I rarely feel that way anymore, thanks to the expert guidance of my coaches Jason and Jodi Womack with Get Momentum! And here’s the kicker, I actually get more done now too…
It turns out, there is not one simple time management hack that makes these problems disappear. Getting a grip on your time management is more nuanced and personal then a top 10 list of what the most successful people do before 10am.
We all have our own work habits, styles, needs and preferences. Managing your time more effectively so that you are maximizing your productivity requires self-awareness first and foremost. Are you truly aware of how you spend your time on a daily basis?
The first step to improving your time management is collecting and analyzing data about how you are spending your time, also known as time tracking. When I first did this exercise years ago I saw immediate results. Part of this was because I didn’t want to see that I had wasted 30 minutes on Facebook…As a result I stopped checking it as often so I wouldn’t get sucked in. And viola, I saved 30 minutes in a day!
Managing your time more effectively so that you are maximizing your productivity requires self-awareness first and foremost. Are you truly aware of how you spend your time on a daily basis?
The simple act of tracking your time is rather illuminating. So often, we let ourselves be distracted by emails, social media, interruptions, and other people’s emergencies! Collecting data about how you spend your time is important because our recollection is not as reliable as we might hope. In the moment, everything you do feels important, that’s why you do it. But is it the best use of your time? It’s only 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, you’re thinking. That adds up to a lot of wasted time!
Your journal is a great place for both tracking how you’re spending your time and reflecting on your current time management practices. When you track your time, you want to look at the big picture, like all 24 hours in the day, not just your time at work. Tracking your time in 30 minute chunks is where I recommend starting.
Here are four reflection questions to get you started on improving your time management:
How are you currently spending your 24 hours a day?
What are your top priorities for the day?
What’s good enough here?
How can you eliminate wasted time in your day?
Analyzing how you’re spending your time will help you uncover patterns of wasted time and effort. One of the things I realized from tracking my time was that I would waste an extra 30 minutes to an hour on projects then I had to. This is the perfectionist in me! The time was wasted because the gains didn’t outweigh the investment…in other words, I eliminated a lot of wasted time by learning how to stop when things are good enough instead of fixating on getting it perfect because that’s a farce anyway.
What’s Rosabella Consulting Up To?
We are gearing up for the EntrepreNerds Journaling and Time Management Workshop in April! Where we will show you how to save an hour a day and get more done with less…sound like something you could use? Early Bird Discount ends in a few days, so signup now and reserve your space!