The 3 Simple Habits of Remarkably Efficient People by @sobeorganized

by Rivka Caroline | Featured Contributor

You would be totally forgiven if you thought you needed to  revamp and track your every action to become efficient. Don’t even go there.  These cherry picked  tips are tried and tested to give you a quick route to uber efficiency.

By incorporating the following tips you can turn your productivity on it’s head and join the ranks of the relaxed and efficient.

1. Pre-arrange Tasks

In a previous article I discussed tips for controlling your “to-do” list by creating a “to-don’t” list. Now that you have a shorter list ( well done!), here is the next step. You will thank me profusely for this one, and when I take the time (most days) to do this, I thank myself too.  Here’s the trick – write down the 5-8 tasks you must get done the following day. Use a fresh sheet in your notepad, the notepad on your iphone or stick a post-it note on your forehead. Bottom line a la Peter Drucker is what gets measured, gets managed or it’s opposite goals not written down  … are just a dream.

2. Leverage your Work Time

The creator of Dilbert once commented that he is an early bird and gets the bulk of his work done between 5am and 8am, and his creativity would seriously be stifled if he had to work around any other schedule.

Work out when YOU get your best work done, and leverage the bulk of your work around then.

As they say “it’s so easy when I want to and so hard when I have to.” Stop working around someone else’s schedule and be the master of your own efficiency.

3. ‘Next Step’ Homework

Chances are that after interactions with people in your life, there is a “next step” item. Whether that interaction is via email, text, phone or even (shock, horror!) in person, more often than not there is a “next step.”

Just like my caffeine addiction,  the “next step”  item can take any form. It can be anything from putting into your calendar  to meet them for coffee on Tuesday, email them latest blog post, order a book they had recommended, write them a thank you note or any type of homework.

Don’t be tempted to remember it ‘later.’. Write it down right away or if it can be done in 2 minutes or less, take care of business right there and then. Yes, I am challenging  you to order a new book from Amazon, enter a coffee date into your Google calendar and send a thank you text in 2 minutes or less.

By incorporating these 3 habits into your everyday life, you will notice more efficient living and less ‘stuff’ falling through the cracks. Instantly. Thank me later, first write down the ‘next step’ homework from that phone meeting you just had.

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Time Management Guru – Rivka Caroline, author of Frazzled to Focused Ultimate Time Management Guide  for Moms & CEO of SoBe Organized, Miami, Florida

Rivka is a Mom of 7, Author of Frazzled to Focused, Rabbi’s wife and CEO of the professional Time Management Consultancy SoBe Organized.   She teaches both individuals and small businesses how to leverage their time to work effectively and find time for the things that count.  She loves the psychology behind time management and will be finishing her Masters in Psychology in  October 2013.  Perhaps more importantly, Rivka is still quite relaxed and surprisingly sane and able to find time for what matters. People often ask her how she ‘does it all’, her tweets @sobeorganized,  blog posts and book is her detailed response ( spoiler alert : she doesn’t actually do it all and doesn’t want YOU to either).

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