How to Manage your Time

I didn’t invent this time management hack, but I do use it and it has literally changed my life. It all starts with a piece of paper. Yep, nothing fancy or technically advanced, just a single piece of plain paper. Follow these easy steps and you’re well on your way to a more organized and productive life. 

  1. Get out that piece of plain paper on Sunday night. Now, write down everything you have and want to do. Seriously, all of it. Drop off your dry cleaning, return that product to Sephora you don’t actually need, book a plane ticket, call your Aunt back, client appointments, exercise, EVERYTHING. Get it all out of your head and on to a piece of paper. This is your Master List.

  2. Now, narrow that list down to the week ahead, noting that some things need to happen this week, while others can wait until next. Create a new list with 10-20 items on it. That becomes ‘This Week’s List.’ You can always come back to the Master List when you’ve run through all your other tasks that week and add more. 

  3. Because you are doing this on a Sunday night you can set yourself up with the week ahead and coordinating with This Week’s List start to place items in your calendar each day with an estimate for how long they will take. Schedule your whole week all at once like this. Include your bookings with clients, consultations, errands, dinner dates, etc.

  4. Book YOU time too. Block off time in your calendar for you and your self care. I book time to meditate, exercise, and read. Those things done on a daily basis help me create and enjoy the life I want. And I still get all the other stuff done. 

  5. Rinse and repeat.

It may feel time consuming to do this, but in the end it actually saves so much time! Get into the habit of doing this each Sunday and watch how your weeks go by with ease and massive productivity. Plus, when you’re intentional about the time you make for yourself, you grow into the best version you hold for yourself, and that is certainly worth your time.

Greta EaganComment