Manage your time better with these seven tips
When your time is poorly managed you can have a non stop busy day but end up not getting very much done. This makes your days and working week much longer than they need to be!! As someone OBSESSED with all things organisation, I understand the value of effective time management and the positive impact it can have on your daily routine.
So, to help you make the most of your valuable time, I want to share with you seven helpful time management techniques. We all have different styles of working so it’s worth taking a look at which suits you and your needs best.
By implementing these techniques into your routine, you'll find yourself achieving more, stressing less and gaining a sense of control over your tasks!
1. Prioritisation
The first step to effective time management is being able to identify your most important tasks and tackle them first. For this start by making a to-do list and then assign priorities to each item. I find that if you can easily see what needs to be done and which tasks need to be finished first it can stop the procrastination when deciding what to do next.
An approach I like to take is getting my highlighters out and using those to mark tasks as either high, medium or low priority. This allows you to focus your energy on completing the most important tasks, following these up with tasks that could be pushed back if needed. This way, you're ensuring that your time and effort are dedicated to what truly matters and you don’t run the risk of missing an important deadline.
2. Delegation to a Virtual Assistant
As a friendly virtual assistant, my team and I are here to support you and lighten your workload. Delegation is a powerful technique that allows you to offload tasks to a VA, freeing up your time for more important responsibilities. I am a bit of a control freak, I'll admit that, so I completely get why clients struggle to delegate at the start but, I’ve always managed to work my magic, identifying opportunities to help my clients and encourage them to hand more and more over to me, allowing them to concentrate fully on smashing their business goals.
A VA can tackle anything from admin to social media management, letting you focus on strategic projects knowing that your business is in capable hands. Not only does this help you to focus solely on critical tasks but it also means you get time to yourself and a chance to relax. This prevents you from burning out and struggling to keep up.
3. Time blocking
Time blocking is a technique that involves dividing your day into specific blocks of time dedicated to different activities. It’s recommended to start by identifying your most productive hours and allocating them to your most important tasks. For example, if you're a morning person block out the first two hours of your day for focused work. This means the hours you are most focused and productive are spent on those tough to tackle tasks. You can then schedule those that are easier or have a longer deadline in the afternoon when you’re past your most productive point.
You can create blocks for meetings, breaks and even personal activities. By assigning specific time slots for different activities, you'll avoid multitasking meaning you can stay focused and get tasks done more efficiently. It also gives you a clear structure for the day, helping you to stay on track and get everything done. Sounds great to me!
4. The Pomodoro Technique
This technique has gained popularity recently and it’s no surprise why!! It utilises short bursts of intense work followed by brief breaks. Start by setting a timer for 25 minutes and working on a single task with complete focus, then once the timer goes off take a 5-minute break. After completing four work intervals you then take a longer break of around 15-30 minutes. This technique helps combat procrastination, improves concentration and enhances productivity. It also allows you to break large tasks into manageable chunks, saving you from sitting at your desk wondering where to start.
We all know breaks are important but when you’re focusing on a long task or pressed for time it can be easy for these to slip your mind. Following this structure allows you to stay focused and on track whilst also taking those crucial moments of rest and looking after yourself.
5. The Eisenhower Matrix
Named after a former U.S. President this method helps you prioritise tasks based on their urgency and importance. To start create a four-quadrant grid and label the quadrants as: "Urgent and Important," "Important but Not Urgent," "Urgent but Not Important," and "Not Urgent and Not Important." This allows you to visualise which tasks matter most and which could be delegated or removed.
It enables you to easily make informed decisions about where to allocate your time and resources. It can also be particularly helpful if you struggle to set boundaries around your workload and end up wasting time on tasks that aren’t really needed.
6. The two-minute rule
This time management method is a simple way to tick off those smaller tasks. The idea is that if a task takes less than two minutes to complete, you do it immediately. We all have those little admin tasks that we put off, and as time passes the dread increases. This method aims to prevent these small, simple to complete tasks from accumulating and becoming overwhelming. With this rule, there’s no complex workflow, it’s simple and straightforward making it a great fit for any entrepreneur. It also gives you a little win by allowing you to tick something off of your list!
7. Batching
This method can work well when used with other time management techniques and allows you to maximise your time. The idea is that you group similar tasks together and complete them in designated time blocks. For example, in creating this blog post I could do all my research and initial notes, I could then sit down and write my first draft all in one go and then finish by uploading this and doing all of the SEO optimisation together. This will take a lot less time than writing paragraphs here and there between client tasks and meetings as my full focus is on one thing at a time. By minimising the switching between different tasks and focusing on one thing at a time you can enhance your efficiency and use batching to speed up slower processes.
Implementing these time management techniques will require discipline and consistency in order to form habits. It can also take a while to see which of these best suits your way of working and which ones just aren’t your thing. Start by slowly adding them into your routine and see which make you feel most efficient! I would love to know which ones are most helpful so feel free to reach out and let me know.
If you’re looking for someone to take the weight off your shoulders let us step in and help you to assess and improve your processes! Book a consultation call with me today to learn more.
