In my last post, I gave you the scoop on one of my most effective time management tools. I was pleasantly surprised by how many people downloaded the free template, and think it’s fair to say that time management is something many of us are struggling with!
Today I want to take things a step further, and share on four additional tools and techniques, that have helped me to master my time, and boss up on my productivity game.
Let’s get straight to it.
1 – Time Log
The first task that I would recommend anyone who wants to get serious about time management do, is Time Logging. This is where you keep a written record of how you currently spend your time.
Just before I sat down with my husband and created my time management schedule, I logged how I spent my time for the duration of one week. Before starting any activity e.g. checking my emails, getting ready for work, phone calls, I would make note of the time I started each activity, and then once completed, the time I finished each activity. This exercise was a serious eye opener, and exposed how much time I was wasting on meaningless and unproductive things. Imagine, in that one week alone I spent over 6 hours on social media, watching videos or browsing through photos. If that’s not time wasting I don’t know what is!
2 – Create a Time Management Schedule
If you haven’t checked out my previous post, you should! I share how Mr K a.k.a Hubby, helped me to do a complete 360 by creating this bomb time management schedule. Plus there’s a free copy here for you to download too!
3 – Outsource!
One of my favourite Social Media personalities Myleik Teele, hits the nail on the head with this tip. ‘You have to learn the value of your time’. A few months after getting married I decided to hire a Cleaner. Not because I’m lazy and don’t know how to clean, but because I’d rather spend those 2 hours of cleaning a week, doing something more productive. If there are tasks that are eating into your time, that can easily be outsourced at a reasonable price, why not consider outsourcing them?
Tasks you can outsource
Cleaning
Food Shopping (Order it online!)
Meal Prep to avoid daily cooking
Laundry/Ironing etc.
4 – Learn How To Say ’No’
Creating boundaries with your time is a no brainer when it comes to better time management. It’s something I know many people struggle with. *Waving at my ‘People Pleasers’ – I see you!*
The truth is, the more you agree to do things for other people, the less time you’ll have for yourself. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be philanthropical, I’m all about giving, but more so that you shouldn’t spread yourself too thin.
“What you don’t do determines what you can do.” – Tim Ferriss
Checkout this chart that does a great job at helping you to decide which tasks to say ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ to!
5 – Use your Mornings
Mornings are an excellent time to get things done, and usually when you’ll have more energy. I personally like to wake up at 5:30am or 6:00am whilst hubby is still sleeping, to accomplish at least one major task on my to do list or schedule. There are fewer distractions in the morning ,and it feels so good to be productive even before the day has really started.
So that’s it for my 5 tips! I go into much more detail in my latest video, so if you want all the details on exactly how I stay productive, be sure to check it out.
