When you think of a “Power Hour,” it might take you back to your college days or maybe you think of a Sunday morning evangelical experience. When we think of Power Hour, we are not referring to either. Instead, we’re referring to a time management tool to help you get more done. Here are three easy steps to put the Power Hour to work for you:
Step 1: Prioritize and Identify
Start by looking at your day. There may be something on fire, maybe an important client meeting or a proposal that needs your attention. Review all the items on your to-do list and determine which one of the items is the most important for you to knock out today. (Use the Pareto Principle to help you decide…see related article.)
Step 2: Carve Out Sacred Time
Block your calendar. Look at your calendar and mark an hour for your most important task. Make it an appointment with yourself and make sure you honor that appointment. The trick here is to hold the time block sacred. That means you might have to say “no” or at least “later” to a few people.
Step 3: Close, Turn, Sit and Focus
Close your office door. If you don’t have a door, let your work colleagues know that you are getting ready to have some “Do Not Disturb” time. You may have to educate your coworkers on this. (You may even have to train your boss…but be delicate; bosses can be so sensitive!)
Turn off your distractions. Whether it’s your cell phone, your email notification, social media sites or your mouth. It’s time to get serious.
Sit down and organize your workspace so that you have everything you need for your project at your fingertips. It may sound silly, but this is your mental “trigger” to get ready to focus on a single activity.
Focus your brain. Whatever you have chosen to work on, focus on that and ONLY that. Don’t multitask (the research says it’s not effective). Focus solely on the task at hand.
If you finish before your hour is up, congratulations! Reward yourself and take a break or move on to the next task, you’re on a roll.
Give the Power Hour a shot. If you can stay focused for a full hour, that’s AWESOME! If not, start with something that you can do but will still stretch you, whether that’s 15 minutes or 30 minutes, and build from there.
