Time management is one of the most important skills for entrepreneurs and high-performing business professionals. At the heart of it, it really isn’t a skill as much as it is a necessity for success.
Many high-performing business professionals have continuously attributed their successes to being able to manage their time appropriately and consistently.
When looking closely at time management, it boils down to managing yourself and your activities efficiently. This has a huge effect on your overall success and accelerating your results.
In your business, the best management techniques that work for others may not work for you. That is why you have to find what uniquely suits you and apply it.
The bottom line still remains the same. When your time is managed effectively, your outcomes are stemmed from how you work, how you manage distractions around you, and how you focus and concentrate on your high payoff activities.
Since we all have the same 24 hours every day, how you manage your time directly impacts the results you gain at the end of your business year.
The question you need to ask is: How can I manage my time even more effectively to reap the benefits of achieving my goals in the timeframe I set?
Let’s review five techniques to help you manage your time even more effectively.
1. Keep a To-Do List / Prioritized Action List (PAL)
A to-do list is one of the simplest and most common time management techniques in the world. To-do lists have been ingrained in many lives right from a young age.
This is because to-do lists serve as a central location for imputing everything you need to accomplish in a day. To-do lists serve as one powerful time management tool because they let you be productive by being intentional about what you need to achieve in an outlined time slot.
When you are intentional by keeping a to-do list, you can divide each task into tasks that can be completed in 5 minutes or less, in 10 minutes, or in longer time slots. Keeping to-do lists also helps you plan your time blocks more easily.
The availability of many online to-do lists can help you manage your time effectively. Pick one that works best for you, your team members, and your business. Your to-do list can be in Outlook, your CRM, https://todoist.com/, https://workflowy.com/, or a simple spreadsheet like my Prioritized Action List. You have options.
To download my simple Prioritized Action List (PAL) excel spreadsheet that everyone in your office can use, go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/pal-sample/.
2. Prioritize All of Your Tasks
When you have listed everything you need to accomplish during the day, you should sit still and prioritize your tasks based on their level of importance.
More in-depth activities like meetings with clients, important business meetings, marketing meetings, and team updates can be organized, depending on their urgency and level of relevance to you making progress on your firm’s goals, and your personal goals as well.
Other less important tasks can be ranked at the bottom of the list. Ensure that these “bottom” tasks are handled at the end of every day. Otherwise, they can constitute a greater problem that will affect business activities and relations in the upcoming days, weeks, and months. If at all possible, delegate as many of these tasks as possible to a team member (virtual or in your office).
3. Manage Distractions Appropriately
The one constant thing is change. And in business, changes can occur regularly and without warning. What this means is that you can be continuously distracted by the many business activities around you.
When managing your time effectively, it is important to be focused on the tasks you have at hand. By prioritizing, you are able to see which tasks need your instant attention and align your focus to those tasks.
While some distractions are easy to identify, others are not easy to spot and may waste valuable hours. This is why being able to delegate is a valuable skill for all business owners everywhere.
When you delegate, you can reduce many distractions by letting a capable person handle these tasks while you focus on the more important tasks that only can be done by you.
Download my Free Delegation Exercise to help you identify more activities to delegate, because I’m sure you have more tasks you can delegate, by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/delegation-list-sample/.
4. Use Time Blocks to Maintain Structure
Structuring your work hours cannot be over-emphasized. After your to-do list and prioritizing that list, it is important to structure your daily tasks. This is where time blocks help you to maximize your very valuable time.
Time blocking works by sectioning each task into specific minutes or hours of the day, depending on their volume, importance, and relevance.
Time blocks are effective for time management because they help you concentrate your focus on a particular task at a particular time slot during the day. By using time blocks, you can complete many tasks because you have dedicated sections of the day to complete each task.
Time blocks are useful tools in creating structure and accomplishing tasks that require in-depth attention. Setting recurring time blocks helps you to plan for what you regularly intend to happen. For example, calling prospects, meetings with support team members, checking email, etc. can all be recurring time blocks. Then you can easily move the recurring time blocks as you need to instead of typing them in each week. This is more time efficient.
Did you know that some of the most productive people in the world swear by time blocking? Ever heard of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Michael Hyatt, or Cal Newport? Yep – all time-blockers. They’re squeezing every drop of productivity from their days, and so can you.
For more on time blocking, go to https://bit.ly/Time_Blocking.
5. Track Your Time
While managing your time effectively, it is important to study how much time you spend on each task. Time management doesn’t focus only on managing your time effectively. It also takes into perspective how your time is managed.
When you track the time spent on each task, you can formulate better plans that account for the same task next time. This will help you function at a more optimal speed.
To download my complimentary Time Log Exercise and help you and your team members be even more time efficient, so you are in a higher probability position to achieve your goals, go to: https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/time-log/. Simple instructions come with the exercise to help you know how to complete the time log.
When thinking of the most effective techniques to manage your time, think about improved ways to account for and utilize the time you spend on your activities every day. Make use of time management apps, time trackers, calendars, and many online to-do lists to help you manage your time effectively.
For more help being even more time efficient, so you can create your ideal business and ideal life, reach out to me today to schedule your complimentary consultation.
Aim for what you want each and every day!
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As an experienced accountability coach and author of 5 books, I help business professionals make more money, work less, and enjoy even better work life balance.
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Author of Excuses Don’t Count; Results Rule, Live Life with No Regrets, No Excuses, and the Work Life Balance Emergency Kit, The Roadmap To Success with Stephen Covey and Ken Blanchard, and more.