If you could get 2-10 hours back from your work week, what would you do with that extra time?

That’s the question efficiency expert Marissa Brassfield asked her boss, Peter Diamandis, about a year after she started working for him as his director of operations. Now Peter does have an extra 10 hours a week (at least!) thanks to Marissa’s innovative and simple productivity-boosting strategies. (Check out her 5 top tips here.)

I recently sat down with Marissa, who is one of the guest speakers at our upcoming Make Market Launch IT! event. One of the things that came up was how easy it is to get waste your time doing everyday routine actions—without even realizing it.

This got me thinking: How many things do we do every day on autopilot that we don’t actually need to do?

Here are a few big ones that Marissa pointed out during our conversation:

1. Meetings

   Meetings are necessary for running a structured business and keeping your staff on track. However, they can also be a huge time suck if they aren’t run efficiently. Does everyone in the meeting really need to be there, or just the decision-makers? Do you need to meet with your entire staff at once, or could you hold short individual meetings so that everyone’s time is being put to good use? Do you really need to hold meetings with your staff at all, or would a simple dashboard suffice to track their progress? Could you shave 10 minutes off your next meeting just by making it more streamlined?

2. Emails

   Many of us write lengthy and detailed business emails, trying to pack in lots of information while spellchecking and agonizing over tone and nuance. Instead, Marissa recommends whittling emails down to 5–10 sentences and ending with, “Please give me a call if you have any questions.” Many times, a five-minute phone call can cover just as much ground as an email that would have taken you 20 minutes to put together.

3. Everyday Routines

   Think about the things you do every day and challenge yourself to get them done a little faster. If you usually set aside an hour in the morning to read and reply to emails, aim for 45 minutes instead. The key is to set a time goal that will make a difference in your day, but one that’s still realistic.

Bonus Tip: Think about the time of day you’re at your most productive versus the times you don’t feel as motivated. Plan your everyday tasks to line up with these times accordingly. Meetings and email maintenance might work better in your “sloth” time, while your most important tasks should be scheduled in your “on fire” time.

I want to know: What are you doing on autopilot that you don’t actually need to do? Let me know in the comments!

And, if you want to hear more proven methods for shaving up to 10 hours off your work week, Marissa will be speaking at our Make Market Launch IT! event on May 2–4. Find out more about it here.