The Key to Effective Time Management

Well, it's just about that time again. Another golden Monday, with a to-do list as long as my arm in front of me and the whole week to get it done! The good news is, I've still got plenty of time. The bad news is, procrastination is my forte! Given the option, I'd gleefully put off Friday's projects until Thursday night, then pull an all-nighter making sure they're done.

Since that's no way to run a business (and the sleep deprivation gets to be a killer after a while) I've had to work hard over the years to curb my natural tendencies and master the process of effective time management.

I've touched on time management in previous posts, but today being Monday and most of you being in the same spot I am I want to really talk about what it takes to get (and stay) on schedule around here:

1. The first thing I do every Monday is sit down and make a list of projects I know I have due for the week and what dates I need what stages of those projects done by. Whether it's a press release that has to be out by noon or a website fix that needs to be done by Friday, I need it in front of me in black and white.

2. Once I have the list I make a schedule for myself: Monday, Tuesday, etc. If something's time sensitive I make sure that's noted on there too. The important thing here is to be realistic; I know I'm not really going to write and schedule a month's worth of blog posts in a three hour time frame on Tuesday morning, and I don't even try!

3. Once I have my schedule I prioritize. As much as I wish it didn't, life almost always gets in the way sooner or later. There are some things I can afford to run behind on and catch up the following morning, other things I can't. Want to guess which ones are going at the top of my to-do list?

4. Now that the schedule's made, I have to stick to it! This is usually the hard part; however, having a manageable list of items I need done that day usually keeps me on task, since I know letting that slide is only going to push me farther behind.

So, my four tips to effective time management to all of you out there: Know what you need and when you need it by, make a schedule for yourself, prioritize, and stick to it. And don't be afraid to say "No" when that to-do list starts getting a little too long! Master that, and you'll find that effective time management isn't as big a challenge as you thought.