“Time management.” We toss that phrase around like it's some magic solution to our problems. But let's be real – who among us hasn't felt the panicked scramble when deadlines loom or the sinking feeling as we waste hours staring at the ceiling (or scrolling through social media posts looking at the cute dogs and cats) instead of doing something productive?
I know I have!
The thing is, everyone talks about being organized and focused; however, it's more complicated than just slapping some dates into a fancy planner. True time management is a skill, one you've got to learn and consistently practice, like playing the guitar or learning to bake the perfect lasagna.
So, Where Do I Even Start?
The first step is figuring out where those precious hours actually go. Picture yourself as a time detective, uncovering how your minutes turn into hours that turn into days.
Download my complimentary Time Log Exercise to help you and your team members be even more time efficient, so you are in a higher probability position to achieve your goals by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/time-log/.
This is about awareness, not about beating yourself up. Time management isn't about perfection, but it is about seeing things clearly so you can make even better choices.
Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Get the proven strategies and resources you need for massive success. Subscribe to my blog now by going to https://accountabilitycoach.com/blog and start transforming your business today!
I’m the author of many books, including, Excuses Don’t Count; Results Rule, Live Life with No Regrets, No Excuses, The Guide to Stopping Procrastination, The Power of Visualization, My Gratitude Journal, the Work Life Balance Emergency Kit, and The Roadmap To Success with Stephen Covey and Ken Blanchard, and more.
Aim for what you want each and every day!
Anne Bachrach
The Accountability Coach™
If you are getting value from any of my episodes, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I would really appreciate it, and love to hear from you.
Unlock a blueprint to creating and having your ideal business and ideal life by scheduling your free consultation with me today!
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Go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com to check out for yourself how I, as your Accountability Coach™, can help you get and stay focused on you highest payoff activities that put you in the highest probability position to achieve your professional and personal goals, so you can enjoy the kind of business and life you truly want and deserve.
I’m the author of many books, including, Excuses Don’t Count; Results Rule, Live Life with No Regrets, No Excuses, The Guide to Stopping Procrastination, The Power of Visualization, My Gratitude Journal, the Work Life Balance Emergency Kit, and The Roadmap To Success with Stephen Covey and Ken Blanchard, and more.
Aim for what you want each and every day!
Anne Bachrach
The Accountability Coach™
Get your daily Accountability Minute shot of a single, simple, doable idea, so you can start your day off on the "right foot". You can find The Accountability Minute on your favorite platform
(upbeat music) - Welcome to the Accountability Coach podcast. I am thrilled to have you on board with me today. We are diving into the world of proven business success principles that are all about helping you make more money and work less. I'm on a mission to guide you towards your ideal business and your ideal life. So let's turn your goals into reality and back rack here. Ever feel like time slips through your fingers? Well, today we're talking about effective time management ideas that you can implement starting today. Time management, you know, we tossed that phrase around like it's some magic solution to our problems. But let's be real here. Who among us hasn't felt the panic scramble when deadlines loom or the sinking feeling as we waste hours staring at the ceiling or scrolling through social media posts, looking at the cute dogs and cats instead of doing something productive? Well, you know, to be honest, I know I have. The thing is, everyone talks about being organized and focused. However, it's more complicated than just slapping some dates into a fancy planner. True time management is a skill. One you have got to learn and practice consistently like playing the guitar or learning to bake that perfect lasagna. So where do you even start? Well, the first step is figuring out where those precious hours actually go. Picture yourself as a time detective uncovering how your minutes turn into hours that turn into days. So for a couple of days, track your activities. No need to be super detailed here. Stuff like worked on presentation, scrolled Twitter or got lost in a Netflix marathon will do just fine. Download my complimentary time log exercise to help you and your team members be even more time efficient so you're in a higher probability position to achieve your goals by going to accountabilitycoach.com/time-log. Of course, simple instructions come with this exercise to help you know how to complete the time log. Now, once you've got the evidence, look for patterns. Are there time sucking culprits lurking in your day? Maybe social media is your kryptonite or maybe your team interrupts you all the time or maybe starting a task without a clear plan leaves you floundering. This is about awareness, not about beating yourself up at all. Time management isn't about perfection. It's about seeing things clearly so you can make even better choices. You know, time blocking is the not so secret weapon here. Have you heard of time blocking? It's a lifesaver. Basically, instead of never ending to-do list, you divide your day into chunks of time and assign specific tasks to each of those blocks of time. Think of it like building your day with Lego blocks. Here's a quick peek at what it might look like to give you an idea. So it's 6 a.m. to 6.15 a.m. You meditate, maybe have a gratitude attitude for the day. At 6.15 to 7, maybe you're doing some exercise or stretching. From 7 to 7.30, you take a shower. I know maybe your shower might not be a half an hour, but some people's might. From 7.30 to 8, you eat breakfast. From 8 to 8.30, you have a team meeting. Set priorities and focus for the day. From 9 to 10.30, you do some deep work on Project X with no distractions. From 10.30 to 11.30, you have revenue generation work, client acquisition, business development. From 11.30 to 12, you answer important emails. From 12 to 1, you take lunch, and during your lunch, you might do some stretching, walking, and even meditation. From 1 to 2, you have more revenue generation, client acquisition, business development work. From 2 to 3, let's say you do some client service or high payoff activities. From 3 to 3.15, you take a quick break. Do some stretching, maybe just doing a little bit of walking around, push-ups against the wall, or even