• Deleted all games off my computer. While I don’t play games much I do like to jump in now and then and blow off some steam. I’m done with that for now. Time is money.
• Limit IM/Chat. Again, I’m not big on the chat. It’s great for making connections and friends so I hop on now and then to stay “visible”, but I don’t linger.
• Email is my bitch, not the other way around. I check my emails at regular times during the day and don’t let it distract me from getting my work done.
• The phone is from the devil. I know a lot of people think the phone is the best way to get things done and sometimes that’s true. But largely phone calls are counter productive. Verbal communication is open to interpration, memory and just generally easy to get wires crossed. Email is much better and creates a trail of what’s been said and decided. It also allows both parties to fire off a batch of emails and then get back to work instead of spending who knows how long trying to hash something out on the phone.
• Limiting time on time wasting web sites. It’s easy to get lost in Facebook or Twitter or any number of social / media sharing sites. I check most of these only once or twice a week and just do Twitter a few times a day. Social networking is a big part of getting your name out there so it has to be part of your process but don’t let it get in the way of getting things done.
• No more TV unless I’m on the Treadmill. Killing two birds with one stone I save myself several hours per week! The only shows I watch off the Treadmill is Heroes and Dexter because I have friends & family come over for those.
• I love forums. They are one of the best places to meet people, network and learn valuable information. But they can also be a time sink if you don’t manage them properly. Like email and chat schedule times to do your forum rounds.

That’s just some quick things I’ve done to take back my day. I’ve always been pretty good about most of those things but now that I’m trying to do even more it’s time to kick it up a notch. I find working on projects is as fun, if not more, than most of the things that distract me anyway. Granted, I deliberately take breaks for short bursts of time to avoid burn out. You’ve got to. I just go off and read or just leave the house for a bit, nice dinner with Aeryn or anything that give my mind a break.

Anyone got any other good tips for getting more done? I’m sure I’ve left off several.

Technorati Tags: Productivity, Getting Things Done