Do you ever feel like you're running out of time? How you manage your time directly affects the success of your dream business launch. That's why what you are about to learn and implement is vital to your success.
I know running out of time is the biggest thing that holds new entrepreneurs back. I get it! Previously I was juggling a day job, a night job and growing my business on the side. Implementing the 7 simple strategies in this guide was the only reason that I was able to launch my dream business with very limited time in my day.
Stop feeling like you're running out of time. Just take one step per day and your time and productivity will be on track by next week! You got this! Let's not waste any more time! Get started now!
1.Categorize
It's important to remember that YOU are in in charge of your calendar. Your calendar doesn't control you.
Over and over again I hear my clients say they are overwhelmed by their calendars. I want you to take back control of your calendar TODAY. I want YOU to be in the driver's seat of your calendar. Your time is precious. Every hour of everyday I want you to control each minute that happens. I want you to be very aware of how you spend your time and where you might be wasting time.
I want you to block out your time in your calendar this week into these three categories.
Category 1: Focus Time. This is when you focus on big vision items, income goals and revenue producing tasks such as sales calls, product creation or working on a sales page. This time will move your career or business forward and you want to block out time for this in your calendar. What tasks in your week require focus time?
Category 2: Administrative Time. These are items you just have to do whether you like them or not but they don't necessarily focus on the big picture of your business and don't always lead to quick successes and income. Examples of admin time are email management, calendar management and social media. What tasks in your week require focus time?
Category 3: Sacred Time. These are items that are truly sacred to you and you want to make more time for them. These are the blocks in your schedule that you don't mess with. What tasks in your week require sacred time?
Day 2: Batch
Did you know that every time you are distracted, it takes 15 minutes to regain complete focus again?
Batching is when you group similar tasks into blocks of time. During this time you have no interruptions or distractions. You can maximize your concentration and really focus on the task at hand. You will complete the tasks faster because they are grouped to streamline completion. You will increase your mental sharpness, creativity and productivity and decrease stress, fatigue and procrastination.
Some ideas for batching:
-Only look at emails or social media at certain times of the day.
-Set a timer, shut off distractions and only work on growing your business.
-Batch errands, meetings, laundry or personal appointments. Or even better, batch delegating these!
What are 3 tasks you will start batching together?
Day 3: Make a Morning Ritual
One of the biggest time mistakes I see made over and over again is waking up and checking email first thing. I did this too when I was in corporate and I always felt like I was running out of time in the morning. It really ruined my entire day! Now my morning routine consists of journaling, meditating, listening to affirmations, reviewing my vision board and goals, reading, praying, and exercising. This has completely changed my life and my outlook on the day ahead.
Even if you are not a full-time entrepreneur like me yet, all these things I used to do when I was stuck in my day job and working on growing my business every single morning. Try adding these 6 things to add to your morning routine. Do them one at a time and see the difference in how you feel and your outlook on the day. Then, add in another. Think about how you can revamp your morning routine tomorrow morning. Some ideas for your morning are journaling, meditating, praying, reading, saying affirmations and visualizing your success.
Day 4: Wake Up Earlier
If you feel like you're running out of time, just make more of it. So you may not be a morning person but I really challenge you to use your morning time as your focus time. When you get home I know how tired you are. You have made the most important decisions and done your best work at your day job but that isn't where you want to be long term, right? The more decisions you make in the day, the less you for your passions, your dreams and your goals. So I challenge you to start the day working on the most important goal and since you are reading this guide, I know what that is. Launching your dream business, right?
Make the best decisions and do your best work on launching your dream business first thing in the morning!
Day 5: Limit Your Priorities
Now it's time to make a list of everything you need to get done this week. Then, I want you to prioritize this list in order of importance. I find that instead of making a to-do list with 20 things I need to get done each DAY, it's much easier to make a priority list of 6 things I need to get done each WEEK. Then, I don't move to #2 until #1 is done and I actually get all my tasks done for the week. When was the last time you can say that you finished all of your tasks for the week?
The truth really is that not everything you do is a priority. Some things you will have to let go of and some things you will have to say no to. Some things you can batch together in an hour and knock out fast rather than putting it on your weekly priority list. The key here really is to simplify your to-do list so it doesn't overwhelm you.
When you feel like you're running out of time, ask yourself these questions:
-What are all of the tasks I need to complete next week?
-What are my top 5 priorities for next week?
-What are my administrative tasks for my administrative power hour?
Day 6: Focus on the 20%
The Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule) states that 20% of your input creates 80% of your results. That means you must really focus on what is working when upleveling and expanding your dream business. You need to focus on the 20% of what is going to make the difference to save time and get faster results. 80% of what you are doing right now could be a waste of time.
I want you to focus like a laser on the 20% of your business actions that produce 80% of your results. Most likely, these are probably revenue generating activities for you such as sales calls, writing proposals, creating partnerships or products. What tasks and activities can I do right now that are going to move me closer to my goals for my business? What are the 20% of actions I can do right now that will produce 80% of my results?
Day 7: Plan Your Weekly Review
How do I plan out my week for success so I am not stressed? I go into Monday knowing exactly what I am going to do for the week. My secret is my Friday afternoon weekly review. Here's my routine:
Step 3: Knock out all administrative items that aren't on my top 6 priority list FAST. These are tasks I don't want to be doing throughout the week that are just going to be taking up my time when I should be focused on more priority items.
Now it's your turn! Ready to stop running out of time?
Step 1: Clean up last week. Clear out email inbox. Clean up, organize and get ready to start fresh next week.
Step 2: Create my to-do focus list for next week with the top 6 things I need to get done for the next week prioritized as to what will help me move my career and business forward.
About the Author
Anna is the founder of Classy Career Girl, named by Forbes as one of the top 35 most influential career sites of 2014. She helps millions of women design and launch their dream careers, businesses and lives through her website, online courses and social media channels.
