Time management sounds elusive and like an impossible goal, but in this episode of Today’s Business Leaders, Lisa of Impactive Strategies and Gabe of Business Marketing Engine break down how to make time management work for you. The trick is to structure your day based on the way you work in order to be most effective.
Actionable Advice
Balancing time across various responsibilities, tasks and roles is a challenge, and there are certainly times that crossing everything off of your to-do list feels impossible. It doesn’t have to be that way. With some planning and understanding of how you work, you can set yourself up for success and take on your to-do list.
Using Biological Prime Time
Biological prime time is the time of day when you are easily able to do the most complicated tasks. This is the time when you have no trouble focusing and getting down to business. Everyone is different, so the ideal times are different, too.
Your biological prime time maybe first thing in the morning or mid-afternoon. Use your biological prime time to your advantage and work on the hard stuff when you are most effective.
Easier Said Than Done
Unexpected events or last-minute emergencies will always pop up, so it is not likely that you will be able to always count on being available during your biological prime time. Aim to keep that time slot open at least a couple days each week.
Juggle your prime time with other responsibilities, such as phone calls and email. Check out episode four of Today’s Business Leaders to learn how to integrate email into your day without it being a distraction.
Understanding Hyperfocus
Understand how you work. Do you work exclusively on one task or hop around to different tasks? Know this and schedule your tasks accordingly. Put hyperfocus to work for you if that impacts how you concentrate. If you need a big block of time to work on a project, then schedule it that way.
If you find a large block of time intimidating then take a different approach and break a project up into smaller tasks. Schedule 30 or 45 minutes to work on a task if that is the longest amount of time that you can concentrate on only one thing.
Structure Your To-Do List
Look at everything you need to do and break it up into two categories: high focus tasks and less intensive tasks. Set aside time to work on these tasks accordingly. High focus tasks should fall into your biological prime time and provide an adequate amount of time. Fit in less intensive tasks when you are available and able to work on them.
Learn More
Our next episode will explain how to prioritize tasks, so make sure to check that out. Stay up-to-date on all of the episode’s of Today’s Business Leaders and check out the BME blog for more productivity tips and tricks.
