I’m always looking for new ways to improve, challenge myself and do something a little different. Lately I’ve been trying to get more done in less time….
Let’s face it we all only have 24hrs in a day and sometimes it’s hard to accomplish all your tasks on time. Little jobs can drag on and end up taking hours, if not days to complete. I know because I’ve fallen into this trap a few times, more than I’d like to admit.
No matter how much planning that goes into something the goal is never achieved in the given time frame. Something gets in the way, something goes wrong and that causes deadlines to be missed. Well that’s the excuse that I usually come up with but if I’m to be totally honest maybe the problem is not with the sudden interruption but rather with me and the how I work.
All the little breaks to check and respond to email, a glance at the latest sports headlines, and to quickly log into Facebook and see what’s been happening in the world in the 30 mins since you last looked! Laying the cards on the table these sorts of distractions can absolutely Kill your Productivity. Not only do they take away valuable time but they act as an annoying distraction to your brain just as it was about to enter “work mode” and start focusing in on productive tasks to complete.
I heard this kind of behavior referred to as “Lizard Brain” and is completely normal but if left unchecked you will quickly become a Busy Fool when you should be a Strategic Entrepreneur.
I know I’m not the only person dealing with this and so I was excited recently to be introduced to a fantastic little tool to help keep me focused and accountable as I work.
Lizard Brain please meet Time Doctor
Time Doctor is a simple little desktop app that monitors how you use your time. When started it asks you to input what task you will be working on, so now for instance I will say that I’m working on a new blog post. You then click “Go” and the software works away in the background keeping track of your time.
All sounds fairly good but how is this going to help me accomplish more in less time?
Well if you begin to stray and find yourself browsing around online the software notices this and you’ll get a little pop-up message asking you what are you working on and basically giving you a helpful little nudge to get back to work! Everything is consolidated and you can check your productivity by viewing reports in the members area of the site.
Beware this makes for some scary reading!
The first few days you try this software you’ll get a fright about how much wasted time you pack into each work day. For example the first day I used it I “worked” for around 7 hours but when I checked my reports it was easy to see that only 3 hours were spent on what I could call Productive Tasks i.e. those which directly make me money or push me closer to completing a goal.
This is very sobering and what you’ll find is that you start to focus more and use your time more wisely. This in turn leads to working more productive hours each day and allows you to get a lot more tasks completed in less time.
But don’t think Time Doctor ends there.
This tool is perfect for monitoring remote employees. Say for example you have a Virtual Assistant who works overseas…. You can add them to your account, get them to install and use Time Doctor and you can see exactly how they are spending their working hours. You’ll be surprised by how much this will increase their productivity and most will be quite happy to use it because they’ll be able to get their work done faster and keep themselves better organized.
There are many, many other features and benefits of the software but I’m relatively new to it and these have been my experiences with it so far. I’d highly recommend it if you feel you spend a lot of your time spinning your wheels, working hard at your computer but not seeing the results come in.
I’ve seen a significant improvement in my own performance and I know it will only get better as I get more used to the system and become more focused on my work. And believe me it’s a great feeling at the end of the week seeing how much you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time – it’s almost like magic!
But infact all you’re doing is managing your time more effectively to get better results and I for one think that’s a great thing!
So check out Time Doctor for yourself and let me know how many hours per day it saves you!
P.S. Please click a little monster below and share you reaction with others…
12 replies to "Magical Method for Entrepreneurs to Get More Done In Less Time"
Hi Noel.
Greta post. Working on the Internet can be very distracting, with all that information available it is so easy to get sidetracked and before you know it you’ve wasted 30 minutes, and hour or more.
Time doctor looks like a great way to keep focused and warn you when you drift of track. I’ll give this a try and I’m sure I will increase my productivity.
Cheers
Roger
Roger Weavers recently posted…Improve Conversion Rates & Increase Your Profits Without Increasing Your Traffic
Ya, I’m finding it great at the moment and am using it right now to keep me on track.
I’m seeing a nice increase in productivity so it’s all good 🙂
Cheers,
Noel.
This is a very relevant post for me since I tend to find myself looking over yahoo’s news/story slider on their main page often. Whoever writes the little caption under each picture is well versed in marketing ’cause they often say things like: “You’ve never seen this!” or “7 secrets the rich know”. I end up clicking through just out of curiosity – next thing I know I’ve wasted an hour. I’ll be sure to check out this little tool – hopefully it will help!
-Karl
Karl Dieterich recently posted…Product Creation
Ya Karl I’m the same. I highly recommend you check it out – it’s a real life saver for sure 🙂
Cheers,
Noel.
Neat Idea Noel, going to give this a go. I know I’m constantly allowing myself to be distracted! Facebook groups, emails, etc etc Thanks for the tip.
Gary recently posted…Hmm, No Comment…Why?
No problem Gary, hope it helps!
Hey Noel.
Interesting product. I’ve tried keeping a time clock on my computer as a way of staying focused but quickly gave up on it.
I’ll try this program in hopes of getting more productive.
Thanks for the info.
Guy
Guy Martin recently posted…Are You Being Hacked? Have You Been Hacked?
No problem Guy,
I’m finding a great help to get more work done so it’s def worth a look.
Cheers,
Noel.
I love the term “Lizard brain”! I don’t think I’ve heard that one before. It’s so true though, you can so easily become a busy fool and end up wasting more time than you actually spend doing something productive.
I think that Time Doctor could be a great little tool to use, I’ll go and check it out. I have been trying to discipline myself and keep a strict watch on how I spending my time when working and make that that I am actually working and not getting distracted by unnecessary things. Even so, I feel that I may get a scary surprise if I use Time Doctor!
Thanks for the suggestion. Oh, and I’m a fan of the monsters 😉 I use Albert Einstein myself on my site, but the monsters are cool 🙂
Regards,
Glenn
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…What is your “Why”?
It was Chris Munch who introduced me to “Lizard Brain” – it was a real “aha!” moment because I’m fairly easily distracted and so Time Doctor is a great help to me in that sense, to keep me focused and accountable.
And ya, you’re right – the monsters ROCK! 🙂
Great Post Noel, just recently i posted on someones blog on how badly i need to get organized as i spend way too much time on things like tidying my inbox instead of doing some productive work for my business, however this Time Doctor of yours seems a bit scary and as much as one really wants to be successful in the business the main reason is always to be free and not have one Time Doctor controlling your time,but yet again very useful to start with and then ditch after your business has gained momentum. 🙂
dan recently posted…Memes
There’s nothing scary about it Dan, what’s more scary is spinning your wheels like a lot of people do, always being busy but not being productive.
That’s where I find TD to be great, there’s no hiding place with it – you log in, track your tasks and up your productivity 🙂