At the beginning of each working day, I go through a number of time management tools that I use to plan and manage my priorities for that day. One of these tools I have come to love is called the Eisenhower Matrix System which is what I use for a monthly, weekly and daily assessment of all my upcoming priorities. I determine what is urgent and not important, what is important but not urgent etc.
The process, if done right, can help ensure you use your time effectively.
How it works
Every morning I start by reviewing my To-Do list. It is important that you dump all your tasks (personal and professional) on your To-Do list so that you are factoring all of this in! I categorise everything on my list as A,B or C. A being the things I will (or must) do that day. I then number the As from 1 onward. A1 is the thing that is most important or urgent for me (not to anyone else). So your A1 might be to buy your daughter a birthday card. Your A1 is the first thing you find a time slot for, not necessarily the first thing you do.
Emails, emails, emails
I allocate 4 time slots for emails throughout the day. Now I probably check my emails more than this, but by allocating the time, it means I am free to focus on being proactive rather than being reactive to emails and the requests they come with. Do you find you spend the first hour of your day checking emails and being reactive? Stop that today!
How long is your day?
I tend to maintained a 6.30-midnight calendar, but I would advise you maintain an 8-8 calendar. I factor in the routine things too: In the morning I help get my children ready for school. In the evenings, I am cooking, helping with homework, and spending time with my family before the kids go to bed. Then you have a brief moment to relax before I continue with my list of As.
The key to making sure you achieve your As is understanding how long it takes for you to execute each activity. With experience you will know that completing that report will take you 2 hours and not 30 minutes. I would recommend you work in 30 minutes chunks and allocate no more than 1-2 hours for each task.
Traffic Light System
I use the traffic light system to identify what I have completed (green), what I have started but not completed (amber), and what I didn’t get round to (red). The next morning, it becomes easier to reorganize my day and prioritise what I have not done.
It is life-changing to have this structure in place. It is always better to have a system even if it does not work every time. People ask me how I am able to do it all – juggling business, a young family, events management and my job…it’s all down to effective time management. Once you are able to manage your time effectively, you are most of the way there to your success.
Nugget: “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight Eisenhower
