Time Management Tips from Organizing Professionals

Time-Management is one of the most rewarding skills you can invest in, both in your personal and professional life, but what exactly is time management? Time management is the coordination of tasks and activities to maximize the effectiveness of an individual’s efforts. Essentially, time management is enabling people to get more work done in less time. Here are some useful Time-Management tips from organizing and management professionals.

Sandy Park

Tidy with Spark

Write it down.

Ever since a young age I wrote a to-do list. The act of extracting lists from my head onto a structured list on paper made perfect sense and seemed essential to getting things done. But inevitably as the lists grew more complete, my system of list making needed modification. This is when I started to group like tasks and items together. Batch processing is not a new concept, but for my note taking and list making process, it was a game changer. 

Instead of shifting from unlike tasks to another losing focus and all the economies of scale of starting over with a new task, I grouped like items together, batching them up so that I would benefit from being in the frame of mind of completing a similar task.

For example, any emails that need to be sent or read were grouped together. I would answer emails one right after the other and then move on to the next subcategory on my list of making phone calls. Grouping all calls together allowed me to knock out all the calls in one sitting. All return calls or appointments are handled together, whereas longer length calls to a friend or a family member are reserved for a later time when I could devote more time to the task at hand.

Batching up tasks on my to-do list saved a great deal of time for me and organized my day in a way that was manageable and productive.

Annmarie Gustafson

Annmarie Gustafson

Prioritize with Time Blocking.

Have you ever noticed how much harder you’ll work to fit something into your schedule if it’s something you really want to do? Chances are if you’re starting up your own business, the things you’ll tend to work on first are the fun, exciting tasks that you want to do. When it comes to the repetitive administrative tasks or projects you find boring, you’ll procrastinate doing them for as long as possible. Somehow though, it all still gets done.

The only chance we have at any semblance of work-life balance, is to decide how much time we are willing to devote to each of those things, in an ideal world, each week. Time Blocking is one of the best ways to put into perspective how much time you actually have each day to get things done. Initially, you may be surprised at how much or how little “free” time you have. You’ll begin to more closely analyze how you’re spending (or wasting) your days and figure out what should stay and what can go.

My favorite benefit of Time Blocking is that it eliminates any guilty feelings. If you tend to think, “I really should reply to that email,” or “I probably need to take a break and go play with the kids,” you’ll be freed of those pesky, interrupting thoughts. You’ll know that there is a time set aside for doing all those things, but right now, you’re working on whatever is in your current time block.

Of course there are hundreds of ways you can get started with Time Blocking. You can use an app, your digital calendar, a pencil and paper, or a simple spreadsheet.

Flavia Roman

Alter Decorum

Don’t leave  what you can do today for tomorrow.

Once I’m done utilizing an item, I put it back where it belongs. I maintain a certain organized household balance by returning all objects where they belong, and by making sure everything already has a designated place. 

I keep my bathroom vanity neat by depositing some of my skin care and dental products in the order of which will be used.  This way not only the vanity will always look organized, but also my next skin or dental routine will save me time by not having to search around for the products that I’m supposed to be using.

I prioritize based on what needs immediate attention by assessing the benefits that I might be getting from accomplishing a certain task.  Each benefit always improves a different aspect of my life.

Alexandra Kozak

Living Simply PGH

Rest.

I let myself rest. Or at least do something I want to do. Whether that’s a calling a friend or working out, it’s important to build time into your day to decompress. Most of us feel compelled to make sure our day is as productive as possible, which can lead to feelings of guilt over taking a break. But these short rest periods can help reset your focus and recharge your energy to continue to tackle your list.

Set a timer if you need to. I schedule my workouts as if they were meetings. This holds me accountable but also ensures this break is built into my day. I also use my Apple watch to remind me to stand at least once every hour. That gets me away from the computer and walking around. It helps so much to just get up and stretch.

Annie Allen

Annie The Organizer

Set a specific time for responding to emails.

 Email management. We often get side-tracked while reading and responding to emails, wasting valuable time and getting off-task.  An interesting article catches our attention, a seemingly quick response becomes a research project and before you know it, an hour or two has been lost on emails. It’s important to schedule email time each day; put it in your planner.  

When viewing email, determine what is urgent vs. important - urgent emails require immediate action whereas important emails can wait 24-48 hours or a stated deadline. If emails generate a new task or action, consult your planner and determine if/when you can complete that task; put the new task in your planner rather than dropping everything and completing it right away.  

Set an alarm five minutes before your allotted time is up, so you can begin closing down your email session and not lose track of time.  The same idea applies to managing social media accounts; schedule a specific time to connect, post, respond to all social media.

Copyright © 2020 by Janine Morales, Professional Home and Business Organizer and Certified KonMari™ Consultant in San Diego and surrounding areas.