarks in your on-line work, Unmark may be something to take a look at.
I hope you find this post helpful, and wish you much time success and productivity in the coming week!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have no material connection with the brands, topics, or products that are mentioned here, and have not received any compensation for writing this content.
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