Top Time Management Tips to become a Productivity Wizard

How have you spent your time this year? Have you been as productive as you could have been? Considering the year it has been, I think if you have managed to avoid a wine-fuelled daily Netflix marathon as you've watched the world descend into untold chaos, then you deserve a pat on the back. Even if this is all you've managed this year, then now is the time to forgive, forget & move on. Let's look to what the future can hold & let me take you through my top tips to productivity wizardry this October.

Autumn has begun knocking on our doors as we mourn the loss of those long hot (well warmish, this is the UK!) summer nights. Shops have started to pedal their Christmas wares & children have their eyes firmly set on the vast amounts of sweets they will attempt to consume on Halloween.

We are more focussed than ever on reaching the end of this year because, well, what a year and I think we will ALL be happy to see the end of 2020. Traditionally, the last quarter of the year is often a point of reflection on our performance over the previous 9-months with a heavy focus on Q1 of the incoming year.

Even if you aren't ready yet to untangle the web of doom that you may have found yourself in, these tips are small & actionable so that you can take steps towards getting your time management firmly under control.

Here are my top tips for managing your time

1. Work out when you produce your best work. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

2. Organise your perfect day. Create yourself a new calendar & name it "My Perfect Week". Then schedule everything; what time you will get up? What time will you workout? What time will you eat meals? What time will you go to bed? Schedule everything in a way that is realistic & ideal.

3. Batch your work blocks. Within your perfect day, you should have scheduled time blocks for working. Now, within those blocks, batch the same tasks together. Check emails, make phone calls, plan meetings, complete marketing tasks etc.

4. Make a list. Brain dump everything in your head down on to paper. If it flys into your head, then get it on the list.

5. Organise your list. Start by separating tasks between business/work tasks & family/personal tasks.

6. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritise your tasks. This is a simple & quick way to analyse your tasks.

7. Use task management software. Input your finished lists into a task management platform like Asana or Trello.

8. Set time limits for each task & deadlines to complete them.

9. Block out distractions; turn off phone notifications, focus your inbox. Some laptops offer focused working where they will automatically divert or silence everything for a period set by you. It is the best way to get your head down and plough through.

10. Break large projects into smaller tasks. Aim to complete projects in stages & small tasks. It will help avoid burnout & give you a better sense of completion & achievement.

11. Always take organised notes, preferably in a digital format. I like to use OneNote for all my notes. I can have the app on my phone & the app on my desktop. I can also share my notebooks with those that need to collaborate with me. It will help you to avoid scrapping around for the information you wrote down last week, that you haven't the foggiest where it now is!

12. File things where you can easily find them. Get as much uploaded into a digital format & store with consistent naming convention in a well-ordered hierarchy. I like to use Dropbox. There are many other alternative file storage apps you can use like OneDrive, Google Drive & Box.

13. Automate everything. Are you improving your efficiency by cutting down the time spent doing repetitive tasks? Invest in setting up a CRM for your business that will automate tasks like sending invoices, getting contracts signed & sending emails.

14. Outsource! Many top entrepreneurs only achieved what they have achieved so far, by recognising the need for outsourcing. You can't do it all & your time should focus on income-generating activities. Start by working out your hourly rate. Let's say it's £50 per hour. Now look for tasks that you repeatedly do. What could you delegate to someone else? If you're spending 2 hours a week cleaning your home & this is stressing you out because it is taking you away from important work in your business, then outsource to a cleaner. In the 2 hours that you could earn £100, you could have paid a cleaner £26 & not had to come within 10 feet of a mop & bucket. It's a win-win situation. It is especially true for many business tasks that you are still trying to get done each week. Remember there are only 24 hours in each day & you can't do it all! Virtuella is the perfect partner to your business & we can help you reclaim hours of your time.

I hope these tips can help to bring your time management skills back into check. If you know of anyone who might benefit from reading this, then remember, sharing is caring. Let me know in the comments what you do to manage your time.