The Easiest Time Management Hack I’ve Ever Heard

I used to work for a tech company, and one of my colleagues seemed to be the most productive human in the world.

I walked into his office one day and begged him for all of his secrets. I wanted a timeline, a break down of his day from start to finish. He said, “Sorry C, I don’t have one. I have a very simple rule for myself: I don’t worry about finishing everything I start. I just move the ball forward on four things a day. Each project or task should be further along in the process than it was the day before.”

I never forgot that advice. I believe it’s simple and applicable for every person in every season of life.

How To Apply This Rule To Your Life:

You might be an empty nester or maybe you are even living the retired life. If that’s the case, write down four things you would like to move the ball forward on today. This might look like:

1. schedule a time to volunteer for a cause you believe in
2. research a new exercise you want to try
3. plan a lunch date with a friend you miss
4. purchase the lumber/tools to begin that new DIY project you’ve been looking at on Pinterest for the last 6 months

Try to be specific with your goals for the day. Notice how I used words like, “schedule” “research” “plan a time” “purchase” etc…

I did not say:

1. go volunteer today
2. exercise now
3. meet a friend for lunch today
4. accomplish that DIY project

Maybe you are a busy college student… Write down four important things that need your time and attention today:

1. read assigned chapters
2. attend lab
3. study for next week’s exam
4. draft essay for lit class

Here’s four work related tasks I have written down for today as a work from home mom with two kids and two businesses:

1. yelp ad maintenance (IC)
2. draft blog content (VF)
3. google business listing maintenance (IC)
4. attend webinar at 11am (IC)

If this simple concept doesn’t work for you, I suggest day blocking or time blocking.

How To Block Your Day:

Allocate each separate day of the week to a separate task. For instance, Monday might be your “run errands day”

Monday: __________________

Tuesday: __________________

Wednesday: _______________

etc. etc.

How To Block Your Time:

Divide specific blocks of time to your work. My schedule is either in two hour increments or one hour increments.

6am: _______________________

8am: _______________________

10am: ______________________

etc. etc.

Which time management tip do you like best? Let me know in the comment section below. As always, thanks for stopping by!

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