They say that time is money, but for some reason, I find it a lot easier to be careful with my money than with my time! Proper time management is a tricky thing to tackle, especially when a large part of your business requires the Internet.
That’s why I wanted to share 5 awesome time management hacks with you.
I like to think of the internet as a great and terrible beast. You have two options when dealing with it.
1.) Let it devour your time, snack on your productivity and munch in your creative gardens.
OR,
2.) Harness its powers and use its strength to increase your workflow and encourage business growth!
Don’t take advantage of yourself with the help of the beast. No! Instead, choose to help yourself, taking advantage of the beast by managing your time and interactions with it.
Here are 5 Awesome Time Management Hacks for optimal internet usage:
- Use Toggl to track your time, for free! When you set your Toggl timer, ONLY do things that are work related. Close out of Facebook, stop responding to texts, focus on the task at hand. This helps you be mindful of the amount of time you are spending on a project or task. Sometimes it seems like I have worked for three hours- but in that time, only got 1 hour of work done. Usually this is because the internet is FULL of interesting things, and it’s easy to get distracted and focus on them, instead of the task at hand. Here’s the funny thing- if you are still focusing, even if you aren’t focusing on the RIGHT thing, you will likely feel like you are ‘working’. So, track the time that you ACTUALLY spend, doing nothing but work.
- Controlled Cheating. For optimal productivity follow this structure, called ‘The Pomodoro Technique’ created by Francesco Cirillo. It works like this: 25 minutes work, then a 3-5 minute break. Do this four times. Once you have worked four 25 minute periods (with a 3-5 minute break between each) take a 15-30 minute break. Then begin again, 25 minutes of work/ 3-5 minute break, with a longer break every four periods. Continue doing this until you have finished your task or work day. Interestingly enough, it is a lot more productive to take little breaks here and there (timed, of course) than trying to focus without taking any. There comes a point where our productivity and ability to interpret/share information plateaus and in some cases, plummets, if we are not relaxing our brains at least a little!
- Don’t get too discouraged if you waste a little time. Oops, your best friend called and you talked for half an hour and then you checked Facebook to see if what she said about her sister was true, and then you spend 20 minutes on Facebook and NOW, you feel like you have ruined your productivity for the whole way! Don’t worry. The productivity train isn’t derailed- you just hopped off for a while. Hop back on!
- Get some easy wins right away. Some people think you should tackle the hardest tasks first, and I do see where they are coming from! However, I think there is some wisdom in starting with a smaller, easier task. Get it done, get it out of the way, and enjoy that feeling. Usually productivity inspires productivity. Your brain goes, “oh yeah, I handled that! I can totally handle this next task too!”. Don’t spend all of your time on something easy- but I suggest doing something easy right away and whenever you feel discouraged about the bigger task. It beats quitting and taking a nap, right?
- Don’t hesitate to use Google if you feel stuck. The Internet is a wealth of knowledge and a resource! There are other people who have had the same question you do, and often, it has already been answered! If Googling doesn’t get you what you want, join a forum or interactive community specific to what you are working on. That can be a great networking tool as well as a great help! If you need help with your WordPress website or one of our themes, be sure to join our community on Facebook.
These 5 time management hacks have really helped me stay focused during my working hours and I hope that they can help you too!
Till next time,
Stephanie