Get the Most Out of Your Week With These 6 Top Tips
Do you feel like you are spinning your wheels and not getting the important things done and is this starting to stress you out? Many people feel like this much of the time, as most of us could agree information comes at us at high speed and many demands are made on our time and resources.
This goes for just about everyone, from busy mom's to busy business owners alike.
Here are 6 tips to help with planning time better and get more out of your busy week.
1.
Get up early.
Remember the old saying "early to bed, early to rise"? Well I find that for me I enjoy getting up before my fiancé as I can quietly work on tasks alone for an hour or so, and get a good jump start to my day.
I can also take a few moments to get prepared for whatever I need to do that day.
2.
Use the time matrix to stay on top of priorities.
My gift of the Tiger Tables, which is based on the Time Matrix concept, that I give to everyone in my Tidy Times community is a tool I use myself much of the time, especially when I feel I have more on my plate than I can handle.
Sometimes I just use a blank sheet of paper to make my list using the matrix concept, showing you it doesn't have to be pretty to be effective.
If you struggle to know what to do next because there are so many things you have going try using this regularly and see how much clearer your priorities become.
Find a copy at my business website home page, by signing up for my newsletter, or just Google 'Time Matrix' and you'll get something similar.
3.
Use Sunday night as a time to strategize.
Spend about 15-30 minutes on Sunday night to look over your appointments and tasks for the coming week.
Perhaps book the time with your significant other too so you are both aware of what is going to be happening in the week and can find solutions together should any conflicts in timing arise.
4.
Get realistic about time and block what you need.
The funny thing about time is how our perception can be skewed about how longs things will actually take us.
If it's something we enjoy we tend to think we can do it faster and not block enough time, and if it's something we hate we think it will take to long and may put it off.
When planning your tasks try to think of how long each step of the task will take and don't forget to account or interruptions.
Giving yourself a buffer will give you room to breath and if you do find you finish the task early you can always work on something extra in between times.
5.
Use a timer to stay on track.
Sometimes I can get so involved in something I just can't break away.
If I know I can push off something else that is not a priority I don't sweat it too much yet if I really need to be careful about getting to the next task or appointment on time I break out the good old egg timer from the kitchen.
This handy little device has saved me from myself on many occasions, not to mention how helpful it has been from preventing me from burning my food as well.
6.
Group errands and like tasks together.
Like with objects, grouping like things together makes good sense.
So rather than running out for this today and that tomorrow, work your errands around so that you can get more done in less time.
As they say "Kill two birds with one stone".
Oh gees, I hope I don't get into hot water with fellow animal lovers over that one.
It is after all just a figure of speech.
For example when I know I will be in a certain part of town for work during the week I plan a visit to shops on that route for my needs in the upcoming week or days after.
So now that you have these 6 tips I have shared with you may be thinking that you have some great ones to share also.
If you wish to share your time management strategies that work for you I would love to hear them and I'll bet so would the rest of my readers.
Send your suggestions in 500 words or less, how they work for you in your life and in your business and perhaps they will show up in a Time Management issue of Tidy Times too.
This goes for just about everyone, from busy mom's to busy business owners alike.
Here are 6 tips to help with planning time better and get more out of your busy week.
1.
Get up early.
Remember the old saying "early to bed, early to rise"? Well I find that for me I enjoy getting up before my fiancé as I can quietly work on tasks alone for an hour or so, and get a good jump start to my day.
I can also take a few moments to get prepared for whatever I need to do that day.
2.
Use the time matrix to stay on top of priorities.
My gift of the Tiger Tables, which is based on the Time Matrix concept, that I give to everyone in my Tidy Times community is a tool I use myself much of the time, especially when I feel I have more on my plate than I can handle.
Sometimes I just use a blank sheet of paper to make my list using the matrix concept, showing you it doesn't have to be pretty to be effective.
If you struggle to know what to do next because there are so many things you have going try using this regularly and see how much clearer your priorities become.
Find a copy at my business website home page, by signing up for my newsletter, or just Google 'Time Matrix' and you'll get something similar.
3.
Use Sunday night as a time to strategize.
Spend about 15-30 minutes on Sunday night to look over your appointments and tasks for the coming week.
Perhaps book the time with your significant other too so you are both aware of what is going to be happening in the week and can find solutions together should any conflicts in timing arise.
4.
Get realistic about time and block what you need.
The funny thing about time is how our perception can be skewed about how longs things will actually take us.
If it's something we enjoy we tend to think we can do it faster and not block enough time, and if it's something we hate we think it will take to long and may put it off.
When planning your tasks try to think of how long each step of the task will take and don't forget to account or interruptions.
Giving yourself a buffer will give you room to breath and if you do find you finish the task early you can always work on something extra in between times.
5.
Use a timer to stay on track.
Sometimes I can get so involved in something I just can't break away.
If I know I can push off something else that is not a priority I don't sweat it too much yet if I really need to be careful about getting to the next task or appointment on time I break out the good old egg timer from the kitchen.
This handy little device has saved me from myself on many occasions, not to mention how helpful it has been from preventing me from burning my food as well.
6.
Group errands and like tasks together.
Like with objects, grouping like things together makes good sense.
So rather than running out for this today and that tomorrow, work your errands around so that you can get more done in less time.
As they say "Kill two birds with one stone".
Oh gees, I hope I don't get into hot water with fellow animal lovers over that one.
It is after all just a figure of speech.
For example when I know I will be in a certain part of town for work during the week I plan a visit to shops on that route for my needs in the upcoming week or days after.
So now that you have these 6 tips I have shared with you may be thinking that you have some great ones to share also.
If you wish to share your time management strategies that work for you I would love to hear them and I'll bet so would the rest of my readers.
Send your suggestions in 500 words or less, how they work for you in your life and in your business and perhaps they will show up in a Time Management issue of Tidy Times too.
