Time management tips for working smarter, not harder
IT can seem impossible to find enough time to grow your side business or enjoy your hobbies alongside working a 9 to 5. Never mind fitting in family and home commitments.
Carina Lawson is a time management coach and the founder of Ponderlily Planners (carinalawson. com. Here, she shares her top tips for feeling more fulfilled with LIZ CONNOR – whether that’s while working on a side business or finding time for the things you love.
MAKE SPACE
BEING away, even for a little while, can give you a fresh perspective, allow you to rest, and come back refreshed to better serve your family, friends, and work.
In your everyday, this could mean scheduling your Zoom meetings in blocks of time that give you some breathing room in between, so you can take a break, re-focus, and bring your best energy to the next appointment. Not every minute of your every day needs to be planned.
CALL IT LIKE IT IS
YOUR work is not just your 9-5, but the place
where you get to practise the skills for which you were trained. Your business is not just a side hustle, it’s where you get to unleash your creativity. Changing the way we refer to the different parts of our lives makes us pay attention more closely to the important roles we are lucky to have. By changing the way you refer to these things, you are giving each part the respect that it deserves.
MAKE REALISTIC COMMITMENTS
WE’D love to get everything done in a day, but that’s often not realistic. The opportunity cost of working on your business every day, may be that you exercise less, spend less time with your family, or have less time to yourself.
Instead, working on the right things with no distractions, may allow more time with the people you love, or indulge in things you enjoy. Making realistic commitments also means you can account for time when you may need help.
COMPARTMENTALISE TIME LIKE A PRO
WHEN you’re at work, pause your phone’s business inbox, so you’re not constantly receiving notifications. You can also effectively use time-blocking, only checking email at specified intervals. And if you can, outsource some business activities to a virtual assistant while you are at work, even better.
Compartmentalising your time is a gift that allows you to turn your computer off, so you can shift your focus, fully – without giving the previous activity a second glance.