Remember the old saying.. “If you need something done, ask a busy person to do it!” Why is that?
Well in many cases it’s simply because they are usually organised.
We all get the same allocation of time…but we don’t all use it the same way. That’s because we don’t all value it the same way.
Here are 9 Time Management Tips to help you become more effective and more productive in your day. You will start achieving more and in turn get better results. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
#1 Manage yourself better
The first thing to understand is you can’t actually manage time. The reality is you can’t stop the clock from ticking right? So, it’s all about you managing “yourself” better. If you are trying to manage your time, you are in denial. Start managing yourself and you will get better results.
The first thing to do would be to plan. Plans lead to efficiency and effectiveness, which in turn leads to productivity. If you want to be more productive in your day have a plan, think about what’s got to be done, how’s it got to be done, who’s going to get it done, what resources are needed and then put these in your plan. If you get up each day and you are thinking about how you are going to achieve your goal for that day it helps you stay on track because you’ve got a plan.
#2 Manage Interruptions
Making sure you have NO interruptions in the day is unrealistic. Making sure your entire day goes without disruptions or mistakes is unrealistic as well. Most people chalk out a huge to-do list of goals and KPI’s but the reality is, most people do not achieve everything on their list. An hour goes by very fast, it’s made up of 60 minutes.
Having a plan, and actually putting your weekly goals in your plan helps you get things done. Breaking down what you need to do each day and then working out what it would take to achieve each task on your list all whilst factoring in interruptions will help you.
#3 Prioritise with To-Do Lists
Breaking down your task list will help you with this awesome time management tip – prioritise! Work out what your key tasks are and work on them first. Here is a tip for you: There is a great book by a fellow called Brian Tracy, and it’s called Eat that Frog. In this book, he talks about getting the most difficult things out of the way in the beginning of the day.
A to do list is a vital part of being productive. If you’re not running to a daily to do list, or a task list of some sort, then the likelihood is you’re going to end up doing things out of order or at unusual times inefficiently.
#4 Remove Distractions
Distractions are a big part of why people struggle to get things done. Things like Facebook notifications, SMS’s, emails, your Email Programme – these can be a major distraction and can disrupt your focus and your day. Shut your door on your office, or go somewhere quiet if you’re working from home. Put yourself in an environment that is distraction free, and you’re going to find it much more effective and you will be able to achieve things on your to-do list.
#5 Say No
Another great tip is to learn to say no. It was Jim Rohn that said it’s when you say yes to something you’re saying no to something else. You might feel bad saying no, but you’re always saying no to something even when you say yes to doing something you shouldn’t be.
Learn how to say no and be okay with it. If something comes your way that might be a great opportunity, it might be a great idea, but if you haven’t got the time to implement it and integrate it with what you’re currently then you really need to think about whether or not you can take that task on right now.
#6 Get Organised
Technology is a great thing and there are three tools that come highly recommended.
Evernote – a great way to stay organised. Wunderlist – a cool tool to make to-do lists. Trello – a great project management app that you can use for your team. There’s lots of things out there that can help you get the job done much quicker and more efficiently. And don’t be afraid to use those things.
#7 Get more Focussed
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It’s easy to get distracted when you’re a business owner and you get all these entrepreneurial light bulb moments. You might see a great idea come through an email, or a webinar invite that is really exciting. You put an hour or so aside for the webinar, but you wrote down 12 things you really want to do. And instead of doing the next task on your to do list you jump into researching things that weren’t originally in your plan. Stay focussed on the task at hand, complete your course and then move on to the next project.
#8 Stop Multitasking
There are studies done that say women can do this better than men, and maybe that’s true. But the fact of the matter is, nobody is efficient or effective when they’re multitasking. Multitasking is something that by its very nature has built in distractions.
If you’re trying to do two things at once, the reality is you’re going to be distracted by something else.
Here’s an example that you may relate to. If you have ever been on the phone to a prospect and you are also reading emails at the same time – all of a sudden, the prospect asks your opinion on what you were talking about… What happens then?
Multitasking is really, really difficult, and it’s not something that anybody should attempt if you want to be really efficient. They’ve also done studies that says that once you’re focused on one task and get distracted, it takes up to14 minutes to get refocused. So – if you get distracted just four times in an hour you are not going to be effective or efficient.
#9 Delegate or Outsource
Many Business Owners do not delegate or outsource tasks and that is because they think they can do everything by themselves. If this sounds like you, stop! You are taking too much on.
Sometimes you do it because you don’t trust someone else to do a task as good as you. Or you think you are the best person for the job. You may not even know how to delegate, or you cannot afford to delegate.
Value your time more than your money and you’ll start a plan to delegate some of your tasks. Use some of the resources that are out there. There are plenty of local people that probably live around you that would like some part time work. And if you’ve got employees you really have no excuses, you should be delegating some of these things out and getting your employees to do the things that you shouldn’t be doing.
If you want 25 awesome tips, tools and resources to help you manage yourself better then grab a copy of this cheat sheet below. It is a great resource that will save you hours in your day. Being busy is not valuable at all – being productive is.
