I’ve written about time management before here and it is one of the most commonly written about topics in the blogosphere. But time being the most valuable commodity we have, I am going to share my latest thinking on what works for me. The way I look at is, the better I manage my time, the more time I have for goofing off and watching House of Cards (sadly I have already binged my way through the last season).
Here is my list for managing time:
- Say no. Don’t do it. If you don’t want to do something, don’t. As with every rule, there are exceptions and the exception here is that if doing something is very important to someone in your inner circle (partner, children, BFF) then you must do that. But other than that, whose life is it? Say no.
- Say yes to things that recharge you. For me this list includes: hanging out with Andrew, working out in our basement gym, playing with the cat, watching mindless tv, baking, window shopping, looking at my Pinterest boards, time with the kids and a small circle of friends who make me laugh.
Keep your Inbox clean. Andrew set me up with e-folders for each day of the week and when I get an email that is relevant to another day, I pop it in there. “Delete” is also a good email function as is “unsubscribe” for emails you once wanted and now don’t read. I also have an electronic mail folder called “Fun” into which I put emails from Flare magazine, Pinterest and Chatelaine so I can look at them later…leaving them in my Inbox makes me stressed whereas a clean inbox helps me feel productive.
- Keep future to-do lists. I LOVE Evernote, again something Andrew put me onto. You can have a million lists in Evernote so when an idea pops into your head you just add it to the relevant list, like “Christmas 2016”. You’d be amazed at what’s on the Christmas 2016 list…
- Have a timeline. At the start of every day I do a little schedule so I know when I need to leave PGB to get home for client meetings. If my first client meeting is at 145, I will plan to leave at 1245. Even though it takes me only 10 minutes to get home, I like having lots of planned buffer time between activities – I’d rather have 15 minutes to spend reading while waiting for a client than rushing around late.
That’s my list, what are your time management tips??
