Do you often feel inundated with tasks that never seem to get done? They could be pesky little ones that take only five minutes or colossal ones aimed at changing the course of your business. In this digital era, we have every sort of productivity app imaginable at our fingertips and yet still, most business owners feel overwhelmed by the smorgasbord of tasks on their plate. So, what if I told you repurposing only one hour a week could vastly alleviate the frustration and stress you feel juggling your never-ending tasks? Eliminate the Monday blues? Get you back on track? Well, it can! You just have to use that hour with intentionality.
Whether you desire more time with your family or more focused time to work on a particular project that’s going to move your business forward, a weekly rapid-fire power hour is a must. Consistently doing one gives you the ability to have extreme laser focus so you are fully present and efficient when completing those tasks that seem particularly hard to knock off your list. A weekly power hour can clean the slate by clearing your desk and possibly even your task list and inbox, so you can have more focused time for what matters most.
How To Get Started
My weekly rapid-fire power hour enables me to start off each week feeling renewed and ready to tackle anything. A power hour is a block of time set aside at the end of each week to quickly knock out small and specific tasks that pile up over the week and may otherwise fall into the cracks. Your power hour should be performed in addition to a weekly review which is another part of the productivity system I utilize.
During your rapid-fire power hour, knock out as many small tasks on your to-do list as possible. Some may take only two minutes like a simple email, reviewing a document, or paying a bill. Others may take a little longer like comparing and booking flights. If you were to do those tasks sporadically throughout the week as they pop up, they would interrupt the flow of the high-priority tasks you are working on. They would also add up to big time wasters because each time your work flow is interrupted, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the level of concentration you were at previously. Alternatively, if you batch small tasks together into one rapid-fire power hour, you can address and complete all of those little tasks back-to-back with utmost efficiency.
Smothering The Spark Before It Becomes A Fire
While taking care of necessary, menial tasks doesn’t directly grow your business, accomplishing them instead of ignoring them greatly improves your productivity and the state of your business. That's because of the sheer fact that if those pesky tasks do not get done in a timely manner, they could later pop up as urgent, interfere with your focus, beg your attention away from your highest value activities, and potentially cause even greater problems. Don’t let low-value tasks run from week to week and lag over until they become pressing issues. If you put off making a doctor’s appointment, paying a bill, or responding to someone that emailed you for too long, you risk poor health, a late fee, and the loss of a potential client. Capture all of those low-value tasks throughout the week, then get them done on Friday during your power hour.
What To Include In Your Rapid Fire Power Hour
Deciding whether or not a task should be completed during your power hour is an easy feat that should involve less than two minutes of your time. For every small, quick task that needs to be completed throughout the week, ask yourself, Can this wait until my power hour? If there would be no repercussions from waiting, the answer should be yes. Capture the task on your task list to be completed during your power hour. A great idea is to also have folders in your email management system and desktop filing system labeled Power Hour in which you can throw all emails and paperwork that will be needed for your power hour. Then, you won’t have to rummage through all of your other paperwork to find those tasks and can tackle them with ease quickly. Organization is key.
You are in for a little surprise once you complete your first rapid fire power hour. You are going to get a burst of energy which may prompt creativity and new ideas because you are removing the incessant, nagging voices thinking about all that needs to get done, thus clearing your head and making room for more productive thought. Once you have accomplished all of the insignificant but necessary tasks on your to-do list by the end of each week, you will be able to start each Monday renewed with a clean slate. You will be able to accomplish high-priority tasks with greater ease at incredible speeds and have more time to focus on what matters most.
Schedule time for your rapid-fire power hour each week, hold yourself to working through your task list intentionally during it, and you will be setting yourself up for success the following week. It’s just one hour. Make the time!
