Time Management Tips

So, you’re trying to find ways to improve your productivity? Wish you could better manage your time? This seems to be a problem for amongst a lot of persons especially my freelancing friends and I often get the question, “how do you manage your time Sue?” The answer is really simple. The real question is are you willing to make the changes? See time doesn't change, we all have 24 hours. All we can really do is manage ourselves and what we do with the time that we have. You first have to understand and internalize this.

Where are you wasting your time?

I’ll admit that I spend way too much on Instagram! Now your turn. Start by finding out where your time goes throughout the day. Closely monitor yourself for a week, track your activities on a daily basis to see how you spend your time. There are tons of time trackers online. I recommend you try any of these time managing apps/sites below:

Due.com

Trello

Hubstaff

Ronin

Tick

Goal Setting

The whole idea is to better time management is to change your current behaviours. Remember we can’t add more time to our days. Once you have an idea of where you’re spending your time you can then eliminate the wastage and do something more productive instead. Start by setting small goals that you can do on a daily basis that will help you to get to your bigger goal. Try it out for a week and then do an analysis at the end to see if you’ve seen any improvements or not.

Put a time limit on tasks

By setting time constraints for these items, you will focus more and work more efficiently. If you find yourself spending way too much time on a task, take a break and figure out why it is taking so long to complete.

Plan your week on a Sunday.

I like to keep my Sundays' work free. The most I will do though is plan out my entire week. From social media post ideas, client work etc. I just want to make sure that all my tasks are properly spaced and that I am not putting too much pressure on me on any specific day. In addition to this, I create a daily plan. Every morning for 30 minutes I look on my weekly goals and create a plan for the specific day. I then add my tasks to my to do list and then tick them off as I go along. Trust me, seeing that to do list empty by the end of the day is rewarding and motivating.

Put the phone on do not disturb.

I say this because most freelancers client calls are scheduled. However, if you get client calls unexpectedly I would say you can have your ringer on but turn off other notifications from social media sites etc. Believe it or not, these smartphones can be very distracting and once you pick it up it’s very hard to put it down.

Don’t strive for perfection.

Can anything ever be perfect? I mean, if perfection is what you are after you’ll almost always be making changes. So get this idea of perfection out your head and just get started already.

Take Breaks In Between

Did you know the human brain can only focus for about 90-minutes at a time? It is important to schedule a break at least every 90 minutes to avoid burnout and maintain high productivity throughout your day.

Learn To Say No

Your time is very precious. Please don’t waste it on people or projects that don’t align with your mission and goals. If it is not worth your time, simply say no. If “no” is too hard for you to say, consider something like, “I’ll check my schedule and get back to you.”

Hope you found these tips helpful. If you have tips of your own that you want to add them in the comment below.