Time Management: The Power Hour

When I speak at conferences on the the wonderful range of powerful Internet marketing techniques available, many people come up to me later on and say they love the ideas and would use them in their own business and life if they only had more time...

So I decided to share one of my most powerful time management techniques - The Power Hour.

What is The Power Hour?  Quite simply, it is one uninterrupted hour of purely focused effort on ONE task or project.

How do you do it?  Here are the steps:

Step 1: Choose A Task/Project

Choose a high priority project or task to work on that needs to get done quickly.

Step 2: Timer

Get yourself a count down counter of some sort. An inexpensive kitchen timer will do. I sometimes use the timer on my iPhone or Android Tablet. But most often I use a full screen one in my web browser on my computer or laptop. The one I use can be found at http://www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch/

Step 3: Minimize Distractions

One of the main reasons we get nothing done is that we are continually distracted. If you are doing a complex task, you lose your place in it when you are interrupted and it takes extra time to get your attention fully focused back on your task.

• Unplug your phone
• Set your email to not "ding" or otherwise advise you when there is new email (I turn this off all the time and just check email at designated times twice per day.
• Turn of Skype, Instant Messenger, AOL, Facebook or any other chat programs that might interrupt
• Close your office door or hang a "working on time critical project" sign on your cubicle entrance
• Turn your music off, or set it to light instrumental as a background

If you absolutely must take a phone call (if you are a customer support rep), just touch the Pause button on your timer. Then push Restart when you are back. This way, you will spend a full hour on each project.

Step 4: Delegate

Some of you may look at this step and say, "I'm not a manager so I have no one to delegate to." This is not always true. Look at your task or project and identify those parts that have to either be done by or need input from others. For example, you might need some budget numbers from Bob in Accounting or need a caterer for an event you are organizing.

It is critical that you identify all these tasks that are reliant on others and get these other people working on them first. This way, other people are also working towards completion at the same time you are. Give them a deadline as to when you need the information or supplies and set a time to followup.

Step 5: Sort by Priority

Look at the tasks for the project. Some are obviously higher priority than others. Others may be dependent on other tasks that need to be completed first. Work on the initial tasks that other tasks and people depend on and the high priority tasks first.

Step 6: Eliminate

While assessing he tasks, take a hard look at them. Is it really necessary? Is there a way to get the same results with less effort? Can portions be automated. While coaching people on time management, I find that up to 50% of the things they work on don't need to be done to get the results they need. This can double your time.

Step 7: Work For One Hour

Continue working on the project for one hour. When the alarm goes off, stop working, save everything and move on to the next project and repeat the process.

One of the problems with large projects is that you are never going to get 20 to 30 free hours at a stretch to get them done.  So they end up getting shoved aside until too late and then you scramble to get them done.

The Power Hour demolishes big projects with ease. Recently I had a large project that was quite difficult.  The project weighed heavily on my mind and I was worried about getting it done on time.  I used the Power Hour technique, working one hour every day on this high priority project and the work just hummed along.  After a week, I was quite pleased with my progress and my stress level dropped because I knew I would get it done on time.

I finished my part of the project 2 weeks early and was waiting for the material from others to finish it.

Many of us have small, annoying tasks we never seem to get to.  Maybe it is filing or reviewing magazines in our field to keep up with latest news techniques or researching for a new tool to make your work easier. 
Because these tasks seem low priority, they seem to slip through the cracks and never get worked on.  With the Power Hour, you can set up an hour every week to do the filing, reading and research.

You will be amazed at how quickly these annoying tasks get cleaned up, reducing clutter and relieving stress.

An hour doesn't sound like much, but I am constantly amazed at how much work I get done when I am fully focused with no distractions. Tasks I thought would take two hours, are often complete in 20 minutes.

Huge projects like new product development and launches that seemed like moving a mountain are done in a short number of months.

As with any technique, you should adapt it for your own needs.  Can't get a whole hour free?  Try 30 minutes.  Find you just get into a project in 1 hour and don't want to quit?  Do 2 hours at a time.

Another technique is to set up focus days for projects like 1 day for marketing, 1 for new product development and 1 for administration and paperwork.

This technique is so simple, but it has totally transformed my life.  While others I work with struggle to get things done, I handle large amounts of work and constantly create new products that others feel they have no time for.  And I am not working 12 hour days and pulling my hair out with stress to do it.

And yes, I did have the timer going while writing this article - took 40 minutes to write, so lots of time left in my Power Hour to post it.  :)