To learn how to save time, sometimes you have to make a little time.

Fridays on Pitchcraft, we hold breakout groups for our community members, which include independent PR pros, agency members, in-house PR reps and business owners.

We discuss challenges, work through angles, share connections and celebrate one another’s wins for the week. We recently had a discussion focused on workflow and posed some important questions.

How many hours a day do you work?

How many hours a day do you want to work?

Some members delightfully said, “no more than 10!” (Whoa.) If you factor in 7 hours of sleep, you have 17 hours of daily wake time. Ten work hours means you spend 60 percent of your day working, likely sitting.

Most members said they want to work 5-6 hours or less. That’s around 30 percent of your day working.

Which one sounds more appealing? I’m guessing the latter, especially if you are a parent.

Why We Can’t Focus

In his book “Stolen Focus,” Johann Hari explains the top 12 reasons we can’t concentrate and get things done, and why this phenomenon is affecting all of us by powers beyond our own willpower.

One of those reasons: We aren’t getting into flow states like we used to.

A flow state is a deep form of attention where you become so immersed in your work, you lose track of time. The rest of the world seems to melt away.

Flow states can only come from single tasking, which is a big reason you’re not getting into them often. You can’t get in the flow while you’re on a call, checking your email and also scanning the latest headlines. (Guilty.)

For PR pros in our community, flow states came when they were deep into research on story angles, writing, discovering new journalists or creative brainstorming. But to reach them, it requires clearing out a lot of clutter. We can’t add hours to our day, but we can get a refund on them with the right planning.

You can start making room for your own flow state with action. It starts with recognizing the value of your own time, learning how to save time and taking small steps to optimize your day. In this inspiring podcast episode with Ed Mylett, Rob Dyrdek shares how intricately tracking how he was spending time changed his life.

I believe we can all do this in a way that works for us (and that episode is greatly worth its hour). Here, five simple tips you can take action on today:

How to save time: Turn your phone on do not disturb mode.

Customize your settings to enable calls from your VIPs (partner, daycare, school, boss, etc.), then set it in another room and don’t touch it. I mean, really don’t touch it.

Delete your email accounts from your phone.

It’s hard to respond to and send emails from your phone, anyway, and you won’t be tempted to keep checking when you close your computer for the day. I’m living proof that this won’t collapse your career. I haven’t had email on my phone for more than five years now.

Close the email tab.

Just do it. You can designate a few specific times during the day to check it without constantly diverting your attention, and nothing will fall through the cracks. Journalists will still respect you, and you can still adhere to their deadlines.

Shorten your meetings.

Who says meetings have to be 30 or 60 minutes? Research shows we fill the time we’re given, but it’s often wasted. Adjust your calendar settings to default to shorter ones — try 15 or 25 minutes. I’ve had 20-minute blocks on my calendar for months, and no one has noticed the difference (except me).

Become a Pitchcraft member.

We bring you the contacts, the intel, the leads, the press trip curation, the editorial calendars and much more so you can work smarter, not longer. Let me show you how.

What simple tip or change has rewarded you with a precious refund of time? Share about it in the comments, and let me know what you think of the podcast episode.