7 Time Management Basics

1. Plan Your Day

• • Getting Out Of Overwhelm and Decision Fatigue will set the stage to make a list of everything you have to do every day
  • Prioritize the list into A’s, B’s, and C’s
  • Do the most important things first, the second most important things second, the third things third

2.  Do Your ABC’s

• • A’s are the things that you must do today
  • B’s are the things that you would like to do today
  • C’s are the things that are not essential for you to do today

3. Check-in every 15 minutes
   To make sure that you are on track, every 15 minutes ask yourself; “Is what I am doing right now taking action towards the intended outcome of my goal?”

• • Some people go so far as to set an alarm on their watch or computer to keep them on track.
  • If the answer to the question is no then;
    • Stop doing it
    • Find someone else to do it
    • Record it on a list to schedule for future action
    • Forget it

4. Form The Habit Of Allowing 5 to 15 Minutes To Review Your To-Do List

They say it takes 21 days to break a bad habit.  What if, for the next 21 days, you formed the habit of allowing yourself 5 to 15 minutes at the beginning of your day, every single day, to review your list – add to it, subtract from it, and re-prioritize it?

Dedicate 5 to 15 minutes to;

• • Make your to-do list
  • Prioritize it into A’s, B’s, and C’s
  • Estimate the time to complete each to-do
  • Schedule the to-do in your diary
  • Complete the to-do.

5. Use A Week At A Glance 24/7 Diary

For me personally, I find that I like to be able to view my schedule for the entire week.  All I have to do is review my to-do list, prioritize it, estimate the time and schedule the time into my Week At A Glance 24/7 Diary.  I have attached an example page for you to look at;  Week At A Glance 24/7 Worksheet.

6. Start Time Blocking

With your newfound time awareness in mind and taking your priority activities into consideration, start to schedule your major activities into the highest energy, productive parts of your day.  For me, early mornings are my best and that is when I write my e-newsletter.  Take a look at all the similar activities that you do and group them into time blocks.  For me the e-newsletter falls into the category of writing so this includes;  web site edits and additions, e-newsletters, blogs, and product development.  You can start to time block your e-mails and phone time together.  What about errands?  How about meetings so that you block them into a time when you are out of the office.  What about e-mailing people that you have to have a meeting with and requesting a telephone meeting and letting them know that you can talk with them on the phone at either 3 pm or 5 pm?  The key here is that you will be empowered because you will be in charge of your time.

7. Time Block Free, Buffer & Focus Days

Some say that Dan Sullivan from Strategic Coach invented Free, Buffer & Focus Days, some say that Wayne Cotton from Cotton Systems invented Free, Buffer & Focus Days and some say that Free, Buffer & Focus Days are from the Bible.

I’ve been using Free, Buffer & Focus Days for years.

• • Free Days – time off/not working
  • Buffer Days – working on the business, no client appointments
  • Focus Days – working in the business, client appointments

In the past;

• • My weeks #1 and #3 have Monday as a Buffer Day working on business leadership and management and Tuesday – Friday as Focus Days for client appointments. Please see the image below, click to enlarge it.
  • My weeks #2 and #4 have Monday as a Buffer Day working on business leadership and management, Tuesday – Wednesday as Buffer Days working on the creation of articles & speaking presentations and Thursday – Friday as Focus Days for client appointments.
  • My Focus Days for client appointments time slots have been 7am, 8:15am, 9:30am, 10:45am, 1:15pm, 2:30pm and 3:45pm.
  • Over the last couple of years, I’ve dropped the 7 am slot.

I recently read The One Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan.  Here is what I learned / what I’m going to implement from The One Thing;

• • Schedule 10 consecutive Free Days in a row two-three times a year
  • Commit to The One Thing by asking; What’s the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
  • My One Thing is to create sustainable systems to fill our 2017 – 2020 speaking calendar
  • Remember that my strongest energy for The One Thing is in the morning
  • Maintain Mondays as Buffer Days working on business leadership and management
  • Eliminate Buffer Days working on the creation of articles & speaking presentations
  • Schedule my Focus Days for client appointments time slots starting with 3:45 pm and so on; 2:30 pm, 1:15 pm, 10:45 am.