09 Jul How To Effectively Manage Your Time

In a world where there are ever more demands on our time and the pace is starting to feel like a toddler jacked up on 5 energy drinks, now more than ever is it crucial that you efficiently manage your time. Trying to remember everything is unrealistic and a recipe for added stress. How you manage your time will often be the difference between you accomplishing your goals, or beating yourself for feeling like a failure or lazy.

The Struggle Is Real

As they say, time is money. Well, time also equates to things you value most, energy spent, and whether you give your loved ones what they need as well. Being efficient with your time means you have more of all those things as well as less stress in this hustle and bustle till you die world. I’ve tried the remember everything that you have to do in your head deal; I wouldn’t recommend it. I struggled to use notes and sticky pads as I spent most of my time trying to find where I put them. I’ve only looked at a spreadsheet for my todo’s, but aborted that quickly because who wants to use a spreadsheet (I don’t do spreadsheets). After trying many different tactics for managing my time, the one that has brought me freedom and given me the most free time are project management or to do systems; and they are glorious.

Project Management FTW

Project management systems allow you to easily enter what you need to do on the spot and schedule it so it shows up when you want. Meaning, I only need to add it to the system with a date and I never need to remember it again. It automatically pops up on my to do list when it needs to be done. I’ve used quite a few PM (project management) systems over the years, but the system I use personally is Teamwork. It allows me to load projects (or different areas of your life), task lists, tasks, subtasks, calendar events, milestones, files, and log time. It even has a Gantt chart if you like to track visually via a timeline. I use it for both my personal life as well as for my client projects.

The reason I went with a project management system is because life today is too complex to track everything effectively on just paper. If I’m on the go, I’m not carrying sheets of paper or sticky notes with me for when I want to add or reschedule something. I’ll often use the Teamwork desktop app early in the morning when I’m planning my day and use the mobile app when on the go. On the mobile app I can easily see my calendar events for meetings or appointments, tasks that need to be done that day, and milestones (goals) that are due. This means that I have one central place for the things I need to do in my life. I’ll take one thing to look at vs 15+ sticky notes.

Time Management Workflow

As far as how I use Teamwork, my workflow goes as such: I open up Teamwork and see what tasks and calendar events are scheduled for that day. I make any adjustments needed if things have changed or if it looks like I have too much on my plate to realistically handle for that day. I start working on either the most important or the most difficult tasks so I can get them out of the way. As I go through the day, I add anything that comes up as another thing that needs to be done. This is useful as I can choose to do it that day if I have the time (and energy), or schedule it for another day when I have more time to do it. At the end of the day after all tasks and events are done, I do a quick overview of all my upcoming tasks and events for anything that needs to be updated or changed. And that’s pretty much it.

Keep It Simple Stupid

The secret sauce to time management and PM systems is to keep it simple (K.I.S.S., ya’ll know what’s up). Having too many tasks or an overly complex set up will just overwhelm you and lead to you not using the system as it would be adding more stress rather than reducing stress. When I do my overview and clean up of tasks, it’s mainly simplifying things so my brain doesn’t explode. That would be messy to clean up.

And that leads to my final thoughts on time management and project management systems, the best system for time management is the one that you use. The reality is, project management systems are not for everyone. Some people prefer analog pen and paper; my sister is one of those people. Some people aren’t as good with technology or using the system itself feels intimidating. I get it, and honestly, the system doesn’t matter nearly as much as you being able to effectively manage your time.

Get Off The Hamster Wheel

So if you’re trying to get a grip on all the things you need to do in the day and are running around like a hamster trying to escape a hungry hawk, it might be time to change the way you manage your time. And if you’re a procrastinator, you’re probably going to need some extra help. Start small and build from there. Whether that’s a project management system, simple todo list, or smart phone reminders; just be sure it’s something you will use day in and day out because consistency will be your winning ticket to effective and efficient time management.

The purpose of this GI SAID IT blog is simple, to provide perspective. GI delivers this unique perspective in a style that is unapologetically honest, straight to the point, and at times a bit brutal. GI SAID IT: Brutally honest, no BS. Click for more GI SAID IT shows and articles.