Whether or not you manage your time the Internet is filled with rabbit holes ready to grab you by the ankles and not let go. You may end up going down one and not emerging for the entire day. This can happen to the best of us. You’re on Pinterest, looking at shoes, and suddenly it’s 5:00! How did that happen? There are lots of shoes and shiny objects on Pinterest, and it happens. So how do you manage your time and what happens if you do? Here are some ideas.
Smarter, Not Harder
We’ve heard about working smarter not harder, but how many of us do the opposite? Here it is the end of the day, and you’re working on something that should’ve been done in the morning. Ugh. For me sometimes the important items (like blog writing) get pushed to the end of the day when I’m most tired. It’s hard to think creatively when you’re exhausted! In his article on Inc., Work Smarter, Not Harder: 10 Ways to Be More Effective at Work, says to “keep your to-to-lists lean and mean by only focusing on your 3 to 5 most urgent, important, and challenging tasks for the day, aka your Most Important Task (MIT).” And if you do at least one of them in the morning, it’s much more likely to get done.
Photo by NathalieSt 
Read Articles about Time Management
There are so many places now to find articles and podcasts about time management. Inc. Magazine has a list of 10 podcasts that will help boost your productivity. Also, you may find a few ideas to help you with time management here:
- Time Management for Baby Boomers: Managing Social Media
- Time Management for the Tired and Frazzled
- Social Media: Time Management for Busy Entrepreneurs
Work in Batches
Do group all your similar tasks together to make it easier. For instance, I first check email in the morning, then do my Twitter. Next comes Facebook.
Outsource, Outsource, Outsource
I say this a lot, but if you’re not good at something, or don’t like doing it, it’s unlikely to get done! Outsourcing will give you energy to focus on your most important tasks.
Plan the Night Before
The times I’m most productive are when I can write out my entire schedule the night before. This really helps if it’s a busy or stressful time. Even five minutes spent planning your day can be helpful. When you write things down, you might think of more things you need to do! And then you get to check them off your to-do list (it’s exciting!).
Find Nirvana
Maybe not literally. But you’re most likely to be happier and less stressed if you can manage your time. Do you have a particular system you like? Tell me about it! And thank you.
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