The new year is almost here. That means we're going to see a lot of resolutions soon. To get you ready to go when January 1st hits, here are some "get more done" strategies that I use in my life and business.
The idea to post these came from watching people's habits via Twitter.
For the last year or so, I've been using Twitter to post updates and photos from when I'm in the studio, on the road, or find something of interest to musicians, which might not warrant a full post here. See my Twitter page, if you're interested.
To me, this is good use of Twitter. Fans of this site, Music Business Radio, or other stuff I have going on can get more "behind the scenes" stuff and I've got a place to put all the related content, such a photos and videos.
One of the issues we all face these days is the massive timesuck that is Web 2.0. 80% of Facebook users visit the site daily and the average visit is 20 minutes. That means millions of people now have 20 fewer minutes each day than they did just a few years ago.
Now, add email, the hours spent watching videos on YouTube, MySpace, chatting on IM, fooling around with your mobile phone, and whatever other "new technology" you've acquired to simplify your life...
Time is your most valuable asset. If you have enough time, you can get anything done. Yet most people throw it away.
Can Twitter be used to promote your band? Yes. But it's one of those tools that can work for you or against you. Like email, Google, mobile phones, or MySpace, it's easy to feel like you're working when you're just wasting time.
Last week, I decided to do something different with my Twitter page. Rather than just post "music business" stuff, such as photos from when I'm in the studio, I posted my daily tasks from the moment I got up until I went to sleep at night. Not everything...but close.
People often ask me how I get so much done. Several books per year, the radio show, several blogs, etc. If you look at my schedule, you'll see, not from the tasks themselves, but...
Consistency - I write daily. I create daily. And when I say daily, I mean it. That may sound obsessive to some, but I believe that if it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing daily.
This isn't to say that I spend all day doing it. I judge tasks by their effectiveness, not time spent doing them. More below...
Sleep - Sounds like a no-brainer, but this is important. If you're not getting 7-8 hours of quality sleep per night, your waking hours are not as efficient as they could be.
Rest - Working a typical 8-5 day isn't effective for most people. You'll get more done by breaking that time into chunks and spreading it throughout the day. I understand that people have other things going on, such as kids or family obligations, which may require that a certain schedule be met, but don't use that as an excuse for burning yourself out with long periods of intense work.
There is a point of diminishing return, which is usually sooner than you'd think. Take more breaks, get away from your work, and when you do work, hit it hard and intensely, rather than going at 50% and taking twice as long to do the job.
This is what I refer to as...
"The Pulse" - This is where you work, take a short break, work again, take a longer break, and start the cycle again.
You can make your own schedule, but what I've found works for me is to break things down into chunks of 50/10, with 50 minutes of work and then a 10-minute break. I do a couple of those in the morning, then eat and/or exercise. Come back to the office, do another group, then break. Then do another group in the evening.
The length of time you give yourself is up to you. I've played around with 40-50 minute chunks of work and 10-20 minute breaks and this has worked well for me, depending on the type of work I'm doing. Obviously, your results may vary, but I can guarantee you'll have better results working this way than "marathon" sessions that fatigue your body and mind.
I like to use a egg timer to keep track of time. Set it and forget it.
Diet/Exercise - I've been vegetarian since 1997. I eat a lot of fruit, whole grains, and legumes. If you're looking at incorporating diet as part of your "get stuff done" plan, you don't necessarily need to take it to this level, but I highly recommend you cut out the "burger and fries" diet that so many Americans are fond of. Too much to ask? Even cutting back on this stuff for a few meals a week will make a big difference.
I wasn't always like this. I used to eat 12" meatball submarines and other similar food. Had somebody told me when I was younger than I'd give up on meat, I never would have believed it. But here I am, blogging about it... :)
Just try it. The amount of energy you'll get from fruit and vegetables will make up for the lack of taste...or perceived lack of taste.
As for exercise, this is something else which will help you to get more done. Major companies are now allowing employees to have a two-hour break in the middle of the day, one hour to eat and one hour to exercise. They've found employees who take this option get more work done, even in a shorter amount of work time, than those who work a full day, with just a one-hour lunch break.
You don't have to do a lot...just do something. Even walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes will give you big results as far as your productivity goes.
The specific process...
Morning Routine - When I wake up, I do yoga. This happen daily and in the last seven years, when I started a daily practice, I've missed five days at most...usually because I'm traveling overseas and my sleep schedule is off.
After I do yoga, which is a quick practice that takes about 30 minutes, I have breakfast, usually in silence, and review my day. This preparation helps me to get the most of my day and helps prevent me from ending the day asking where all my time went.
Evening Routine - Before I go to bed for the night, I turn everything off and write down a list of everything that needs to be done the next day. I get it out of my head and onto paper, so I don't have to worry with it while I'm sleeping.
Cut Out Distractions - This one is very important.
If you really want to get things done, you need to cut out distractions. This means no phone calls, no text messaging, no IM, no email, and no Twitter.
Distractions like this take you away from your schedule and put you on the schedule of somebody else. Don't let this happen. If somebody wants to get in touch with you, let him leave a message, so you can get back to him on your own schedule.
While the actual phone call, text message, or email might take just a minute or two, the time it takes for your brain to "switch gears" to something new (and then back to your project) can be considerably more.
Turn the ringer off. They'll call back.
No Multi-Tasking - It sounds counter-intuitive, but concentrating on one thing is better than working on multiple things at once.
Yes, there are certain tasks where you'll need to schedule things. This is very similar to cooking a meal. Some things have to happen first, some things will need to be thawed, etc. This is what your planning session is for. When you're working on something, work on it...don't be worried about what's going on in the background.
Think of it like this... If you have three credit cards, it's much better psychologically to pay off one in full, then the next, and then the final one, rather than make payments on each and try to pay them off at the same time.
Focus on one thing at a time. The other stuff isn't going anywhere.
Work From a List - This is another big one and what both your morning and evening routines are for.
Where do you start on the list? It's doesn't matter. Just do something. When you finish it, do the next thing. If you have the list planned out before you start your day, you'll get a lot more done than without it, since you won't have to waste time wondering what to do next.
Outsource It - If you don't have to do it, hand it off to somebody else. As a musician, you need to play music and that's it. Sometimes you need to write the music, if that's part of your gig, but even that can be outsourced. And if you're a band like Blue Man Group or Kiss, even the playing music can be outsourced.
Final thoughts...
When adding anything to your life or taking anything away, it's best to do it just a little at a time. You want something that is sustainable and a habit takes about 40 days to form. Concentrate on making one thing happen and getting it in stone before moving on to the next. For example, change your exercise plan then change your diet, don't change both at the same time.
I'll be posting more on time management in the next few weeks. In addition, starting in January, I'll be teaching a six-week course on how to handle everything you face as an independent musician-- marketing, web traffic, music licensing, distribution, promotion, publicity, etc. That's going to be free as part of IndieMusician.com. If you haven't already, drop by and get my free course of music licensing.
