After years and years of running around chasing my tail I finally realised that the simple way is the only way. Confusion, complexity and stress were my modus operandi. These days I choose the simple path and that all started for me by simplifying my business day. So, here are my three super duper tips to get you started:

1. Turn off notifications

You really don’t need to know about everything that happens as it happens. Sure there are some aspects of your job that will require immediate attention (especially if you’re an air traffic controller) but I have no doubt that you are overwhelmed by notifications that are unimportant.

Are you suffering notification anxiety?

It’s time to disconnect.

Here’s what you need to do right now:

• Turn off all notifications of new email messages and commit to checking your email inbox only at designated times through the day. Perhaps start checking on the hour, then every 2 hours. I aim to check my inbox only twice per day.
• Turn off the auto-check feature in your email client. If you don’t see the messages land in your inbox you won’t be tempted to read them right now.
• Police your usage of social media applications. Perhaps set a time to do this? Say, after you complete a key task. And please turn off the notifications that get sent to your smart phone.

“But wait! There are some messages I really need to know about”

Okay, I admit it sometimes you really are hanging on an important email message. In these cases you need a tool like AwayFind. AwayFind will let you know when certain emails hit your account with a ping to your smart phone. Yes, it’s still a notification but it’s being used intelligently to make your day simpler. One important notification is better than many varied and probably useless notifications.

2. One thing at a time

Multi-tasking is a myth. You cannot, by definition, do more than one thing at a time. At any instant you are only really doing one thing. The trick is learning to dedicate everything you have to that one thing. By focusing intently upon one thing at a time you will find that you do not get anxious about upcoming tasks. Further, your results will be much improved. Half-focus never produces the goods.

At the end of each day, I generally write myself a list of three important tasks for the next day. These are the tasks I will complete before ay others. Often, it’s only the first task that I get to. That’s okay because the first task is always the important one. I focus on that task until it is complete and then I take a break and move on to the next task.

The simplest approach to getting things done is to do one thing at a time.

3. Schedule your breaks

Working right through without any down time is plain stupid. That’s right I said it, stupid. Yeah, yeah, sometimes you’re really busy but that doesn’t make a workday without breaks any less stupid. You simply cannot work most effectively for long periods of time. Eventually fatigue will set in and the quality of your output will diminish. To avoid producing crappy work be sure to schedule rest periods. Here are a few different ways to incorporate scheduled breaks into your day:

• Schedule breaks every 90 minutes. No matter where you are in your task, take a 15 minute break every 90 minutes
• Schedule breaks at every task milestone. Take a break every time you get to a pre-determined point in any task you are working on (be sure that the milestones are regular).
• Schedule sprint/rest intervals. This one takes some experimentation. Set yourself a timer of work and rest intervals. You could try 30 minutes of work followed by 10 minutes of rest or 60 minutes on and 20 minutes off. I recommend a 3:1 ratio.

Don’t feel guilty about taking a break. If anything it will make you better at what you do.