Mastering Time Management

Over decades, I’ve coached countless students and have seen it all—every excuse, rationalization, and legitimate reason for not meeting goals.

• Every lame excuse…
• Every reasonable excuse…
• Every self-diluting rationalization…
• Every legitimate reason for not meeting a goal.

It often boils down to two interconnected factors: commitment and time. Ultimately, it’s all about time management.

Humans are naturally bad at time management, which isn’t your fault. However, there are easy ways to retrain your brain, counteract your nature of rest, and reprogram your routines for increased productivity and success. This guide will provide you with effective strategies, including the Pomodoro Technique, to help you manage your time better and achieve your goals.

The truth is, that many out there have trouble committing to persistent and steady work.
The reason is that human beings, at their resting state, are naturally bad at time management.
Therefore, it is technically not your fault.

You have to fight the very nature of your humanity. The same nature that most struggle with when starting a business.
Luckily for us, there are easy ways to retrain our brain, so we can counteract our nature of rest, and reprogram our routines to be more productive and successful.
Applying these techniques will help us find the time to work on projects, get out of a rut, and completely change our lives for the better.

Office Time vs Production Time

This isn’t a tip. This is a prescription.
Office Time and Production Time represent the two most critical processes of any project.
PT Production Time – Time spent producing…
OT Office Time – Time spent on everything else

Office time is work hours when your time should be at its peak efficiency and management.
Production time is inside office time, but it is also time solely dedicated to high productivity and building content…
Your production time should be greater than your office time at first, by far. Aim to have 4 to 6 hours of production time for every one hour of office time. The more Production Time you put in, the better you will be at your profession and the more money you will make…

Time Management Steps…

Step 1: Find and Manage Time-Sinks
Identify and optimize the activities that drain your time, such as TV, games, and social media. For example:
Reduce TV time from 2 hours to 1 hour. Limit gaming sessions. Cut social media usage by 1 hour.
I’m not advocating you completely give up any of those things. What I’m saying is that the time you sink into them can be optimized.
By reclaiming these hours, you create more time for productive work.
Identify the things and habits in your life that use time. Adjust them to make the time to improve your life.

Step 2: Head Off Distractions Ahead of Time
Find the things in your life that distract you when you’re busy.

Mute your phone.
Close unnecessary browser tabs.
Shut the door.
Put an “Out of Order” sign on your doorbell.
Eliminate distractions to maintain focus and productivity.

Step 3: Make and Use Lists
Now that you have some time to focus, what do you focus on?
This is the function of lists.
Create lists to stay organized and directed. Use task management tools like Asana to:
Track tasks.
Break them into projects and monthly repeat tasks.
Maintain a rough budget estimate.
Mapping out tasks ensures you don’t forget anything and can relax knowing you’re on track.

Focus on working on your list, crossing things off as you go.
Nearly everything I do is on some list; either on paper or through task management software like www.asana.com (it is free!)

Step 4: Track your Progress
You’ll be surprised how much better you perform when you have everything in a system, tracked, and updated. You know everything that needs to get done. You know what needs to get done without trying to think about it. If you’re going to use a tool like www.asana.com, then go ALL IN. Map everything out. List out your personal tasks, as well as your business tasks. Break them off into projects and monthly repeat tasks.
For example – put every due date for each bill you have on a monthly list that repeats. You will always know when that bill is due. Add the
amounts to the task name, and you get yourself a rough budget estimate, too. Once your list is done, make the list for the next day.

This way when you have “office time,” you know exactly what needs to get done. Once you map things out, you can know with confidence
that you are not forgetting anything, and you can truly relax and do something fun as a little reward for your efforts.

Step 5: Know How Much Time It Takes
Track how long tasks take to complete. This helps you:
Understand your work pace.
Identify patterns.
Use time more efficiently.
With this knowledge, you can plan tasks accurately and achieve peak efficiency.
Eventually, you will have a complete map of the common tasks, and know how long it takes you to do them.
This is Peak Efficiency!

Step 6: Work in Time Blocks with the Pomodoro Technique
The final step is to take your tasks and assign them to “blocks.”
Let’s say you have four hours a day to work on this manual, and between 10 am and 2 pm is “office time.”

Choose a task to work on.
Set a timer for 25 minutes (one Pomodoro).
Work on the task until the timer rings.
Take a 5-minute break.
Repeat the process, taking a longer break (15-30 minutes) after every four Pomodoros.
Incorporating the Pomodoro Technique into your routine helps to manage time more effectively and enhances productivity.

By dedicating specific blocks of time to single tasks and taking regular breaks, you maintain high productivity levels.
This approach prevents multitasking and ensures incremental progress.
The key here is to work on just that assignment for that block of time.
Don’t cheat.
Don’t multi-task.
Work on that single task for as many time blocks as you’ve assigned, and then stop.

Take a quick break, and then work on the next task or timeblock until you complete the task, project, or goal.
In this scenario, you can accomplish wonders if you split your time into blocks and work on a dedicated schedule.
This ensures that all tasks get done.

Conclusion

Mastering time management requires dedication and strategic action. By following these strategies and incorporating the Pomodoro Technique, you can work productively, stay focused, and achieve your goals. Apply these methods today, and you’ll transform your productivity into success. You will experience incremental progress, block by block, compounding over time, and yield marvelous results.