Do you need to improve your
Time Management Skills?

Good or Bad Time management is a routine that takes time to change, so don’t expect that by buying a complete time management system, you will experience a complete overhaul in this area, unless you break some patterns and take actions in the right direction.

One of the most common expressions I hear from clients is: “I just need to get organized, but for some reason I can’t…”

If you have felt like that, well, you are not alone; and the truth is that building an effective and efficient time management system isn’t easy. It takes discipline and honesty, but the hardest part is accountability and sticking to it.

Effective time management is particularly difficult for the typical entrepreneur, due to the fact that at the beginning there is no one else to delegate all those dull details to, so you must do them all yourself. If you are out of office supplies, you buy them. If you work from home and the mail man knocks at the door, you open the door. If the telephone rings, you answer. The same happens to small business owners, you too should use a time management system. Whether you use a simple to do list or fancy rpm software, you must be committed to initiate one and stick to it.

Here are Five Steps that you can use to set up an effective time management regimen:

1. Think about this: What would it look like to be organized? For me feels relaxed that I know exactly where I need to focus during the day and that I can dedicate time to all the important areas of my life. As a result of that I feel balanced. For you could be, never missing an appointment again, or having time to finally sit down and work in your business. Visualize the benefits of being organized and proceed with step number 2.


2. Analyze your current time management system if any. Are you using a calendar, smartphone, sticky notes, outlook or are you just relying on your memory?
   

   Whatever it is that you are using now, it’s probably not working since you are reading this page. Choose, adjust or change the method you are currently using to one that you think will work for you.
   

   One system that works for me very well is writing a list of things that I have to do in a whiteboard that I have next to my desk, where I can see it all the time. I pick one item at a time, cross off those items that I complete and then pick the next one. The list bugs me and since I can see it all the time staring at me, I make sure I cross things off and make the list smaller.
   

   Remember to combine all your time commitments in ONE single calendar, do not separate business and pleasure, but you could color code different areas for visual purposes. I personally do this, and it works wonders. Each of my children has a color, my husband has a color, my personal appointments have a color and my clients have another color. Then, when I see the calendar I know without having to read whose time is that I’m looking at.



3. Organize your next day, at the end of each work day. This way, you can have a good start in the morning by reducing the stress of feeling overwhelm. Check your appointment calendar also at the end of the day, so you can factor any preparation you may need for special meetings.


4. Delegate. Yes, I know. You are a one woman show or so you think. Put a price to your time. For example, if you make $100 an hour, and you either have to clean the office or do something more productive for your business, well, you know the answer; you’ll be better off paying $25/hr to a cleaning service agency, while using your time more effectively to produce that 100 bucks.


5. Clean up, clean up, time to organize your desk. And your office for that matter. Set up a filling system to handle paper, sticky notes, magazines, etc. Clean your inbox. Write down in your calendar any item that will require your attention later. Just remember: Do not over think it.

Now that you have a system, the magic question is: How do you stick to your new system?

There is no magical answer, but be reassure that practice makes perfect, and the more you use your system and try to follow it, the more engrave will be in you. Just do that until it becomes part of you.

Do you want to get a FREE Time Management Checklist, if so please fill in the form below and I will send you the 9 step checklist that my clients and I use on a daily basis to ensure effective time management.

Do you have a hard time sticking to your time management system?

Do you need someone to hold you accountable to your goals?

Try our FREE Discovery Coaching Session, the most insightful 30 minutes, you will have.

Carmen Shearer
Founder and CEO
Entrepreneur Women Coaching and Training, LLC
(800) 980-3928