When asked about his theory on productivity and his schedule, Elon Musk put it very simply: “If other people are putting in 40 hour workweeks and you’re putting in 100 hour workweeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing … you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.” We may not all be willing (or able) to put in the insane hours Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO does to better organize tasks, but there are ways we can take the hours were already putting in per week and getting more out of them. Most of us are not utilizing the 40 hours we put in per week correctly to get the maximum results we can.
Take a few of these tips to better organize tasks and see your overall productivity increase
Make it really easy to organize tasks:
First of all, we suggest you use a digital task manager. We’re all too used to typing and working on a screen to do organize tasks this way as well. Even though digital task management tools may seem simple and easy to use at any time, it can be really easy to forget to use them. When you get caught up communicating and brainstorming via email, texting, messaging, and phone calls, the details and specific tasks you need to get done to get to work can go lost. Particularly if you’re working with teams, having task management that is integrated with your messaging in a platform like Hibox is the best way to make sure your communication is actionable. If you’re working alone, using a really easy, fast tool like Any.do is a great option.
We may not all be at Elon’s level of dedication but some basic task organization can double what you’re currently getting done. In the long run, as Elon suggests, this will make all the difference.
Share and organize tasks better with your team:
Accountability is everything with productivity. Sharing your goals or what you will have done with someone can help keep you dedicated to your deadlines. But really, having tasks organized in a place that is shared with your team helps avoid duplicate work, streamline group work, and keep projects on track.
Make your task organization as mobile as you:
We work from all devices now at all times. You want your task organization to be available and easy to use when you need to get something down. Task management that only works on desktop or something physical like a planner will go un-updated. Use a task management tool that has both desktop and mobile capability so you have the real time version of your tasks and schedule whenever you open it. Hibox offers both a desktop and mobile version for personal and team task organization.
Don’t make to-do lists, schedule tasks:
It’s intuitive and a bad habit of ours to start listing off what we need to get done for the day. We tend to over-do our lists and there are always a few tasks you never get to that end up being moved over to the next day. Having a daunting list of tasks leads to multitasking and procrastination. It’s much more effective to use a task manager and schedule your tasks throughout the week at specific times. This way, everyone knows when to expect from you throughout the week instead of hoping you’ll get to it today. The pressure is off and each task has a specific time where you can dedicate the energy to quality work. Having yourself on a deadline helps keep motivated!
Know how long tasks take to better organize tasks:
Do you frequently feel like time catches up to you and you thought you would have much more done than you do? Estimating how long it takes tasks is a significant part of being organized and realistic with your time. Time how long your routine tasks take so you know how much time to dedicate to them when scheduling your tasks. Staying late and not getting to tasks creates unnecessary stress. It’s better to be honest with yourself and coworkers than to be unrealistic with your time. Hibox has a built in time tracker for tasks. It will give you an idea of how long each task takes so you can better organize your time.
A few simple changes to what you’re already doing at work can have a huge overall impact in the long run. Try these few suggestions to break habits that are holding you back from 2x the productivity. For an all in one task organization and team productivity tool, try Hibox for free.
