10 Simple Ways to Get More Done with Less Effort

"Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." — Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur, author, and speaker

It seems like we don't have enough time in the day to do everything we need to do.

How often have you heard: There are not enough hours in the day!

• I have no time to work out.
• I don't have enough time for social media.
• I don't have enough time to write for my side hustle.

Whatever the excuse is, we all have a lot on our plate. The key is not to find more time in the day but to maximize every part of your day. You can get more done with less effort.

"The key is in not spending time, but in investing it." — Stephen R. Covey, an American educator, author, businessman, and speaker

Here are 10 time management tips that you may be overlooking. These simple yet powerful tips will help you get more done with less effort. Let's dive in.

1. Ask Intelligent Questions About Your Email Inbox

Let's face the facts. We live in our email inbox, whether your work or personal email. We should ask ourselves if we are asking the right questions regarding our email. For example, are you asking yourself:

• Can this email wait until later?
• Does this email need my attention right away?
• Can I direct that person to someone else?
• Am I ever going to respond to this email?
• Is this email just for your information (FYI), or is there action required, or is it for my files?

Key takeaway

Be aggressive when it comes to your email inbox. Will you need this email six months or a year from now? No? Delete.

2. Keep Your Emails Short and Sweet

You don't send one-word emails but get to the point fast. As they say in the journalism world: don't bury the lead. For example, change the email subject line when an email changes the topic.

It would help if you thought about your emails like you do with your tweets. Limit the number of characters you use in your email.

Key takeaway

Less is more. There's a reason the acronym TLDR ("too long, didn't read") exists.

3. Use Web Tools

Like it or not, organizations and users are going to the cloud. Make sure you take advantage of web tools. You can use web tools such as Adobe's Creative Cloud and free tools like Pixlr Editor.

File sharing tools such as Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Dropbox also make it easier for collaboration.

Key takeaway

Use web tools to maximize your collaboration and productivity.

4. Limit the Number of Web Browsers

When you have too many web browsers open, you can slow your computer down. The key is to get the most of your web browser space with extensions and minimize bookmark icons.

Key takeaway

Avoid excessive usage of web browsers that can hog bandwidth.

5. Remove Clutter

Do you have a lot of clutter in your work or home office? Clutter can drain you. It can frustrate you.

Clutter makes it difficult for you to accomplish things. It would help if you thought about how you cause clutter and how your office or home design creates clutter.

Key takeaway

Working in the right workspace can help you get more done with less effort.

6. Discover How You Spend Your Time

"Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week's value out of a year while another man gets a full year's value out of a week." — Charles Richards, an American lawyer

How do you spend your time every day? Are you spending enough time on what matters most to you? Do you know where your time goes?

Find out how you are spending time to fill out your calendar with tasks you accomplished each day. Look over the past month.

• What did you accomplish?
• When did you accomplish the most — the morning or the evening?
• Did you accomplish more or less than you thought?

This exercise will help you determine when you get work done and how much work you do in a month.

Key takeaway

Know how you spend your time so you can better manage it.

7. Get Your Calendar Under Control

Don't fill up your calendar with standing meetings. These meetings may be good if you are not doing anything else but evaluate whether specific meetings have taken their course and may need to be restructured or canceled altogether.

Also, bundle meetings by their location. If you are traveling back and forth from a specific place, reduce the travel time by booking all your meetings in that location in one day.

You could also only book meetings in the afternoon and save the mornings for work. You may also want to block out one day a week where you don't have meetings.

Key takeaway

Don't fill up your calendar with too many meetings.

8. Run More Effective Meetings

"Work will fill the time available for its completion." — Parkinson Law

Most meetings will go the full 30 minutes or an hour if that time is booked. If you book shorter meetings, you meet for less time. Consider booking 15-minute meetings instead of 30 minutes.

You have probably been in meetings that are a waste of time. Do they start on time? Who leads them? Is there an agenda?

Run your meetings more effectively. Have the person who organized the meeting discuss the goals of the meeting. Ensure that they give "homework" assignments either before or after the meeting, so people know what to expect for the meeting or what to do before the next meeting.

Key takeaway

Run and attend effective meetings that are a good use of your time.

9. Manage Your Mental Energy, Not Your Time

The key to being productive is managing your mental energy. It's essential to take breaks every 90 minutes. It helps you better work with your body's natural rhythms.

Managing your energy, not your time, is a simple concept, yet it is challenging to implement for some people. If you spend energy more wisely, you will have more of it. The key is to be conscious of how you are building rest and renewal into your day.

Key takeaway

Manage your mental energy, not your time to be more productive.

10. Get a Good Night's Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep? How much sleep you need depends on many factors. Your body will tell you if you are not getting a good night's sleep.

To ensure you get the sleep you need, try to go to bed at the same time every night, avoid large meals before you go to bed, and avoid caffeine and alcohol right before bed.

Key takeaway

Sleep is more essential to your productivity than you may realize.

Bringing It All Together

There are 10 simple yet powerful ways to get more done with less effort. Ask intelligent questions about your email inbox and keep your emails short and sweet.

Use web tools, limit the number of web browsers, remove clutter, and discover how you spend your time. Get your calendar under control, run more effective meetings, manage your mental energy, not your time, and get a good night's sleep.

Time is money, so invest your time wisely. Managing your time well is taking time to ensure you prioritize tasks based on importance, not urgency. These productivity tips can help you master getting more done with less effort.

"Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort." — Paul J. Meyer, an author

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