Time Management Tips
Happy Monday everyone!
Sharing some of my top time management tips that I have been using recently, to help move the needle forward with goal achievement.
1) Get real about what really needs to be done. And I mean what REALLY needs to be done. Often, we spend our time on things that just help us avoid what we actually need to do. Items that make us feel busy, but they’re not actually productive. I was listening to a recent podcast with High Performance Coach Brendon Burchard and in this area he suggests that things like “creating more email folders to organize your messages is just an avoidance strategy for what really needs done-answering and then deleting the darn emails”. Does this resonate with you?
It does with me that’s for sure. Sometimes, as I love planning and organizing, I get stuck in the “getting ready to get ready” cycle, rather than just getting things done. What to do? I use the following steps:
Step 1: What is the goal? Define it clearly. And if you can’t do that yet, spend more time here before you try to make progress with the goal. Because, if you don’t fully understand it, how can you know what action steps to take when the end result isn’t clear?
Step 2: What are all the things that need done to accomplish the goal? A good brainstorm here (or as its called in 2020, a “brain-dump”-same thing!) is helpful. Write out all the things that you think you’ll need to do to accomplish this well defined goal.
Step 3: Organize all items from Step 2 by asking: What is/are the main thing(s) that once done, end up covering off many of the other items? Categorize the remaining items, into “like” things. For example, banking items, social media creation, research to be done etc. Once the “like” things are together, it is easier to make progress. If you’re moving from 15 minutes of banking to then 15 minutes of creation, it is very tricky for our brains to do this efficiently. Whereas if you kept all creative things together for one day, you’re keeping in a creative flow and will likely find that things are more productive.
Step 4: An action item list has now been created. These items need plugged into your calendar. Which items are you doing on which day (and in which hour….see below)?
2) Use your planner/calendar and use it efficiently.
On Sunday (or whatever is the beginning of your work week) plan out your week. This is based on the action item list you made above. AND based on your own situation. For example, what else must be planned for? Workouts (yes!), grocery shopping, food preparation, family commitments. We must create space for all of your items, or something will get missed, OR an excuse will be found for skipping an important item.
So, what work project is slotted in for Monday? For Tuesday? For Wednesday? etc.
And then, this part is key……when on the Monday are you going to tackle what? Believe it or not, there is a lot of time in a day and if it isn’t broken down into 30 mins chunks, we can easily waste time. So, plan your day in 30 min increments, including your wake time, shower time, meal time, workout time etc. and then specifically plug in your work items.
3) Set a time deadline for each item. If you are working on writing a blog post for example (wonder where I got that idea?!), tell yourself what time you’ll be done. Be realistic (see #4), but set an end time. If you don’t have an end time in mind, your productivity pace will fall because your brain isn’t working with a deadline. So, put your phone on silent, give yourself an end time, and get going!
4) Be realistic. I am guilty of this one for sure!! But I am getting better at it because I recognize that the more realistic I am with my time, the more productive I am during the short bursts, and therefore more gets done! I use to write 45 things on a to do list each day, knowing I needed to attend to these things, but could never get that many items done and done well.
Can anyone else relate?? To cross off two things on a to do list and have 43 still staring at you-is that motivating and confidence building? NO! So, look at your time chunks mentioned in #2 above, and be realistic about what you can plug in AND accomplish.
If you’re not sure how long things take you, that is a great piece of information to begin to gather. Set a timer when you start said activity, and once complete, note the time. Also note if you stayed focused or if you got distracted. Once you know how long an item takes, you’ll be able to do all of the above much more efficiently!
As we sum up, I have mentioned this time management thought before: be real about how much time you waste. I don’t say this to judge, I say it in an effort to support you achieving whatever is it that you want. We all have the same time in our days, and yet some people manage to get a ton completed, whereas others are not even close to where they want to be.
Becoming more self-aware is key. I will admit it. I go down the social media rabbit hole too. I am now quicker to recognize it and MORE IMPORTANTLY, ask myself if what I am doing in the moment serves my larger goals.
I have set some very lofty business goals, and some awesome goals I want to achieve with my family. And let me tell you, no amount of scrolling is worth missing either of those.
I encourage you to set some big goals. I will leave you with one final thought:
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.” -Muhammad Ali
In kindness and health,
Deanna