What does that even mean?
I have for you and I proudly present my top Time Management tips and tricks – hopefully they can help you to manage your time better, be more productive and ultimately get shit done. As a stay at home #momboss of two busy boys I have to manage my time otherwise I would get nothing done.
Let’s get right into it, as of course non of us have time for any dilly dallying about, we need to manage our time here.
PRIORITISE YOUR TASKS
Ok, so you have a whole page of notes or more likely a pile of small pieces of paper – you know which ones I’m talking about, those brightly coloured square ones….YUP! I see you there my friend. Oh wait…..are they lumo sticky notes all over your desk or computer? Getting back to the point, you have a whole lot of “notes” that you need to put into some comprehensible list of priority.
Introducing the 1-2-3 system. I heard about this system from the genius who is Dan Meradith author of the best seller “How to be F*#king Awesome”. How the 1-2-3 system works to you pretty much write a brightly coloured 1, 2 or 3 next to each task that needs to be completed. 1 – tasks that need to be completed URGENTLY and cannot be put off till later or even tomorrow. Its not ideal to have more than about 5 x #1’s. If you complete all your #1’s you then start on the 2’s. If something else urgent comes in while you are doing your 1 tasks you can add it to the end of the 1’s. Example: Book the doctors appointment, File your tax return it’s due today, Find your clients order before she phones you asking for it.
2 – tasks that are needing to be completed today but are not as urgent as your 1’s. These might include tasks such as contacting your sister about dinner tomorrow evening, or compiling a report for your boss that needs to be done today (however not first thing).
3 – these tasks need to be completed, not today, not tomorrow but at some point. 3’s can become 2’s or even 1’s as time goes by. These might include – set up my birthday calendar or plan branding gift idea for office party.
As you get additional tasks throughout the day, label them 1, 2 or 3. At the end of each day, set aside some time to “plan your tasks” for the next day.
AVOID ALL DISTRACTIONS
I like to call this my Power Hour…. Although in an office environment this is probably longer than an hour but these little tips might help you to avoid all distraction.
*Put your phone on silent / remove unnecessary notifications that might cause distraction.
*Ask those around you if they need anything before you get started.
*Let others know that you are needing some time / space to complete a task.
*Remove all items that could entice you to fiddle with them – fidget spinners.
*Clear your space, a neat and tidy workspace helps with productivity.
WORK WHEN YOU ARE MOST PRODUCTIVE
For those who need to be productive in an office environment this might be a bit difficult if your most productive time is between 4 – 6am. Try and do your most important tasks will you are fresh – this is normally in the morning.
For me between it’s 5 – 7:00am, this is when my brain is fresh, the house is quiet, nobody needs anything from me because let’s face it, it’s too early to need anything except coffee. This is a time that I can plan my day, get those important emails typed up (and saved as a draft)**(Why we save them as a draft in a post to come), even prepare some messages I wanted to send that day (save in notes to send at a more respectful time), read any articles I wanted to read, plan some posts for social media, plan what I’m making for dinner, hang up the washing (I generally put the washing on a timer to finish at 5am), pack away the dishes, have a shower and be ready to start the day without the big rush by 7:30.
By 8pm, im not productive at all. I want to climb into bed with good series and a bowl of popcorn – #slothlike.
DECLINE ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS
It’s OK to say NO. We all feel this terrible guilt when we say no. Why is that?
Let’s get real here for a second. If your plate is full, you have an entire page of 1-2-3’s and someone asks you to take on more….”Hey my friend (coz thats always what they say) I had this idea, I would love it if you could help me with……blah blah fish paste. If you genuinely don’t want to or physically don’t have the mental capacity to do it……say no. Ways to say no politely so you don’t 1) get fired 2) don’t lose a friend 3) and don’t hurt feelings:
*I’d love to but im unable to right now, can it wait?
*When is it needed, If it’s within the next week? I’ll have to decline.
*I can add it to my list but it won’t be this week? Is that ok?
*I’m really sorry, but it’s beyond my capability right now.
*Im sorry, i’d love to, but I am unable to take on anything new right now. Can I let you know when I can?
In some cases *Thats a hard no* will get you a laugh and out of taking on more than you can cope with.
