One of the reasons BlackBerry phones have remained so popular is the ability for a user to crank out long emails quickly while on the go.  Touchscreen devices tend to get labeled more as entertainment devices than productive devices.  Even the Motorola Droid’s physical keyboard has been subject to criticism for being too shallow to type effectively.

Enter Swype. Swype is an innovative text-input method for Android-based smartphones in which you slide your finger over the letters you want to type.  Swype’s algorithm figures out the rest.  Using this method, Samsung was able to break the texting world record by a signifant margin, a feat they highlighted in their TV ad.

While Swype was previous only available in their closed beta program, it is now being made available for for a few days only.  Be sure to snatch it while you can at http://beta.swype.com and see how much quickly you can send text messages and emails.

Let us know how it works, or if you’re a die-hard physical keyboard person, why touchscreens aren’t for you.

Has it every been more challenging to get work done than it is today?  It’s quite ironic that, as fortunate as we are to have all of the technological innovations we enjoy today, these “productivity boosters” can be too much of a good thing.

Sometime late last year, I found myself really looking forward to a free weekend where I had nothing planned – which would allow me to get “a lot of work done”.  So starting Saturday morning, I plowed away at my “to do” list.  Same thing on Sunday.  I knocked off more things than I would have during a normal work week, and in only two days.

These weekend work sessions have become a real boon to my productivity.  And many people I’ve discussed this with have shared my experience.

“Absolutely, I can’t get anything done during the week, there are just too many interruptions,” they’ll say.

But recently I got to thinking – wait, there’s something really wrong with this picture.

First off – I love what I do.  I’m building my own company, I’ve gotten to choose everyone I work with – so absolutely no complaints.  BUT – is it healthy to work for consecutive weeks on end, without breaking away.

I don’t think so.  Hard work is great, and absolutely required for entrepreneurs.  But often our best ideas will come when we least expect it – when our mind is free to relax and drift.  This can’t happen if we work 24/7/365 – we just never get the opportunity.

So recently, I’ve started devising a system that would help optimize my personal/business productivity, AND bring a little more balance to my life.

I started by immersing myself in many of the time management and productivity methodologies out there – and there are no shortage of them.

I actually have traditionally avoided these, because, well, I fancied myself as being relatively productive.

So here’s an overview of a hybrid system I’ve developed.  One thing I learned is that, as an entrepreneur, my playbook is always changing.  So I need to develop a very flexible system – beyond just optimal efficiency.  Sure, it’s great if I get a lot done, but if it’s not the right stuff, who really cares anyway.

The three principles I’ve been successfully incorporating:

1. Always be prioritizing – most things don’t actually matter.

Classic 80/20 rule – 20% of the things you do will provide 80% of the value.  If you have 10 things on your “to do” list, the top 2 are much more valuable than the next 8 combined.

I’d encourage you to chew on this concept a bit – it’s simple, yet very powerful.  I try to reprioritize my top items on a weekly basis (this is a better use of weekend work time).  I’ve found that many of the “next 8” are no longer important anymore.

2. Don’t get too busy – fake it if you feel guilty.

Resist the urge to fill up your day with meetings, phone calls, and items that you need to get done.  I constantly ask myself: “What’s the worst that will happen if I don’t have this meeting?  If I don’t get this done?”  If it’s not that bad, axe it.

Sure, it feels great to be busy, and to “get a lot done.”  But I think as an entrepreneur, this is a trap.

If I look back at all the time I’ve invested in Chrometa since we founded it, most of the things I’ve done haven’t mattered at all in the long run. I’ll bet just 5% of my efforts have yielded 80% or more of our benefits.

Since I realized this, I’ve tried to sit back and think that if I only had one hour to work today, what would I do?  That usually helps push a sales/marketing activity to the forefront.  It’s never administrative work, that’s for sure.

And if you want to project a busy façade for the rest of the world to see?  Go for it – nobody’s going to know you’re not really that busy.  Heck, Ben Franklin used to run through the streets of Philadelphia carry reams of paper by hand back to his printing shop.  It was all for show – because not only did Franklin value hard work, but he also valued the appearance of hard work.

3. If it has to be done, then just focus and do it.

The old weekend phenomena revisited.  On weekends, with no incoming distractions, I can just focus in and knock something off.  Weekdays it’s been a challenge – emails, instant messages, phone calls, clicking over to the web (what’s the DOW doing today?).

