Good time management is so important.
If you wanna have your dream life was still managing to do all of the things and not get completely burnt out in the process, you need to learn to manage your time.
From my personal experience, this is never been more important than when I decided to start a blog and learning to code.
Suddenly I was not only working full time but also creating weekly clean 10 and completing courses on machine learning.
People often ask me how I manage all of these things and still see my friends and family.
Let me tell you it is not the easiest thing in the world.
However, I want today I’m going to share with you some simple tricks that I’ve learned along the way that really helped me to manage my time or if actively.
Why time management is important
You want to be able to deliver on your personal and professional goals without getting completely exhausted.
Time management is important – full stop.
It is important that you make time to fulfill yourself both professionally but also personally.
For many of us who work in highly competitive areas, it can be very stressful trying to manage multiple projects.
Having said that for many of us it is these new projects that bring us fulfillment. That is why the side hustle industry is so strong!
With this in mind, it is important to be able to manage your time for you to live a happy life.
You don’t want to give up family and friends for the sake of professional development.
Furthermore, you don’t wanna give up being happy in your career because you have to commit all of your time to Your social life.
These tips that I will share with you today and how I manage my time will help you get the best of both worlds and balance out your life.
Let’s jump on in now.
Five practical strategies to manage your time
These 5 practical strategies have helped me manage all the things, and they can help you too!
Number One: Batch Work
Many time management gurus talk about the power of batch working.
You might be thinking you’ve heard it all before and please tell me something new!
But trust me – this shit really works!
When I first started blogging and learning to code everything got on top of me. I was always missing deadlines and stressing about having to create content.
Then I started batch working.
I decided that instead of rushing to get content out in the day it was meant to publish, I would batch my posts a month in advance.
This was a game-changer for me.
Not only was I no longer struggling to get content out, but I was creating it without the stress.
Why does batch working work help with time management?
The benefit of batch working is that you’re able to focus on one topic at a time. Therefore, you can get really deep into it quickly without any distractions.
People who try to multitask have been shown in studies to make more mistakes. They are actually are less productive than those who batch work on a single task at a time.
When you are batch working you will give yourself 3 to 4 hours to complete a certain task.
The reason you give yourself so long is that you are accounting for some procrastination time. Also, you are not overcommitting yourself.
Once you get in the zone with batch working you will find you get a lot more done.
For example, I now back to work my blog posts and do them all one month in advance so that I have plenty of time to schedule them out.
This makes sure that I’m never missing my deadlines.
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How to implement batch working
To get started with batch working map out the different tasks that you need to do. Then split them into categories.
When you have your categories and the tasks outlined you can then schedule a time to do each within your calendar. By grouping similar tasks you will find that you are a lot more productive.
Step Two: Have an Open To-do List for time management
When you’re trying to manage a lot of different projects or tasks naturally some of these will be more urgent.
In addition to this, different tasks will be more important at different times depending on the overall plan that you are working towards.
Finally, you will see that as additional tasks are added to your to-do list. These items may become more urgent than some of the older items on your to-do list.
With this in mind it is important to be flexible with your prioritisation of your tasks.
You need to make sure that you’re always doing the most impactful task up as your first priority.
This means that often you will have to do things will pick up things will be re-prioritize and somethings may be dropped from your to-do list.
That’s okay.
You don’t need to beat yourself up if you’re not able to get everything done.
It is important to be flexible with what you’re trying to do. This is so that you can do what is going to drive the most impact.
Being intentional and flexible with your to-do list each week will ensure that you’re always working on the most important tasks.
This does not mean that you should be constantly chopping and changing your priorities. Nor should you leave things to the last minute.
Instead, you should be focusing on what will deliver value. Do not worry about some of the smaller tasks if you do not have time to finish them.
Except that somethings never need to be finished.
Step Three: Commit to Yourself and Just Do It
I first heard about this concept on the life coach school podcast with Brooke Castillo.
In the episode, called ‘Throw away your to-do list’, Brooke talks about how she is able to be super productive. One huge revelation is that she gets all of her work done between 11 and 5 pm three days a week.
This is particularly impressive seeing as she runs a multi-million dollar a year revenue company.
The technique she uses to be so productive is simple.
She maps out what she’s going to do that day and what time she’s going to do it. Then she commits to herself that that is going to be the time and then she does it.
So this sounds simple it was definitely revolutionary to me. So often I will put everything into my to-do list and then let myself off if I don’t get something done.
Committing to myself is something that I am learning to do.
However, when I have been able to commit to delivering in completing what I say I’m going to do, I am actually able to do it. Moreover, I can do it quickly.
This is definitely something that is a work in progress. However, every time I succeed in keeping the commitment to myself I get a little bit better at keeping my commitment to myself.
I encourage you to try out for yourself.
You will be amazed at how much you can get done and how quickly you can do it.
All it takes is a little bit of commitment.
Step Four: Working Within Your Zones
Do you know how some people say that they’re just not a morning person?
What others say that they get their best work done as soon as they wake up.
I believe that each of us has our own individual zones of power.
By this, I mean that each of us is uniquely programmed to work well at different things within different times. For example, I work best in the morning.
Between the hours of eight and one, I am so productive.
Honestly, sometimes I surprise myself with how much I can get done. But as soon as lunch has happened that’s it for me. I am pretty useless open till maybe four.
Then I have a panic to get everything finished at the end of the day.
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For this reason, I try and schedule all of the most important and most arduous tasks for the morning. This allows me to maximize my power zone and take advantage of when I am most productive.
Instead of trying to fight against your natural tendencies, I encourage you to instead find strength in them.
Though I realize this will not be possible for everyone, if you have the opportunity to work flexibly and use your zones – you should.
Don’t try and fight against it use it.
This is what I mean when I say working within your zones. Know yourself and be kind to your own unique way of being.
Step Five: Procrastinate the Right Way
Procrastination gets a bad rap.
However, I truly believe that a little bit of procrastination can help you gain a lot of clarity. When you need to be creative you should give your mind space to think.
Procrastination is one way of achieving this.
I am often called out as I have a procrastinator when it comes to projects. However, I have found that I work best and most effectively when given time to think about a problem first.
By going for a walk, focusing on a different task, cooking a meal having some fun with friends or catching up with your family you can get to your a-ha moment.
I can honestly say I do not know the science behind any of this.
Who among us has had that experience in the shower when suddenly you know the answer to the problem?
By procrastinating in the right way and not worrying too much about trying to dive into the problem straightaway, you can find a truly innovative solution.
Procrastination can be good time management.
When you do sit down to work you are able to complete the challenge a lot more quickly.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t an excuse to procrastinate forever.
Despite this, it’s definitely worth taking some time to think about things before you dive in.
What are you going to do to manage your time more effectively?
There are multiple ways that you can manage your time effectively.
The important thing is that you find the time management process that works for you.
The other thing to remember is that you have a little bit of faith in yourself. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get everything on your to-do list done every single day.
Know what the important tasks are. Get these tasks done by batching them out for efficiently.
Give yourself some space to really think about problems. You don’t have an immediate solution to allow yourself time to really understand them.
The five ways I have discussed here today are listed below:
- Batch working
- Be flexible
- Commitment
- Use your zones
- Procrastinate – sometimes!
Feel free to use this time management checks that have helped me in any way you see fit. If one of them doesn’t work for you then don’t use it.
The important thing is that you feel confident in your ability to get those high impact things done. Then you can move forward with your career, your side hustle, seeing your family – anything you like.
There is always time to live the life you want.
I really needed a post like this today! 😀
Author
Happy to help! 😊