6 Time Management Strategies

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Time Management and planning can sound so daunting and if it’s not daunting it sounds boring. Just keep in mind how much better you’ll feel when you know what you’re trying to do day in and day out!

Someone once told me a smart person would spend half an hour doing something now that would save them 2 of more hours later, and think about it, getting quadruplet return on your time is pretty awesome.

Planning, even the basic, just learning kind, WILL save you tons of time through your week. But you won’t just get time, you’ll get more energy too! Yay time management!

There is something motivational about having a plan to execute that makes you want to get it all done. The thing is most of us don’t get that feeling since we rarely create a plan for ourselves.

But if we do we’ll get back all the energy that we would have spent stressing about when/what we’re are supposed to be doing since it’s written down.

To reap the rewards of some simple planning, keep reading to get 6 basic time management tips.

1. Sit down to plan once a week

Start with sitting down at some point over the weekend for half an hour (I like Sunday around 8pm… maybe with wine or another beverage of your choosing :p) with your notebook/planner/journal. Just the act of getting yourself looking at your planner will be a good start!

2. Start with Daily

It’s Tuesday when you’re reading this and you’re thinking that Saturday is so far away, or maybe you’re a bit of a short-term thinker, just start with today. Is there any Must Do’s today? Write it down. Is there something you really want to accomplish today? Break it into its parts and add boxes to check off as you go. Boxes feel oh so good to check.

3. Start with a list

People are not scared of the dark, they’re scared of the unknown. That’s what’s so darn daunting about planning and time management too. We just don’t know what to start with or what’s important. So start with a list. We can all make one of those! Just write down anything that comes to mind that you’ll have to do at some point in the coming week.

Grocery shop, take out trash, attend birthday party, finish project, etc…. After you’ve written out your list you can leave it as is, or you can sort it by deadlines (Trash goes out Wednesday, project due Thursday at 12pm…). If you’re sorting it, you can rewrite it under daily headings to make it easier to read or you can add it to your calendar, digital or analog.

4. Set a Goal

Another way to motivate yourself is to have something you really want to do then work backwards into what it’ll take to accomplish it. By adding these tasks into your plan you’ll have a clear path to success. A clear path means more success, faster. Who doesn’t like that?

5. Make it Fun

Your planner doesn’t have to be this boring, rigid, stuffy thing.

If you’re a visual person add stars to the priorities, colour code things into categories so you can see your overview at a glance. Doodle or write a quote so that your plan will make you smile. Time management doesn’t have to be boring. And the more exciting it is the more likely you are to pay attention and use it. 

Check out my post on  how to choose a planner here

6. Keep it within Reach

Once you have your plan, work it. The point is not to memorize your plan (that takes up brain space) so keep it close by so you can refer to it. If you have a desk you work at, keep it there. If you’re at home put it on the fridge or by the front door, or on the bathroom mirror, anywhere you’ll see it and get reminded about what you need to be doing.

BONUS!

Avoid scheduling ALL of your time minute for minute. Time management DOES NOT mean managing all of your time. If you do, you will ensure you fail. You’ll fail since something is bound to come up and if anything gets thrown off you’ll have no room for adjusting or adapting your plan.

Instead of this approach, try to schedule the things that you need to be present for only e(x. an appointment) then list a few things inside a time frame what you want to do. 8-10am – workout, shower, get ready, eat as opposed to 8am- wake up, 8:10- start workout, 9- shower, 9:15 – get ready, 9:45- eat 10- leave house. That way if you change the order or miss something you can adjust without failing miserably. This does wonders for your sense of accomplishment!