TUNE IN NOW

TUNE INTO SEASON 3 of the HEALTH HOME HUSTLE podcast

TUNE INTO SEASON 3 OF the HEALTH HOME HUSTLE podcast

DIVING INTO ALL THINGS WELLBEING WITH A ROSTER OF AMAZING GUESTS!

My Most Simple, Most Effective Productivity Technique

June 13, 2016

Gold And Pastel Stationery Flatlay | The Elgin Avenue Blog


Do you ever feel like you have too many tabs open in your head? Like you were just doing one thing, caught sight of an email popping up, ended up there, then clicked through to the ASOS sale and somehow now you are not quite sure what you were doing . . . ?!

Been there my friend.

Today I am sharing my most simple and most effective productivity technique ever – one which I hope will ease you in to your day and week, and which can help you moving forwards forever.

It has completely changed how I work, and has increased my productivity no end. The friends I have shared it with have loved it too! I am confident you will take something useful away from it.


Pretty Pastel Stationery Flatlay | The Elgin Avenue Blog


My Most Simple, Most Effective Productivity Technique

The ‘One Touch’ Method


So here’s the story: a couple of years ago some friends of mine and I were taking a long weekend walk.

During said walk I got the opportunity to talk to a mutual friend who runs a number of successful businesses. Said friend is young, runs multiple locations for her businesses, yet always appears relaxed and welcomes you with a smile and a little chat.

Simply, I wanted to know how she did it! How was it possible to juggle multiple businesses, be productive, keep your head on straight, and still have time for you?

And here was where I was introduced to the ‘One Touch’ method.


 “The One Touch technique just works”


What is the One Touch technique?

The One Touch method is a simple effective productivity technique. 

You select the tasks you wish to complete, prioritise them, and complete them IN FULL before moving on to your next task. 

For my friend who I was talking to, an example she gave was opening her post and responding to every single correspondence, paying any bills, following up with people, RSVP’ing etc. When she was opening and dealing with her post, that is the ONLY thing she was doing.

By the time the task was finished, it was completed in full, was done so in a focused effective way, and she could move on to her next task.

If, instead, my friend had opened her post, got distracted by a colleague’s request, quickly made a phone call, ran an errand . . . the post is long forgotten, not dealt with, and so drags out.

The likelihood is, if you are anything like me, an unfinished task looms over you and would put pressure on me for the rest of the day.

Moral of the story – open that post in a time slot you have allocated, and complete the task in full. Done and dusted.

What the One Touch productivity technique looks like for me.

Since listening to Jess Lively’s second podcast episode with Alex Ikonn I have been approaching my to-do list differently. Instead of writing down an overly ambitious to-do list I will never realistically complete in a day (cue guilt!) I instead aim to write down a list at the beginning of the working week, of the most important things I wish to complete in the next five days. I then subdivide these tasks in to 3 – 5 daily to-dos, which I prioritise.

As long as I have completed the most important tasks for me, pretty much everything else can wait. I always feel satisfied if I have completed the vital tasks of the day. Hence why the One Touch productivity technique is so useful.

I know exactly which tasks I am looking to finish and so I utilise the focus the One Touch method affords me to do so.

Even for smaller tasks, like uploading an Instagram image. This may take me ten minutes, once I have selected an image, edited it (in multiple apps!), captioned it and uploaded . . . that is ten minutes I need to be fully focused for, or else I will go down a rabbit hole of checking other people’s feeds and not uploading my own image. I probably would have forgotten by the time I’d double tapped a million gorgeous peony images.


Pretty Pastel Stationery Flatlay | The Elgin Avenue Blog


Things which can distract you from your One Touch focus.

-Emails

-Phone calls

-Saying yes to tasks requested by colleagues

-Having multiple tasks on the go

-Having multiple tabs open in your browser

-Social media

-*Insert your own most distracting habit*

All of the above can distract you from focusing in on exactly what you are doing, that is totally normal – you are human!

In order to avoid these distractions I close all tabs other than the one I am working on, I turn my phone on to ‘do not disturb’ mode, and I make sure to tell anyone who may request something of me that I am currently working on something and that I will get back to them as soon as it is completed. 

I also schedule specific ‘chill time’ – so I know when I can log in to social media for 15 minutes, or catch up on my favourite blogs. 

I was interested to learn in the Alex Ikonn podcast episode too, that sometimes Alex allows for his emails to fall by the wayside. For him, he shares, they are not as important as focusing in on his product development. I like to think that I get back to people via email in a timely manner, but if I’m honest, if I have a lot on my plate, sometimes I prioritise other tasks over my email.

I prefer to keep on top of my email nonetheless so I have been looking to my friend Ella’s article on how to handle your inbox, and use the 30 minutes three times a day rule, that she applies. Although 30 minutes isn’t necessarily long enough for me to clear my inbox (the ultimate One Touch aim!) it still allows me a focused time slot where I can complete that ‘allocation’ of email answering. Crucially, once that 30 minutes is up, I close my emails and move on to my next task.


The One Touch technique > > >  select the tasks you wish to complete, prioritise them, and complete them IN FULL before moving on to your next task.


Overall, the main reason I feel the One Touch technique works so well, is that it allows us to focus in on our end goal. If you were to have a destination, and there was a clear straight path to it, you would take it, right? Why would you consider taking a zig zag, a few detours, and a pitstop elsewhere?

The One Touch productivity technique gets you on that path, and to your destination in the most effective way. Then, you’re free to start your next little journey for the day!

What do you guys think? Have you tried a similar productivity method? Do you have any tips or tricks your swear by yourself? I would love to share with you. 

Love, Monica x

SaveSave

be the first to comment!