Where does time go? One minute it’s 8am – next it’s 8pm. Poof! The day evaporated.

We’re all captains of our ship – navigating our way. We plot a course for our days, weeks and months. To make the most of our time, we must increase productivity to warp speed.

I’ve found time is like money. It can be spent without realizing where it all has gone. Sure, you know generally where your time went – meetings, phone calls, emails, projects, etc.  But just how much time did you spend on each and is it where your attention was needed most?

Often the best ways to plan where you’re going is to look at where you’ve been. This is where a Captain’s Log is a great tool to increase productivity.

Captain’s Log

Create your own time log. Note the start and end time of every activity in your day. For Example:

Do this daily. You’ll begin to see patterns and be able to identify where time is being well spent and where it is being wasted. Now, simply get rid of the time wasters.

Not sure whether a task is truly valuable? Ask yourself what would happen if you didn’t do it. If there’s little to no impact on profitability, client and staff satisfaction or operating procedures – it’s a time waster. If you’re in a leadership role and find a task is important, but not needed to be done by you, delegate it to another member of the team. What’s left will be the activities that matter most to your productivity.

A captain’s log will place you squarely at the helm of your ship. When you increase productivity to warp speed, you’ll feel more focused, more in control and even more likely to find extra free time!

Career Wellness

Interested in more career nutrition? Check out the Career Wellness section of the SterlingFreeman website. And connect with me on LinkedIn. I welcome your comments. 

See our full list of premier public accounting opportunities nationwide.

Find Public Accounting Jobs