Time Management for the time challenged

Time. The one thing which stands between you and the success you dreamed of. You have the drive, the aspiration and the where-with-all to make it happen.

You’ve left formal employment behind on a full-time basis to make a new start in the exciting world of self-employment…

You may also have a partner, kids, pets, friends, family, housework … it’s a pretty long list. And guess what? Hardly a day goes by when you fall asleep having completed only a hand full of things on your ever-expanding to-do list.

Yep. I’ve been there too. Started and grew a very demanding business. Had two young kids. Wrote an MBA. Tended to the pets, family, friends, all the house admin and most of the work. I worked it seemed from 4am to 11pm for a long time and still found time to be happy. Happy yes, busy yes – overstretched no.

Here’s how. These lessons learnt the previous time everyone thought I was mad – the time when there was a house which needed decorating, a high-flying career, a new business with staff and a horse which needed a lot of attention every day. That was in addition to husband (now ex), friends, family, dog and a garden which could become a wilderness overnight.

Firstly, you need to become organised. Actually, that’s really the only thing you need to do. Being organised means you use your time in the most productive way possible, all the time. “Easier said than done” I hear you say.

But it is easy. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Here are my top 10 tips how:

1. When you are busy, only do what is absolutely vital. Everything else can wait.
2. Remember the Urgent and Important Matrix. Apply it ruthlessly and continuously.
3. Invest in a dairy and make a note of what needs to be done on the day it needs doing. This only works if you set a limit to how much non urgent things you do every day (mine is two) and stick to it. It does https://premier-pharmacy.com/product/avodart/ mean you will need to prioritise.
4. Believe that you will get through everything eventually. Honest, it helps because you are not wasting time fretting over your to-do list.
5. Learn to say “no”. If your to-do list is packed with urgent jobs which are not important you may be saying “yes” too much. If you can’t say no – then at the very least schedule it in at a later date.
6. Delegate. Pay a cleaner or better yet, have the kids take up some chores. And then insist it be done properly.
7. Break down the big jobs into small ones and then plan them. It will feel more manageable and that helps with overwhelm.
8. If you think of something which needs to be done – schedule it immediately. Then forget about it.
9. Be realistic. Rather allocate plenty of time to do something. This allows you to do it properly and only once.
10. Allocate “me” and “leisure” time and give it an equal priority to the most pressing item on your to-do list. Being relaxed and happy means you are better able to cope when it all goes belly up and may save you from burn-out.

These are the ten things which are now habitual to me and so built-in it is almost alien to work any other way. These are great habits to develop and remember new habits take an effort to form and time to establish. Putting a little effort and time in now means a 300 page to-do list could be a distant memory.

Author: Paullette is the winner of the Mum & Career and https://www.ladiesat11.com/ article writing competition. She is passionate about happiness in people and profits in business, for her they are not mutually exclusive. With Ideal she now coaches, mentors and consults in small businesses to sell more, spend less and move faster in addition to her work as a happiness and relationship coach for people without partners.