9 ways to be more productive Right Now…

I’ve had a number of large projects hanging over my head the last few days, plus a few smaller, but no less critical items, too. And while I generally agree with David Allen’s Getting Things Done, I needed something far more tactical to get me through these items right now. Here are 9 steps for Getting Things Done Right Now:

Reclaim

1. Pick on meeting on your calendar to decline. Block that time for your next step. Better yet, pick three things and decline them all. But leave a meeting or two, just to reinforce the deadline.
2. Make a “To Don’t” list. Pick items from your to do list that you simply won’t get to and let ’em go.

Once you’ve reclaimed your day, it’s time to…

Refocus

1. Put it behind you. Take everything on your desk and move them out of your line of sight. For Right Now, they don’t matter.
2. Close every application on your computer that doesn’t contribute to your task – or shutdown your computer altogether. Email doesn’t contribute to your task. Neither does IM. Or Twitter. If you need to compose an email, IM or Tweet to get the thing done, write it in Notepad, then copy and paste it into the appropriate application. Then close the app again.
3. Stick your mobile phone in a drawer. Your desk phone, too, if you can.
4. Close your door. If you don’t have a door, put on headphones – but don’t listen to distracting music.
5. Get to work. Use the time you’ve bought yourself and the lack of distractions to accomplish the task.

All of the above work well for me. So what happens if you get interrupted? Well…

Resist

1. Do not look up from your work for anything. If your buddy walks in to your space – without taking your eyes from what you’re doing – offer to drop by later. If he says, “it’ll only take a sec,” resist. Do not take your eyes off what you’re doing. He’ll get the hint. Or stand there feeling increasingly silly while you continue working. His choice.
2. If you’re really going to get interrupted frequently, change locations. Your home office is ideal – unless that’s where you get interrupted. Local bookstores or coffee shops make great places to avoid those interruptions, too. Hell, J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book in one. You can probably finish your report/code/presentation/what-have-you in one.

These are what consistently work for me. What works for you?