Time management and Productivity 101
Hello and Hi from Food Bites!
FACT: There are 24 hours in a day which equates to 1 440 minutes and 86 400 seconds. And we all know that every second counts. We also know that all the money in the world cannot buy time.
Time does not discriminate; we all have the same number of hours, minutes, seconds in a day but how we utilise this time is what makes a difference.
In our endeavours to “find more time”, “save time” and “make time” we have found, tried, and tested some life changing tips.
Planning is no doubt the single most important aspect of utilising your time effectively. Most of us fall into a rut because we do not have time to plan, but planning does not have to be an activity that takes up an hour of your day. Effective planning can take just 10 minutes and bring so much clarity in terms of prioritising tasks.
The idea is that before you leave work each day, you spend a few minutes planning your activities for the next day. This means that you start your day knowing exactly what needs to be done.
Another way of improving productivity, is to plan complex tasks in the morning when you have more energy to focus (obviously if you’re not a “morning person” you will plan these tasks for later in the day). Completing difficult tasks while you are refreshed and focussed means that you can complete them faster which saves time for other activities!
Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking is NOT a talent! Juggling numerous tasks at the same time means that you need to refocus every time you switch from one task to another, and back and forth. Choose one task, complete it, and experience the joy of ticking it off your list.
E-mail, WhatsApp, social media, and any other application that generates some form of a notification is also a distraction. We know that you cannot disappear off the face of the earth but turning off notifications while you are busy with an important or complex activity improves focus.
Finally, and probably the most difficult rule, is managing how much time you spend on e-mail! Create a schedule where you access and read e-mails a few times a day. Use the folders in your e-mail application to prioritise e-mails and create separate “to-do” actions when you plan your day’s work based on activities generated from your e-mail.
Start with a small change and as you see how more productive you become; you can experiment with another tip. Who knows, you could have some extra time on your hands for an overdue coffee break with a colleague or friend.
Sharing is caring! If you know of anyone who could benefit from these tips, be awesome and share!
Next week we will cover a more technical topic and look at the role of the food safety team and their responsibilities in ensuring the production of safe food.
Food Bites greetings.