SET REMINDERS
I am the Queen of forgetfulness. I need reminders for EVERYTHING. Right now, I have a reminder to bake cupcakes at 2:30pm with my son.
I have reminders to drink water, snack, remember conference calls, phone clients, take something out for dinner. I love iPhone reminders because you can choose the days you want to be reminded of something too, so it’s really helpful for recurring reminders.
Reminders for me are a winner. There are also options like iCalender, a diary, etc…..read below.
USE A CALENDAR / PLANNER
Best invention ever for the OCD / ADHD / Forgetful #momboss #mom #human
I had a beginners lesson on how to use Google calendar and wow! If you don’t have anyone to show you, https://youtu.be/SPA0VnDRDgM (How to use iCalender for Beginners). This was a very helpful video, the app syncs to my phone and is super easy to set up. I have a family calendar that I share with my husband for reminders like birthdays or anniversaries, I have a personal calendar and then I have one for each member of the family (reminder events that I need to do / remember to do). You can set up calendars and invite your clients to join in, its just a brilliantly helpful tool to help you manage your time.
Planners are my thing. (Watch out for the launch of a my Printable E-book Planner soon). Ever since I was a child, I have had my planner. I am trying my best to move over to digital but still love to actually write in a book. Some people are just not built that way – Many of us are lists/planner/pen to paper girl. Planners are great for time management as they come with little times on each page. You can Time Block certain times, helping you manage certain blocks of your day.
GET ORGANISED WITH ROUTINE
To start a routine can be difficult but one you begin you will feel more organised.
Waking up an hour or so earlier and setting a specific routine can make you feel less rushed or stressed out when getting prepared to start your day.
Putting the washing in at night time on a timer, rather than rushing around in the morning trying to gather up all the laundry.
Taking your dinner out of the freezer to defrost while you make your morning coffee rather than trying to defrost your dinner at 5:30pm.
Make the family lunches for the next school/work day after dinner in the evening rather than in the morning.
Plan your time and how you want it to be and try sticking to that for a few days. If you feel more organised and less rushed or stress, stay with that.
TIME BLOCKING
Time Blocking is a brilliant way to manage your time as well as manage your stress level.
Some people block an hour every day for going to the gym and an hour everyday for lunch. No matter what these are appointments. If, like alot of people you have a full time job and then a #sidehustle that needs attention too, block the time you want to spend on your side hustle. Without fail, stop whatever you are doing and move your focus over to that task you blocked during that time.
If you have alot to get through, set certain amounts of allocated time to each task. Move to the next when your time is up.
I time block family time….(sounds silly) but I turn my phone off from 6pm – 8:30pm in the week. That is the time for my family with no distraction. We eat dinner, chat and go through the bedtime routine.
Time Blocking can also work for certain projects / clients – appointment, similar to a timetable at school. From this time to that time I am in Geography / busy with Mrs Jones’ file.
BATCH YOUR TASKS
This is a wonderful way to get alot of the same thing done at once. Or keep your train of thought going and ultimately being more productive. Example….If today is your day for phoning clients. Phone as many clients as you can during a certain amount of allocated time. You are already calling a client, why not phone 5. Often we call a client, put the phone down, move onto another task, then phone another client, but at that time, it might be noisy or you have to arrange for you children to be entertained at that time.
If you are in the zone for typing/catching up on emails, try do as many as possible – you will have your brain geared to emails.
If you are cooking, cook a few meals at a time if you know it’s going to be a busy week ahead.
If you have a creative job, try pull as many creative items together within a certain amount of time that you have set aside, rather than doing a few today and few tomorrow – your brain will be geared to being creative.
Save yourself the time in future by batching your tasks.
DELIGATE/ OUTSOURCE
A huge time management tip is to delegate/ outsource what you can. Obviously where possible.
Very often it will eat up more time and money if you have to do something yourself rather than hire someone / ask someone to assist you. Example: for the owner of a company to sit and design and mange his own website or social media is a waste of his time and resources. It will save him money in the long run to hire that service out and move on to managing and making money making decisions. (Unless of course it’s something you want to learn and then manage yourself).
Same goes for at home. Delegate chores: One child can set the table while the other tidies the toys and packs them away. You can be cooking dinner or managing another area of the home. Essentially saving time.
These all really helped me to manage my time better, I hope they help you..
Much love…