5 Easy Practical Steps For Time Management Beginners style!
Are you ready for some super practical stuff that you can implement for better time management?
There are few things you can do to improve your productivity and time management. In fact, there are many things you can do, I can literally go on forever. There are so many methods, apps and ways you can streamline the processes throughout your day. I am just giving you the following few to start with. You can only add and improve from here.
So let’s start with the obvious one 👇
If you are on a tight schedule, I HIGHLY encourage you to set timers and reminders!
I have reminders in my calendar for almost everything. Most of the time, I don't have to take any action on them. It's more about reminding me to switch gears and start thinking about the next thing, especially if I need to prepare for a meeting with materials or what-have-you. It is ESSENTIAL to have reminders if you have to go somewhere at a certain time that is not your office or home!! Depending on the location and time of day, I set a reminder for 30 or 60 min (or more!) ahead of time because I am factoring in my travel time. The timers are really helpful if you have set time available for certain tasks and you need to work but you don't want to go down a rabbit hole or get so engrossed in a project that you lose track of other priorities.
2. Next up: time blocking.
Bunch all your similar tasks together. It may seem obvious but sometimes we need a reminder.Here's an example from my daily life:Run all of your errands at once! I need to do UPS, FedEx, USPS returns, need to stop at the store to pick something, locksmith for an extra house key, dry cleaning, get coffee (by myself or with a friend or even for networking purposes), you get the idea.Once I am out, I am hitting all of those stops and finishing my to-do list much faster than if I were to do it here and there.Small hack: Staples takes UPS and USPS prepaid return labels and you can buy stamps from the grocery store.
You need to send/ respond to emails? Implement the communication hour.
Set a time of the day at which you will be responding to emails and you are available for questions. You can even create separate folders for better email management. Something like Action, Read Through and Waiting.Some people like to implement time blocking for social media. I have to admit, I used to do that but fell off the wagon.Bunch similar tasks and set a timer. BAM! You are organized and efficient 😊
3. Leave buffer time.
This is tied to the time blocking above. You need to make sure you have a bit of extra time between your tasks and projects in case you run late (and you also need breaks to nourish or take care of yourself). You can also use breaks to center yourself and refocus.(What that looks like and my ideas for nourishing yourself are coming up in the next few newsletters)
4. Block distractions! * Cue the horror music *
We all know our attention spans are so short these days. Let's make things easier for ourselves and just turn off all distractions that will prevent us from finishing what we are working on. My phone is almost always on silent when I am with clients and I never have notifications popping up. At some point, I had a smartwatch and every time I had a message come in or a missed phone call, I would get a notification on my watch. I was with a client one day and I started getting notifications, so I would glance at my wrist to make sure it was nothing important. At some point, she asked me if I needed to go because I keep glancing at my watch. I felt embarrassed and thinking about it, it was disrespectful of me to do that. Since then, I have no notifications of any kind on my wearables. Not to mention my phone - I get the very basic ones, calls, texts/ WhatsApp, but that’s it … No emails, no IG, FB, news, nothing. If it's not essential to my daily life, I am not getting it unless I login to the app or website. Back to distractions - you can do so many things - phone on “Do Not Disturb” or “Focus Time,” turn off notifications on your computer, turn on Focus Assist on your computer or your phone, mute your notifications on your phone and tablet, and so on. Some people leave their phone in the other room so they don’t get tempted. You can also activate a focus/ do not disturb mode on your browser via an extension (you will need to download it) so when the habit kicks in to go look for something on the internet - you can't!
5. And finally: Delegate.
This is the most difficult item on this list for 90% of the people. Let's face it, some individuals “need” to be in control, others don't know how to utilize the help they are offered or already have. In both cases, it is hard to relinquish control to someone else. Let’s talk about it: In order to get the result you expect when delegating, you need to factor in the learning curve. What's that? It's the time spent by your new acquired help. That could be at work - assistant, collaborating with coworkers; or at home - babysitter, assistant, cleaning lady, whatever that looks like. Learning how to navigate your projects, what are your expectations of them, what is the expected result. All of those are procedures and processes that you might want to outline and talk about when deciding to hire help. Yes, it may take you some effort initially to think, write, and explain all of that - but you will be saving so much time in the long run. Just think about the compounding effect of all the items you will be able to delegate and how much more productive you would be.
How much is your time worth? What would you rather be doing than that task and how could you better spend your time?
And if you still don't know how to use your resources - just be honest with the other side and say that. Explain what you are currently doing and ask them where they can help. You will be surprised how fast things will develop with the right person at the right job!I can go on forever on this topic but I will stop here for now 😊Let me know if you are implementing any of those steps.
xo Pavlina