So here’s how I am trying to emulate the weekend experience, during the week:

1. Practice time boxing for the items that I need to do – specifically, what is it, and how long will it take.  The list is a manageable size for the day, thanks to the vetting system we’ve discussed.  Never more than 5-6 “to do” items for a given day, and preferably even less.
2. Just do them – minimize interruptions until it’s done.  If it’s a long task, break it up into sub-items.  I’ve been quite amazed that even the most daunting task can often be knocked off in 60 minutes or less – provided the focus is there.
3. See how long it took.  This is something I use our time management software for, and it’s quite helpful.  I can see what time I started something, what time I finished, and how long it took.  Interruptions are also there.  Since I know I’m “on the clock”, and will be graded afterwards, I’ve been on my best behavior.

In sum, I’ve found that the key to my personal productivity is exactly what small business and time management guru Brian Tracy has been preaching for years – focus on just one thing at a time, your most valuable activity, and don’t stop until it’s completed.

Further Reading: The First Rule of Productivity: One Thing at a Time

From my studies, I like these 7 proven ways to beat procrastination.

1. Do the worst thing first thing: This is known as swallowing the frog first thing and the rest of the day looks good. It gets me through lots of “procrastination” issues.

2. Break it down: Often there are small parts of the task that can be done. Often the reason that we procrastinate is because the task ahead of us is too big. How do you walk 100 miles? One step at a time.

3. Get help. I wasn’t actually referring to delegation (but of course that is good too), I was referring to having someone help you start the task. Often it is the act of starting a task that is enough to get the task done.

4. Do the pleasant part of the task: Often many distasteful and large jobs have some parts to it that are not particular distasteful. Do them so at least you are moving forward on your most important items.

5. 20 minutes: Just spend 20 minutes on a task. I have the attitude that I can spend 20 minutes doing anything. Often by spending the 20 minutes on a task is enough to get the momentum rolling to get it done.

6. Track it: The simple act of tracking process on a goal is often enough to keep the goal moving forward. I like Time Tracking Software for this of course.

7. Reward or punish: The reason we do something is because it is more painful than not doing something, so if we can make a task more rewarding or more painful, then we tend to move forward faster.

Remember that even successful people occasionally procrastinate. And it is solvable.

Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto initially observed this in 1906, when he discovered that 80% of Italian real estate was owned by just 20% of the population.  Then he went out to his garden and saw that 20% of the pea pods contained 80% of the peas…so this was clearly a larger phenomenon!

In the business world, this means that 20% of your actions will account for 80% of your results.  Which means that, on the flip side, 80% of your actions will only account for only 20% of your results.  These are the activities that fill up your schedule, but add little or no value.

So if you find yourself wishing you had more time in the day to get everything done, this is a critical principle to keep in mind.  Because while you can’t add more hours to the day, you can make sure that you’re spending time on the most valuable activities.

Imagine the possibilities.  Right now, you’re probably spending only the equivalent of one day a week on your most important items.  If you doubled this to two days a week, and took the rest of the week off, you’d actually increase your productivity by 60%!

Legendary self-help author and guru Brian Tracy often encourages you to constantly ask yourself if you’re working on the single important thing that you could be doing.  Get in the habit of doing this more often, and you’ll find your productivity increasing by leaps and bounds – without actually working any longer – all thanks to the magic of the 80/20 principle!

The idea spawned from a conversation that we were having with the fine folks who run Social Media Law Student. We were originally planning to offer a steep discount on Chrometa for students in their listening audience…and then I started thinking back to my days as a student (which were not too long ago).

I was always broke (some would argue I still am!) Why not just make it free. So there you go – if you’re in law school, here’s how you can get a free copy of Chrometa:

1. Download the free trial of our time tracking software.
2. Send us an email from your school email address (.edu)
3. We’ll send you a complimentary license code back!

It yours to keep – we hope that it’s of use to you in law school, and of course we’d encourage you to use Chrometa when you land your first gig.  The partners will be in awe of how many billable hours you rack up

And we ALWAYS appreciate your referrals – please refer Chrometa to friends and family who you think will benefit from it using this form: http://www.chrometa.com/refer-us.php

They’ll thank you – and so will we!