a power nap. Boy, I wish I could take a power nap. I envy so many people who can do 10 to 15 minute power naps. You might be one of them. From 4 to 4.30, answer important emails, and then from 4.30 to 5, close out your day and prepare for the next day. See any differences here? It's focused. It's planned, and it's got built-in breaks to stop your brain from getting fried. Now, this isn't about being a robot, of course. Stuff happens and emergencies pop up. The trick is to be flexible, not rigid. If you have an unexpected crisis, just reschedule your time blocks and don't abandon the whole system. Here's a tip for you. Color code your time blocks for extra motivation. Maybe work is blue, personal activities are green, breaks get a cheerful yellow. I know it sounds silly, but it works very, very well. For more information on time blocking your calendar for maximum effectiveness, check out an article I wrote by going to bit.ly. That's b-i-t dot-l-y forward slash time underscore blocking. Now, let me just talk a little bit about prioritizing. Everything is important, yeah? I feel you on that one. But that's where prioritizing is key. Remember this famous quote by Dwight Eisenhower. What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important. It basically means the loudest, most pressing tasks aren't always the ones that move you towards your big goals. Before you dive in, consider these things. Consider the impact. In other words, will this task have a big effect on my life or work? The deadline, is there a real, true deadline I can't miss? How about effort? How long will this take? And is it worth the time investment? So let's talk about a few areas where you may tend to fall off the time management wagon so you can work on changing how you leverage your very valuable time. The first one is distractions. Our phone calls, inboxes, YouTube siren songs are like time warping black holes. Use apps that block distractions, websites, or go hardcore and put your phone in a whole other room during deep work sessions. Another one is saying yes to everything. Now, it's okay to say no. Get comfortable saying the word no more often. In other words, don't over commit and learn to decline things that don't align with your goals. Warren Buffett said, the difference between successful people and really successful people is that successful people say no to almost everything. What about procrastination? You know, that monster rares its ugly head for all of us. Break big tasks into smaller, less intimidating steps to make them feel more doable or try the five minute rule. Tell yourself you're working on something for just five minutes. Often that's all you need to just get started. Now, once you're started, you then just keep going. Download my complimentary guide to stopping procrastination by going to accountabilitycoach.com/stop- procrastination. Jim Rohn said, time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. Time management isn't about cramming a million activities into your day. Feeling stressed out and still being behind. According to a study on time management published in Harvard Business Review, effective planning leads to reduce stress and improved work performance. So oddly enough, being smart about your time can give you more time in the long run. And here's the best part. It makes space for what truly matters. Instead of feeling frazzled, you'll find time for hobbies you forgot you loved or simply chilling out without guilt. Think of it like this. Time is your most valuable currency. How are you going to spend it? Sean Covey said, one of the few things that can't be recycled is wasted time. Are you ready to give this a shot? Now remember, it's a journey, not a sprint. Start with these small steps. Number one, track your time. Remember, use that time log exercise. See where your hours vanish. Number two, work at time blocking, even if it's just for part of your day to get started. Read the time blocking article I mentioned earlier. And number three, prioritize ruthlessly. Ask yourself those tough questions about what really matters. To help you and your team be even more time efficient, use what I call a prioritized action list or PAL. This is a list of everything you have to do so you don't have sticky notes, pieces of scrap paper laying around, or things in your head that you're trying to remember or afraid you're going to forget. Everything is on the list and it's in priority order, hence the name. So you are more focused and on target to getting the most important tasks and activities done every single day. Some contact management systems do have to do lists and can be customized to be more like what I call my prioritized action list or PAL, which I think it makes the list easier to tackle. If you wanna download my free sample prioritized action list that everyone in your office can use, if you don't already have something, just go to accountabilitycoach.com/pal-sample. All right, you got this. And here's one of my favorite quotes to leave you with by Seneca, who is an ancient philosopher dude who was surprisingly wise about time. He said, it's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. So let's be smarter about our time, shall we? Unlock a blueprint to creating and having your ideal business and your ideal life by scheduling your free consultation with me today. Are you ready to take your business to the next level? We'll get the proven strategies and resources you need for massive success by subscribing to my blog at accountabilitycoach.com/blog and start transforming your business today. After investing your very valuable time with me, I hope that you gained insights and ideas that will propel you to even greater heights in every facet of your life. I salute you for your hunger for more, your drive for wanting to be even better and your unyielding commitment to build the business and life you envision. Please share the wisdom by passing on my Accountability Coach podcast to help ignite others, which can be found in most podcast platforms and in most English speaking countries and subscribe to the Accountability Minute for your daily guidance. Aim for what you want each and every day. Until next time, make it a great day. Today and every day, I appreciate you listening. Oh, and if you are still listening, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I'd really appreciate it and I always love to hear from you. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]
“Time management.” We toss that phrase around like it's some magic solution to our problems. But let's be real – who among us hasn't felt the panicked scramble when deadlines loom or the sinking feeling as we waste hours staring at the ceiling (or scrolling through social media posts looking at the cute dogs and cats) instead of doing something productive? I know I have! The thing is, everyone talks about being organized and focused; however, it's more complicated than just slapping...
