Unless you can add more than 24 hours in a day, you will need to have excellent time management skills in your work and your life.
Start with creating a plan and following it. This will help you make the most efficient use of your time. It also means working smarter – not harder.
When you are scrambling to do many things at once because you haven’t learned how to manage your time effectively, you will experience high levels of stress.
Stress makes it difficult to think clearly, make good decisions, and can wreak havoc on your health. If you aren’t trying to minimise stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle, your work will suffer.
Take Care of Yourself
To be a successful marketer and to be able to get your work done, your first job is to take care of yourself.
This means focusing on your health and fitness so that your body and mind are up to the tasks you need to complete.
It’s too easy to forget that non-work-related things we need to do should also be part of our time-management process.
Remember, if you are not leading a balanced life leaving time for work, family, and friends, you won’t be able to get all your done and are more likely to make mistakes.
Getting rest, taking breaks, sleep, exercise, and eating healthy will give you the energy you need to get your job done. Research shows that staying up all night causes stress and is counterproductive.
If you are starting on your journey to a healthier life and want more energy so you can be more productive both at home and at work then a Fitbit is designed to help you manage your time and is a great way to minimise and manage workload stress.
One of the many reasons it has gained popularity recently is because it helps you track your progress and holds you accountable.
You can track the food you eat, how much water you drink, specific steps you take on your fitness journey, and even your sleep patterns.
Remember, the less stress you have in your life, the more productive you will be. Take care of yourself and your health, and you will be a better marketer.
Know Your Goals
When identifying your goals, separate them into short-term and long-term. You want to make sure you have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and when each task is due.
Next, lay out the process and action steps for each goal and write them down. As you complete each task, check it off your list. This way you will be sure not to miss anything significant.
And lastly, make sure you follow your plan to keep your stress levels down and feel a sense of accomplishment every time you can mark something as done.
Prioritise
To avoid procrastination, make a list of low, medium, and high priority tasks. Excellent time management skills mean that you get things done when they are due and don’t wait until the last minute.
When you wait too long to start something, you will find yourself under undue stress. And remember, stress will affect your health and energy and have a negative impact on your productivity.
Make sure your top priority tasks are done first, followed by medium and then low. Sometimes low priorities can wait until the next day should you run out of time.
Get Rid of Distractions
It is enticing to check social media – often – but this can be very distracting. Unless you are doing work-related social media activity, try to avoid it during the workday. It can take up a lot more time than you might imagine.
When you are working on a time-sensitive project, discourage interruptions. If you work in an office, shut your door and let others know you are busy.
If you work at home and use Skype as a means of communications, you should put on your “do not disturb” red signal to let people know not to bother you.
The only way to stay focused when working on a high-priority time-sensitive project is to only work on the task at hand.
Gary Keller, the best-selling author, wrote about why it is so important to focus on one thing at a time and how getting interrupted can hurt your train of thought and interfere with your workflow.
Delegate Whenever Possible
Depending upon your specific work situation, you can pass off some tasks to someone else. If you work for a company or as part of a team, ask others to do some of your lesser priority tasks so you can focus on the most important ones.
If you work for yourself, consider outsourcing some of your work such as graphic design, writing, or administrative tasks so you can focus on growing your business.
It’s Ok to Say No
You might think that it is not ok to refuse work either from a boss or a client. You are wrong. If someone asks you to do something that is beyond your scope of knowledge, takes more time than you have, or is something that is unreasonable, don’t do it.
If you do, you are likely to get more stressed, feel angry, and even resent your client or boss. In the long run, this will only hurt your productivity. Be polite and professional when you say “no”.
Having good time management skills will not only save you time, but it will also teach you how to make the most out of your time.
Also, it will help you have a healthy work and life balance, reduce your stress levels and be able to get more tasks or projects done in less time.
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David Trounce is the Founder of Mallee Blue Media, an online publishing and marketing agency in Australia. David heads up a team of experts in digital media and content marketing for small business and has been published in the Huffington Post, Lendio and Power Retail.
