Work On Time : Understanding The Importance Of Time Do All Things On Time

Being inspired by a great musician does not work. He is motivated only while working. Beethoven, Wagoner, Balkh and Mozart used to sit at work with equal regularity every day., With the regularity that an account sits every day to match the accounts, they did not waste their time waiting for the motivation.

• Begin the Day with the End in Mind
• This sounds basic, but I’m convinced that many people don’t leave work on time simply because they don’t set the expectation that they will. Instead, they simply go with the flow of the workday, working on whatever comes their way and neglecting to block time on their calendar for priority work. Then, at the end of the day, there’s still a pile of work to do—all because they didn’t plan for 5 PM.

• Tell People When You Have to Leave
• If you start telling people you need to leave at a certain time, you’ll be much more likely to do so. Make the commitment to yourself, and then share it with others: As you discuss plans and assignments throughout the day, tell your colleagues, “I’ve got to be out of here on time tonight, so if you need something, let me know by 3 PM.”

• Allow 20 Minutes to Transition
• Once you’ve set your departure time, give yourself some practical help achieving it: Block out the 20 minutes prior to that time on your calendar to clean up any last daily details, and making sure all essential email is cleared out) and get ready for tomorrow.

• Do the Most Important Work
• Next, make sure your critical work is getting done—and getting done early. Do you work on a C-priority project because it’s more fun or less difficult than an A-priority project? I know—working on email  but it doesn’t help you finish the monthly report that’s due or the agenda for the big meeting next week.

• Stop Wasting Time During the Day

• If you constantly find yourself at the office late at night, also take a few minutes to evaluate your work practices during the day. Do you check your email every five minutes? Respond to every text immediately? Leave your instant messaging on all day?

• Pick Up the Phone
• Speaking of productivity: Email is a great tool for many things, but it can also easily become a time-consuming crutch—because often, a phone conversation takes less time and can be more effective.

• Use Technology to Help You Focus
• Yes, some technology can certainly be a productivity killer, but there are also hundreds of apps and online tools that can help (When I first tried Freedom and turned my internet off for 45 minutes, something clicked. Because I knew getting online wasn’t an option, I focused differently—and it completely shifted the way I approached my work.)

Give yourself 20 minutes for pack-up
Announcing that you must leave at 6 pm is one thing; actually, leaving at that time every day is another. It gets easier if you devote your last 20 minutes at the desk to tying up loose ends and prepping for the next day.

Tip: File your papers, clean your desk and send off the last-minute email to ensure you’re ready for tomorrow.