Think. Streamline. Repeat.

Wait! Before you start reading the rest of this post! This point will be better illustrated if you follow these directions before you start reading the "real" article".

Take out a blank sheet of paper and write out an hour-by-hour list of what you do on a typical day during your work hours (most people's lists are usually between 9 am to 5 pm). Draw a circle around the three most important tasks each day (maybe checking in with the boss, having a lunch break, and returning urgent emails). Draw a line through the three least important or productive activities (like checking personal email, pursuing an impossible client, and running errands). )
If you can't/won't make a list like this, try a program like the previously-mentioned RescueTime to plot out your computer-related time, at least. That might take a little bit of the load off this list-making stress.)
Which part was easier to do - find the most important tasks or the least important tasks? Ask yourself, in your opinion, how this reflects on your job and productivity. OK, recycle your sheet of paper and get back over here to read the rest of the article.


For most people, it's easier to think of the least productive things in their workday. So, put these ideas to good use. Find a way to de-clutter and streamline your day to get more work done - and most importantly, have more free time. How might one do this? I'll show you my least important tasks and explain how I've cut down.

• Blog reading. I used to use Google Reader to read more than 20 different feeds. When I looked at my Trends with Google Trends, I discovered that I read nearly 140 posts a day. I've cut that in half by stripping down to 14.
• Talking on the phone. I've discovered that I spend way too much time on the phone, and that email is a faster and more efficient medium. And since I have a smartphone, I can write email just as easily as talking - and I have records so when I never forget about ideas or tasks!
  
• Doing mindless research. Because chances are, somebody has had a similar question before. You don't need to go from website to website to library to bookstore just to find an answer! Let others do the work for you! Websites like Wikipedia, Kayak, Wikitravel and ChaCha make the knowledge of the world (or at least the computer-literate) public.