As the holiday are once again approaching, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with all the things we feel we have to get done. One of the biggest skills I have learned, and continue to work on is…. time management. As a busy entrepreneur, mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, plus the other gazillion hats I wear, time management was a big weakness for me. I never wanted to say “no” to anyone. This led to incredible stress on my schedule and I found myself over promising and under delivering. So how do you fit everything into your chaotic life’s schedule? How do you make your schedule more manageable? Here are some tips that may help you.
We each have the gift of 24 hours in a day. What you do with them, how you spend and manage them is going to be the difference between a productive, successful day and a stressful, insanely chaotic day.
- Evaluate your current schedule to determine where you need improvement. The first step is always identifying your problem. Where are you wasting time? One of my mentors, Todd Smith, would say there are only two types of activities… those that pay and those that don’t. It was easy for me in the beginning of my career to confuse those activities. Reflect on your schedule yesterday and write down everything you did and approximately how much time you spent doing it. How much time did you really spend checking email, surfing the net, organizing your desk, watching t.v., cleaning, making calls? Creating a daily time journal documenting your activities will help you identify your weakness in your schedule.
“Procrastination is the thief of time”
Edward Young Night Thoughts, 1742
- Create time management goals. Once you identify your time management weaknesses and time-wasters, the focus should be in changing your behaviors, not changing time. Remember, you cannot change time. Stop asking for more time in your day, instead ask for better skills to work with the time you are given (Jim Rohn). Start creating new habits, and use goals that align with your new habits. For instance, for one week, make it a goal that you will not take personal calls when you are making business calls. Perhaps for the next week, you will only check emails in the afternoon.
- Get organized and use time management tools. Start a master calendar. I was using several calendars; my blackberry, a paper calendar on the wall, my outlook, plus my stellar memory. Heck, I often used sticky notes scribbled with reminders of appointments and stick them to the fridge door. No wonder I was exhausted, thinking I was incredibly busy, and yet never felt I accomplished what I needed. So I took a few moments and gathered ALL my calendaring systems and decided on just one method. I use an electronic calendar (Outlook or Google Calender work well) which syncs to my smartphone. Get into the habit to check your main calendar before committing to anything. You will save time and energy knowing that you only have one calendar to maintain your schedule.
- Create a master to-do list. Planning your day can help you accomplish more and feel more in control of your life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Time-consuming but relatively unimportant tasks can consume a lot of your day. If your high priority tasks need scheduling, put them into your master calendar. Many software tools also integrate to-do lists this will save even more time. Here is a table from “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. It is a great, easy and visual way to show you how to prioritize your tasks
Some other quick tips:
- Develop a routine and daily schedule. I know people that only answer calls, answer emails, pay their bills, do their writing… or whatever the task, during certain times of the day.
- It is okay to say no. Always check your master calendar before agreeing to take on additional work.
- Ask for help. Take a look at your to-do list and calendar and consider what you can pass on to someone else. Your time is valuable and if there is something you can hire or ask someone else to do, do it.
- Get it right first time. For the tasks you are doing, do it right the first time. This will save you time in not having to do it over when mistakes happen.
- Clutter is death; it leads to thrashing. Keep your desk clear (this includes your floor). Clutter can also happen in your mind: focus on one thing at a time
- Cut steps out of meaningless processes. Whether it is cleaning the house, paying bills, or doing other tasks, move something once, touch it once. I remember when I went grocery shopping, we would bring in the groceries, take them out of the bags and put them on the counters, then pick them again and put them away. I would grab the mail, put in a pile, then when I was near ready to pay it, I would pick it up again and open it, put it in my paypile. Then when I was ready to pay the bill, pick it up again and cut the check. What things do you that you could cut some steps out of the process.
- Limit distractions and stay focused. When you are doing a task, stick with it. Stay focused and not get distracted by checking your email, turn off your phone, and t.v. This goes especially when you are spending time with your friends and family.
- Don’t waste time wasting time. Sitting around waiting for the doctor drives me crazy. Don’t site and twiddle your thumbs. Make sure when going on appointments you have something to do with you. Read a few pages of a good personal development book, bring your blackberry or iPhone and answer more emails or texts, or start creating the next day’s to-do list.
Time management is a skill I continue to work on. But these tips and techniques have helped me tremendously and hope they do you as well. Leave a comment and share your best tips. And the best compliment you can share with me is by sharing this post using the button below.
Regards,
Donna
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