We all know that it’s important to have time management strategies in place for a successful business.
But sometimes it’s hard to know what to do and where to even begin.
I believe that there’s no “one size fits all” time management strategy. You have to know what works for you.
What strategy will keep you motivated?
Is there one strategy that speaks your language? Or maybe two? You may even find that a combination of several works best for you.
10 Time Management Strategies
Recently I posted a question in a Facebook business group asking for strategies others use to manage their time. As you can imagine, I got varied responses.
- Plan. This looks different for everyone. Personally, this is my favorite. Towards the end of a week, I begin to make a list of tasks I want to accomplish the following week. Then I prioritize those tasks. Next, I assign each task to a day of the week depending on when it’s due. When the next week begins, I already have a rough idea of what my week will look like. At the end of each of those days, I evaluate what I got done and move anything I didn’t finish to the next day. Each new day when I sit down to work, I already have my task list for that day laid out in front of me.
- Prioritize. First, make a list of the top 3 things that need to get done that day. Then remove yourself from any distractions and tackle your list until you finish.
- Identify When You Work Best. Because we all are created differently, we all have different times of the day in which we are most productive. It is during those times that you should schedule power working sessions. I am most productive in the early morning hours when the house is quiet and my brain is fresh.
- Turn Off Phone/Social Media. We all know how distracting our phones can be. And Facebook. How many times has a quick peek turned into an hour long session?!?! Power it off. Put it in another room. Do whatever it takes to remove your phone and social media from your presence.
- Email. Don’t check your email until after you look at your task list for that day. Set times throughout the day to check email. Believe it or not, your email can be a huge distraction from the things you need to get done. Finally, when you look at your email, begin the process of unsubscribing to the email lists that are no longer serving you.
- Time Blocking/Batching. These are terms that have a lot of buzz around them lately. With this method, you basically plan to work on specific tasks for large periods of times. So, for example, let’s say you have five blog posts that need to be written. Instead of writing one each week, you’d pick one day to write all five.
- Prep/Plan On The Weekend. Take care of the groceries, cooking, and cleaning on the weekend so you can focus on your business during the week. While this is nearly impossible to do 100% of the time, especially if you still have kids in the house, do what you can.
- Plan Your Day Around Household Needs. This one is great for moms with kids. Establish routines in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Once kids are settled doing an activity, use that quiet time to complete tasks.
- Self-Care. We hear a lot about self-care, especially if you’re a female entrepreneur. While I am all for serving and taking care of our families and business, it is important for you to be able to step away for a bit. You will be refreshed and renewed. For you, this may mean taking a walk, or reading a good book, or meditating to clear your mind. Whatever works for you, do it. And don’t feel guilty about it. Your business and family will be better off because you took time for yourself.
- Read, Work, Clean. This suggestion was given to me by someone in my Facebook group. She found it difficult to grow in her business because she didn’t have time to read business-related books. So she made reading a priority in her day. After she reads, she works on her business, and then cleans her house.
Where Do I Begin?
The list above does not exhaust the many time management strategies possible. There is not one strategy that will work for everyone.
My suggestion is to go through the list above and find a strategy that appeals to you.
Start today to put the strategy into place.
It won’t be easy. It won’t happen overnight.
The longer you stick with the strategy, the better you’ll get. Likewise, you’ll find areas to tweak it so it works more specifically for you and your situation.
And if the one you pick doesn’t work, pick another one. Don’t stop until you find one that works. You’ve got this!
