There is a reason that I am writing this blog on a Friday. Somedays it is just harder to stay focused than others. One of those days is Friday. Your brain is tired from being overworked all week, you haven’t slept enough, maybe you haven’t accomplished all that you needed to and you’re thinking about your weekend plans. At that point, anything but work is on your mind.

Believe me, I understand the dilemma you’re facing. Luckily there are several ways to manage your time to make Friday a more productive day.

First, make sure you set up on Thursday afternoon extra well, knowing that by the time  you reach the office the next morning, you’ll be even more tired and less focused. Set up your veggies and make sure that you accomplish them right off the bat. That way when the afternoon rolls around, at least you have accomplished something.

Secondly, take breaks. Every hour or two, give yourself a ten minute break to keep your tired mind alert. Drink a cup of coffee, take a brisk walk around the building, get some fresh air, do anything to clear your mind. By rewarding yourself with breaks, you will be more likely to finish tasks you start on in a timely manner.

Lastly, if possible, arrive at work early on Friday mornings. If you have been following our time management plan, you will be well set-up for a productive Friday, but likely your co-workers or managers will not be as well set-up. Friday is the biggest day for “fires” to spring up because people are rushing to finish things (luckily the veggie principle keeps us on track!). By arriving at the office early, you can get your veggies done and still have the time to deal with the fires.

A huge cause of mistakes in the work place are caused by multi-tasking too many projects in too little time. Replying to emails while checking voicemails and listening to your co-worker’s story about his dog is bound to slow down each task and lead it to be done less effectively.

Our brains are fantastic processors, but they have their limits. Yes, it is possible to do multiple things at once, but it increases the time it takes for our brain to process our thoughts about each task and it is more likely to “cross wires” between tasks and make a mistake.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to slow down, take 5 minutes to do a task, do it well and then move on to the next task? While you might feel more productive doing two things at once, stop mistaking activity for productivity.

Why does leadership understand so little about productivity when it comes to those who work below them? It would stand to reason, logically, that leadership would be the most encouraging of productivity of any group within a corporation. But all too often, the clog in the productivity chain starts and the top and works itself all the way down the line. Some ways that leadership hurts efficiency:

• Poor delegation skills
• “Ambushing” colleagues and direct reports
• Too many meetings
• Paralysis in decision making

What it really boils down to is a lack of leadership. Leaders are holding meetings to discuss minutia instead of making strong decisions. Maybe if leaders would slow down and carefully consider a question or problem, they could answer it one time, efficiently and succinctly. This would empower those below them to have more time in their day to actually do their jobs.

Now days, we need to have meetings to set meetings. These meetings frequently devolve into little more than bull sessions, accomplishing little but wasting maximum time. Has anyone heard of an agenda?