5 Time Management Tips to Ensure You Never Miss a Deadline
Anyone who runs a business knows that it is a ton of work. Regardless of how much you accomplish in a day, there is always a mountain of work that still needs to be done. Having great time management strategies can transform your work week from overwhelming to enjoyable and make you ultra-productive at the same time. Sound good? Try these 5 time management strategies.
Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no cost to you.
1) Make A To-Do List
Before you can tackle all of your tasks for the week you need to first make a roundup of what they even are. Take a few minutes at the beginning of the week to write down everything you need to accomplish. Having a set list will enable you to focus your energy on just those items, plus, you’ll feel an empowering rush of satisfaction every time you cross something off the list! Be sure to break larger tasks down into smaller actionable steps to avoid overwhelm. Bonus points if you then rank these tasks in order of importance!
2) Set Deadlines
Having set deadlines for your to-do list is a great way to hold yourself accountable. It will also give you a better overview of what your week will look like. You might even realize you have time to take on extra tasks or more clients! There are many project management platforms available online (Asana or Trello are great options) that enable you to make to-do lists and set deadlines for yourself and your projects. You can even delegate tasks to your team if you have one! When setting these deadlines be sure to give yourself a time buffer so you’re never ACTUALLY under the gun. This way if anything unexpected arises you’ll still be able to get all of your work done without too much-added stress.
3) Be Flexible
Flexibility is key to productivity, especially if you are in a creative field. You never know when you’ll hit a roadblock. Perhaps you just can’t write a coherent sentence, you’re struggling to come up with new design ideas, or maybe a client hasn’t gotten back to you with the information you need for a project. Luckily you recently made a whole list of tasks to accomplish this week! Just skip to the next one and circle back to what you’re hung up on later. Sometimes your brain just needs a change of pace. It’s better to switch to a new task than work at a snail’s pace on the current one. You’ll accomplish more in the long run.
4) Eliminate Distractions
This is critical. Our laptops have endless built-in distractions in the form of social media notifications, text messages, and incoming emails. Exit the applications you don’t need at the moment. You can go an hour without checking your email or your phone. Everything will be fine. Close out of your extra browser tabs, especially social media pages, and focus! This will keep you from getting sucked into an internet wormhole. You can’t afford to lose hours of your day! You’ve got a business to run!
5) Delegate
There may come a point where you simply just have too much on your plate. At this point, you might want to consider delegating some of your tasks. The reality is your time just might be better spent on bigger projects that on more time-consuming tasks like managing your social media accounts or learning how to optimize your website for SEO. You might not even enjoy these things! Don’t be afraid to bring on some help. Hiring a talented person to assist you with some specific jobs will give you back hours in your day AND take a huge weight off of your shoulders. This way you can focus on the bigger picture aspects of running your business!
I hope these time management tips will be of use to you! What do you think? What is your best time management strategy? Share it in the comments below.
Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no cost to you.
