How To Plan Your Time Effectively

As small business owners, our time is often stretched thin between all the things we must do. So, with all the four-day weeks this month, it can leave some of us wondering just?how?we’re going to get everything done.

Time to put those time management skills to good use!

Productivity is what drives any successful business. Whether you use time management techniques, such as Time Boxing and Pomodoro, or make lists and use time-saving apps and systems, it’s all about setting priorities early and being realistic with your time.

So, let’s use our time wisely this May so that we can enjoy those extra days off,?stress-free!?

Here are my top tips and techniques for managing your time effectively:

?? Apps and Platforms

With our varied workload and wide-ranging variety of clients, my team and I are always looking for the most efficient ways of doing things – especially ones which keep costs low. Here are a few of our favourite apps and platforms which we could not live without:

• Asana?– a work management app that allows us to add tasks (for the entire team!), stay on schedule and hit our deadlines.
• Toggl Track?– a time-clocking app that lets us track time spent on tasks, which helps to improve productivity and bill our clients efficiently.
• Postoplan?– a social post planner and calendar that lets us manage all our social networks from one place and save a lot of time when scheduling content for our clients.?
• Google Drive?– a file-sharing platform that allows us to quickly and easily share content with each other, and our clients.
• Canva?– a graphic design website that allows us to create visual content in a simple way, and share the design link with our clients, so that they can give us feedback or make quick edits if they wish.

Do you have any other time-saving apps and platforms you use? We love to find new ways of working!?

?? Email Management

Emails are still very much the backbone of our everyday communications, which probably means that your inbox could be looking a little bit worse for wear these days – especially if you’ve had a busy period at work.

Here are a few tips on how to manage your inbox and ultimately save time when it comes to communicating:

• Unsubscribe?– Unless you read the content, or need it for later use, unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters. Otherwise, you waste time by deleting it every time it comes in, or skim-reading something that doesn’t benefit you.
• Create?– Use folders, so you can file away important emails and find them easily. Whether they’re personal emails, payslips, invoices, client information… make as many as you need and keep them updated regularly.
• Review?– Before you log off for the day, look at your inbox. Things that need to be actioned, put on a list for the following day. File things away that you’ve already read and need to save in those fancy new folders you’ve made. Delete anything you don’t need. A clean inbox = a clean mind!
• Design?– Set up email templates for emails that you send regularly, such as invoices or onboarding emails. That way, you can add relevant attachments in moments and send the email without having to write everything out every single time.

? Time Management Techniques

If a big deadline is looming and you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, or the shorter working weeks this month means you have less time to complete things you do regularly, try these time management techniques and find which one works for you:?

?? Pomodoro Technique?– Focus on 25 minutes of work, then take a 5-minute break. Repeat this 4 times and take a 15-minute break. Following this pattern allows you to keep your mind fresh and focused on the task. Work like this for a week to truly start to master it. There are free Pomodoro apps available on mobile devices to help you along.

???Eat That Frog!?– Designed to stop you from procrastinating the big tasks, Mark Twain says: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day”. If you have more than one frog to eat, go for the ugliest first.

???Time Boxing?– Time boxing is simply fixing a time period to work on a task or group of tasks. If you are procrastinating a task, don’t try to complete it, time box it – allow a set period to get some done. If you have a series of little, annoying tasks, set a time slot to get several of them done. Time boxing works if you are an expert in perfectionism. If you consistently carry on with tasks, redoing them over and over, and wonder where all your time goes, then time boxing is for you –?you?set the deadline.

???Pareto Principle?– Also known as the 80/20 rule, the rule states that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80% of your life. So, if you have a to-do list of 10 items, 2 will turn out to be worth as much as the other 8 put together. Use this to work out which big projects you should spend your valuable time on.

?? Making Lists?

Lists are great, especially if you're struggling with procrastination, as they are rewarding to make and complete. Made a list? Brilliant! Crossed something off your list? Amazing! Completed your list? Even better!

Using a list is a great way to clear your mind and help boost motivation and productivity. Have a list for everything: work, home, films to watch, presents to buy, ideas for holidays, etc. Use good old pen and paper, or an app if you’re more technologically minded – whichever works for you – but make sure you stick to it.

It also helps to start a new list over each day, so you don’t feel guilty for leaving things unfinished. It happens!

In Summary...

Time management is a very personal thing – what works for one person won’t work for someone else. That’s why it’s important to find what works for?you.

Whether you’re a fan of the old-fashioned pen and paper lists, or you want to give Mark Twain’s advice a go and “eat a frog” (metaphorically, of course!), if you plan, prioritise and pace yourself, you’ll boost your productivity and have plenty to time to get all your work tasks done, so you can enjoy a well-deserved break during the May bank holiday weekends.

If you do need some help with your workload, or advice on how to plan your time effectively, give the?Pink Team?a call. After all, outsourcing can be the greatest time management technique to save your valuable time and get better results from someone with better knowledge and expertise of certain tasks – so you can focus on the things you’re good at.

Get in touch for a free?Discovery Call?and Make Marketing Easy ??