Time Management Tips

We all know that person who does three jobs, runs a family, and appears to do a million other things, yet they are always available for a drink whenever someone asks. It seems impossible, right? There are just not enough hours in the day!

Well, that's not true. The best thing to do is to stop hating that person and try to be more organised like them. So today we are going to explore the best ways to manage your time more effectively.

A lot of our readers are entrepreneurs and small business owners. The first thing an entrepreneur needs to learn how to manage is time. If you are a new business owner, chances are your financial and human resources are still quite scarce, yet the one resource you have in abundance is time. Therefore, time is your power and the number one thing to master.

1. The first thing I want to make clear is that you create your own time . That means you should schedule each day according to your personal ‘productive hours’, instead of the generally accepted 9-5. If you are unsure when you are the most efficient, it is best to experiment for a few days until you figure it out than just assume.
   
2. Match your most productive hours with your most demanding tasks . For example, a morning person like myself would choose to complete any creative activities that require a clear mind and a lot of energy, like my blog writing, in the morning hours. Whereas later in the afternoon when you are likely feeling more drained, you can choose to complete more passive or routine tasks like reading, replying to emails, catching up with co-workers, etc.
   
3. Instead of keeping lengthy to-do lists, mark each activity on your calendar and assign a time and a duration . This way you are much more likely to stick to your plan as each task has its own time slot. Assigning a specific duration means you are able to tell whether the activity is dragging or not thus modifying your pace accordingly.
   
4. Be realistic with task duration . Assigning an hour slot to a job that usually takes you three quarters of a day will only make you disappointed and discouraged at the end of the day - and that is counterproductive!
   
5. Plan time for breaks in advance . As an extension to the previous point, not scheduling break time is completely unrealistic and you don’t want that. You are the best one to judge when you need to rest during the day, but I would generally recommend either short ten-minute breaks every hour or a long one halfway through your day.
   
6. This one is up to preference, but personally, I find that keeping a digital calendar is more effective especially because I can sync it with all the different devices I am using and stay on top of everything. Alerts and reminders are also great for keeping me on track. I find good old Google Calendar perfect for planning, but if you’re not a fan, there are plenty of apps available for both phone and desktop that you can try instead. Just make sure you stick with one app - there is nothing more confusing than having to dig between different calendars to find what job you need to crack on with next.
   
7. As far as disruption goes, social media is the enemy – unless it is your job. It is almost certain that even if you only log in for a minute, you will get carried away and end up wasting valuable time. Emails can also be very disruptive , so every now and then make sure you unsubscribe from useless mailing lists to avoid unnecessary clutter. With regards to work related emails, you will save time if you deal with them on the spot rather than leaving them for later.

I know that time management is quite personal and varies from person to person, but hopefully, these tips were useful. Please share your own below!