Campfire #45: Five habits that save me 10+ hours of work per week as a senior product designer
Throughout my career, I've read almost every book on time management. Here are five habits I have found to be the most impactful in getting things done fast (without breaking the quality).
A few weeks ago, a client mentioned something about my working speed. Here's a snippet of that conversation.
This might be an interesting topic to explore because this is not the first time clients have mentioned to me the speed of delivery (without losing the quality of work).
Many people I've mentored struggled with getting things done quickly in their work, so sharing some habits that save me over 10+ hours of work per week might be helpful.
Throughout my career, I've read almost every book on time management. Here are five habits I have found to be the most impactful in getting things done fast (without breaking the quality).
Five habits that save me 10+ hours of work per week as a senior product designer
Cinema mode
Task batching
No meeting day
Plan the day ahead
Regular reviews
Cinema mode
I don't remember where I heard this term, but it stuck with me a few years ago, and still, it makes a lot of sense.
Remember the last time you went to the cinema to watch a movie? You prepared to sit and watch it for about 90 minutes straight. Now, can we apply the same approach to our work.
Yes! Some of you might be familiar with the term "deep work," coined by Cal Newport in his book. He states:
This is our economy's most valuable skill and has become increasingly rare. And if you can master it – you'll achieve extraordinary results.
Essentially, the cinema mode habit involves setting aside dedicated blocks of time during the day for focused work without distractions. This can be especially important for product designers who need to concentrate on creating and refining designs. You can avoid multitasking and increase productivity by focusing on one task at a time.
Task batching
It's straightforward, yet only a few people use this habit to be more productive. The idea behind task batching is to identify tasks with similar effort or in a related environment and do them all at once.
Group similar tasks together and complete them in one go.
For example, you can set aside a specific time to respond to emails, make phone calls, or conduct research. By batching tasks, you can save time by minimizing the time needed to switch between different types of work.
No-meeting day
We all know that communication is a crucial part of designers' work. Still, we need time to focus, think, and brainstorm when it comes to doing excellent work. This is why I (try to) keep at least one day per week without any meetings.
Setting aside at least one day each week without meetings can help ensure you have uninterrupted time to focus on your work. You can focus on complex tasks like research, wireframing, or prototyping during this time. This can be especially useful when you combine no-meeting days with cinema mode.
Plan the day ahead
This is one of the habits that help me stay organized and not feel overwhelmed when I wake up and get to work. I know exactly what I need to get done today because I've planned it the day before.
Taking a few minutes daily to plan your tasks and priorities can help you stay organized and focused.
Regular reviews
You can decide for yourself what regular means to you. I like to do weekly, quarterly, and yearly reviews. During this process, I review my to-do's and notes, ensuring I work on the most critical tasks that help me reach my goals.
When I struggle to figure out what's most important, I use the Eisenhower matrix to help me identify what needs my immediate attention and what can be scheduled, delegated, or removed.
Reviewing your work helps you stay on top of what's going on and focus on the tasks that impact your work most.
Conclusion
Finally, implementing these practices can help you as a product designer to save time and enhance productivity. You can remain focused, organized, and on top of your workload by using cinema mode, task batching, no meeting days, planning, and regular reviews.
But remember that these are not one-size-fits-all solutions, so pick what works best for you and stick to it. You can accomplish remarkable results and take your career to the next level by making tiny changes to your everyday routine.
So, why not try out these habits and see how they might help you become a more productive and successful product designer (and human)?