As an entrepreneur, wife, mom, and volunteer, I often feel like I’m running around from one thing to the next. Trying to accomplish my mile-long to-dos list, running kids from one activity to the next, all while running my business.
In the midst of it all, it often seems like time just gets away from me and things get left undone or I’m left feeling overwhelmed.
By the end of the day, if I’m not careful, I can feel like I have not gotten much accomplished.
Then I learned one important thing about time and productivity that changed everything for me and will for you as well.
Time blocking.
We all have the same amount of time in a day. It’s often not about having more time, but maximizing the time we do have.
In order for you to make the most of every opportunity, you have to make use of your time wisely.
Allowing you to make time for what you want and need to accomplish by scheduling it into your day and giving it a time and date.
Think of it like an appointment with someone else. You wouldn’t cancel meeting a client for coffee, would you? So why would you not treat yourself the exact same way?
Once I realized that an appointment on my calendar to work on my business was just as important as if I was meeting someone else, everything changed.
By using this simple tool, you can all take your productivity to the next level.
All while finding the time you need to not only do the things you need to do but also want to do.
Time blocking is simply taking all the hours of the day and giving all your needs, wants, and to-dos space within the time you have to get them done.
Tips to start using time blocking to plan your week.
Tip 1: I like to print out a weekly schedule on Friday before I close my laptop up and plan out my upcoming week. I then post it next to my desk, so I can easily see what I should be working at any point of the day.
Tip 2: Review your goals and assess if you are on track or if you need to re-evaluate them.
Tip 3: Plug in all of your non-negotiable first. Client appointments, work deadlines, Dr. appointments, school drop off and pick up, sports or activities, exercise, and volunteer commitments.
Tip 4: Now look at your goal list and plug in specific activities to help you reach your goal. Block chunks of time to focus on them. As an example, maybe you want to write out and prepare 2 weeks of social media posts and upload them with graphics into your posting software, assess that it might take you 2 hours and block out one chunk of time to complete it, and only work on that during that slot. Now do that for any open areas.
It feels great knowing that a plan is in place and waiting for you first thing on Monday morning. Allowing you to relax over the weekend, knowing you’re ready to take action the upcoming week.
Ps. Need help planning out your week and knowing exactly what to work on and when. Send an email to [email protected] and book a free Clarity Call so we can chat.
Pss. Make sure your “About Page” on your website is working for you. Download my workbook and start increasing your sales.
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Darlene Hawley is a mother, wife, connector and dream builder. She is also a Brand & Business Clarity Coach and the founder of DarleneHawley.com.
She empowers women entrepreneurs to embrace their unique story so they can share their message in a way that helps them increase visibility and takes their business to the next level, and allows them to build a brand that attracts and stands out.
Before starting her own business, she worked her way up in big box retail management, was a mortgage loan officer, and a financial coach. Darlene was trained by the largest business coaching franchise in the world and has been committed to helping entrepreneurs launch and grow their business since 2007.
She now spends her time supporting women to reach their goals and live out their dream life, all while raising her family and creating memories each and every day.
Originally published at www.darlenehawley.com