Top 5 Ways To Be More Productive

Before I dive into my top 5 tips on how to be more productive I would like to say I was not always productive. Yes, I would get loads of things done but when I look back on it, I was busy but not productive. Over the years I started to create my own system and tools so I could get more things done in less time. Thankfully today I have the system and tools to help me and my many clients all over the world to be more productive and manage their time and energy. How this came about was from people asking me all the time “Declan how do you get so much done in such a short period of time? What is your secret?”

The purpose of this blog post is to share with you exactly how I do this in a very simple step by step system and how you can straight away do this too if you are open and interested in becoming more productive with your time and energy?
 
I would love your feedback and I hope you enjoy my top 5 ways to be more productive.
 

1: Find a Healthy Clutter-Free Space

I know this might sound like “How could this make me more productive” but trust me on this one. The cleaner your workspace (creative zone) is the healthier it is for your mind to kick into productive mode. When I am looking to sit down with my list of Things To Do (TTD) or create a new list of TTD list, I will always make sure my table or office desk is cleaned up beforehand. This way I can sit down with either my Dore Diary or my Doodle, Draw, Sketch Journal and start to plan or take action on my TTD list.

I do this even if I have clients or team members coming to have a meeting with me. I clean up not just to have my place clean, I do it so I can free up the energy in the space provided for that meeting.  Try this and see how you feel over a period of time and notice if anyone says anything to you.

 2: Download your Free 1 Page TTD Planner

Below is a PDF attachment I use every single day of the week which helps me to be more productive, manage my time and helps me to stay accountable to myself and stay on top of my TTD list. I have clients from all over the world who swear by this one sheet and by following the simple steps this alone has transformed both their personal and professional life.

On the next 3 steps, I will take you through exactly how to maximise this one-page TTD Planner and how to free up more of your time for you.
 
Click on this link and I look forward to taking you through the next 3 steps 

3: Maximise Your Free Downloads

Now that you have downloaded the sheets I would love to take you through this process. You should have received 3 sheets. The first sheet to have open in front of you now is the Things To Do (TTD) sheet with all the empty boxes for you to fill in. I always get a new person to fill this in first before they jump into The Dore Diary 1 Page TTD Planner. You will see why now.

Let's get going:
 

Ink It, & Don’t Think It

Turn off your mobile phone and get into a place of silence, (your own time and space away from everything. The secret is to write down everything you need to do, as fast as you can and in no particular order on this TTD page. Once you feel like you have finished writing, take a few deep breaths and ask yourself, “Is there anything else that is really important to me that I need to do? Stay silent for a few seconds and if more “Things To Do (TTD)” start popping into your mind, just simply write them all down.

Please remember this “Things To Do (TTD)” list, can be anything from washing your car, meeting your friend for coffee, a business meeting, exercising etc. The key ingredient is to just simply keep writing as fast as you can and in no particular order, everything that starts to flow into your mind. If nothing else comes to mind when you have finished this process.

The purpose of this process is to ink it, and don’t think it. This allows you to free up your mind, resulting in new fresh ideas coming through. The minute ideas and things to do start popping into your mind, write them down ASAP! I personally always have my Dore Diary by my side as when I need to write TTD down I slot them into this 1 Page TTD Planner which is in my diary.

This is for sure one of my secrets in how I get so much done in such a short period of time. I refuse to keep thoughts/ideas in my mind. I will always write it down or doodle, draw or sketch what flows in and through me.

How to structure and prioritize your “Things To Do (TTD)” list. 

The key component here is to run your eyes down the list and ask yourself, is this something I need to do today, or tomorrow or in ‘7-14-21’ days’ time?

If it is a thing you need to do today, write down 1 in the box provided at the start labeled “Priority Ref”, if it can wait until tomorrow write down 2, if it’s in 7 days’ time write down 7 or 14 or 21. Anything else, you can put in, “CB” which means “Come Back”. The purpose and goal of this process is to get the most important things in a format which allows you now to slot these into more pages which you have printed out or if you have a diary to slot them into a day you will take action and DO IT! Now it is time to get started on this process. “Your Things To Do”. Enjoy!

4: Maximise Your Own 1 Page TTD Planner

Once you have completed step 3, (filling in your “Things To Do (TTD) and deciding when you are going to do them) this is where your Dore Diary 1 Page TTD Planner kicks into Action. What you need to do first is fill in the Day & Date on the top of each page if you have printed out a few of them. When you have this done you can now look at your “Things To Do List” which you just wrote down and slot your tasks into your pages or diary on the days which your number, day or date represents.
1= today, 2= tomorrow, ‘7-14-21’ days time. As you become more familiar with this process you will start to open up your diary or decide to purchase the 90 Day Dore Diary and write your tasks and things to do into a day you feel you can do them.

Once you have completed this section you can view the Example Page: Busy Work from Home Mum sheet you also downloaded. I have filled in for you how to fill in your “Today’s Things To Do (TTD) & Daily Time Planner”. This is a busy work from home mom I have coached one to one and have helped her get incredible results both in her personal and business life. This example can be used for anyone. The purpose of sharing this with you is so you can get a feel and look for how to do your own version. You also have a section for taking general notes from that day or use it as you please. As you start to write your daily things to do, remember to just write them down and come back and prioritize them last. There is a very effective way to prioritize your “Today’s Things To Do” list which I explain in detail on www.DoreDiary.com 

Following your daily things to do is your “Daily Time Planner”. The best time to fill this in is when you have your “Daily Things To Do (TTD)” written and prioritised. Doing this will help you fill out this section into time slots, preferably every 30 mins would be ideal. If this does not suit you, break your day into hourly blocks. Write in everything such as your mealtime, exercise time, shopping, coffee with friend, business meeting etc. Stay disciplined and stay on top of your daily time planner. The key here is to do your best and stay on schedule each day. Of course, there will be days where your time schedule will be thrown up into the air by some unexpected circumstances. When this happens, readjust your day by going to your “Daily Time Planner” and start from that moment moving forward. Blocking time slots throughout my day is the best way I have found to work for me personally. I would encourage you to do the same.

5: Have Patience and Stick with It

My best advice is to stick with this process. Most of my clients fall off the train every so often but as soon as they get used to this system they accelerate and fly in all aspects of their lives. I even have clients now who have their whole family using this. For me personally, I love to teach and educate people how to maximise this system and what gives me the greatest pleasure is when they share their own stories on how this has helped them free up more time in their life and how they can’t get over how more productive they have become.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and if you feel it could be of value to someone you know please feel free to share it with them.

To your continued success!