It’s your to-do list calling your name, and it’s long.
In this post, I’ll share with you my absolute favorite time management tips that I use in my life and my business daily.
These are time management tips that actually work.
Time management is about you spend your time.
It’s not about jamming even more things on your calendar.
It all comes down to what produce in the given timeframe, and in the 24 hours that we’re handed.
Because that is all we get, folks.
24 hours.
Your time on this earth is your most precious and valuable resource.
How you spend your time is critical.
Spend it wisely and with good intentions. Use it effectively and productively.
How you spend your time is completely up to you.
Let’s get into those time management tips so you can make the most of the time you have.
- MAKE THE MINDSET SHIFT
If you don’t have the right mindset to be productive, managing your time and getting things done will be a losing game.
This is why having the right mindset is the most important tip out of all the time management tips that I can give you.
If you work that mindset of yours, everything else on this list will be easy.
You need to get in the zone and believe that you are capable of getting things done and producing the results you want in your life.
Having a positive mindset will set your days off on a more productive note. You won’t question your to-do list and the things you’ve planned, you just do them because you are in that mindset.
- CALENDAR BLOCK
Now that you’ve got your good mindset on, get out that calendar of yours, girl.
Block out everything you’ll do in a day, and plan your to-dos down to the dot.
To really get things done and move forward you need to be able to visualize your day, the hours you have to spare and analyze your calendar.
If you’re new to calendar blocking, start by blocking out the time you spend doing things (even your Netflix- and downtime).
Set a timeframe for each to-do and follow through.
- TRACK EVERYTHING
Track everything you do in a day.
This will help you to understand what you’re doing right and what can be improved (time-wise).
If you see that you’ve spent 3 hours Netflixing one evening, you can think twice about this activity tomorrow and maybe spend one hour less on the couch and devote this extra time to a personal goal you’ve set for yourself.
What gets measured, gets done.
I love my Google Calendar for planning. You can color coordinate and easily move around tasks.
I have my Google calendar open at all times and I know exactly what’s going on every day, week and month.
With Google cal, you can view your calendar by week, day, month or year.
It’s amazing for planning out your days and it will keep you on track.
Get in the habit of referencing your calendar daily and do what it says.
Honor your commitment.
- DO CREATIVE WORK FIRST
Take advantage of the first few hours of the day because that is when you will be at your most creative and have more energy.
Your brain is up, refreshed and ready to go!
Get up an hour earlier and spend it on a big project, write that blog post, song, business plan, the first chapter of your book – whatever task needs your most undisturbed attention, do it first thing.
Save your email, social media and facebook-stalking for after lunch.
- WAKE UP EARLIER
This brings me to my favorite time management hack ever…
The closest thing to magically getting more hours in a day is to wake up early.
Set your alarm back one hour so you can have a little extra time to work on your passion project in the morning.
Practice going to bed earlier and gradually push back your alarm to the desired wake-up time that works for your schedule.
Having an intentional and productive morning routine is key to managing your time better.
Remember to get enough sleep.
A tired and grumpy body won’t be at its most productive behavior in the morning.
Sleep is soooo important in order for you to get things done and your brain to function properly.
- STOP THE PEOPLE PLEASING
In order for you to devote your time to the things that are most important to you, you need to start practicing saying no to other people.
It’s natural for us humans to want to be part of the pack, but the more we say yes to other people, the more we are saying no to ourselves.
Only say yes to activities and things you really want to do and give your time and energy to people you love and who lift you up.
Don’t crowd your calendar with people who put you down or give you the bad vibes.
And don’t just please to please.
When you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else.
- TAKE ADVANTAGE DOWNTIME
Do you commute to work?
Take the bus every day or always stuck in traffic?
Take advantage of this downtime and put on an educational audiobook or podcast.
You might as well learn something new at a time when you’d just be staring into space or be waiting for that green light anyway.
- BYE PERFECTIONISM
You need to learn to be okay with B minus work.
You are going to fail, mess up and not be able to do it all.
That’s ok! Learn to love the process.
In order to succeed in something, you HAVE to start and be okay with it not being perfect at first.
You can always go back later and improve.
Schedule a task on your calendar and set a deadline for you to complete it.
Honor the deadline you set and do it, no matter what.
Don’t drag out the process – it will only kill your productivity.
Done will always be better than perfect.
- THE ART OF ELIMINATION
Before doing anything, ask yourself the following questions:
Can I eliminate this?
Can this wait?
Is there some way I can automate this task?
Can I outsource this task?
You don’t have to do it all.
- PLAN ENOUGH TIME
Never ever underestimate how long it will take you to complete a task.
More often than not, we plan for things on our calendar because, let’s face it we love to plan, but we also need to make sure that we devote enough time for that task to be completed.
While you should not drag it out, it’s important to give yourself enough time to do something.
Keep this in mind when you block out your calendar.
- SET RULES
Set rules for yourself that will help you get the results you want in your life.
For example:
No social media or Netflix after 7 pm – so you can work on your passion project
No sugar during the week – so you can finally lose those extra pounds
Only wear neutrals – so you save time and energy spent on deciding what to wear in the morning
- GO 25 MINUTES AT A TIME
Try working in Pomodoros – meaning you focus in and work for 25 undisturbed minutes, take a break for 10 and resume.
Turn off the wifi, put your phone on flight mode – whatever you need to do in order for your brain to stay focused on the task at hand.
It’s much easier to do something for just 25 minutes, rather than starting something, with no deadline, that you end up procrastinating because something else (the internet) keeps stealing your focus.
I love to work in Pomodoros and I do them using my Productivity Planner which I so highly admire.
It’s much easier to stay focused and get things out of the way.
Don’t forget to take breaks though, you need that breather for your brain to be able to re-focus.
- DO A BRAIN DUMP
To free your mind from all the distractions that are pulling at you, get it all out on a piece of paper (or your computer).
Write freely and make lists of everything that needs your attention.
It’s going to be very difficult to manage your time well if you go about life with every little to-do in your mind.
By writing things down, it will free up your mental space, help de-stress you so you can focus on what really needs your attention in this moment.
Pour it all out and then plan these to-dos on your calendar.
- DO THAT ONE THING
As soon as you wake up, get to work on that one important thing that you MUST get out of the way.
Think of it this way…
What can you do today that if you get it done you will feel satisfied with your productivity?
If your to-do list is long you can easily feel overwhelmed.
Start by tackling the hardest and most important thing on your to-do list and move on to the next one.
By going after just one thing, you will always feel like you’ve accomplished something every day.
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