Yesterday, Mari Luangrath posted on Facebook, “What’s your favorite productivity hack?”
Likewise, in the Arment Dietrich private Facebook group (sorry, it’s only open to employees), Clay Morgan posted, “What “hacks” or habits or pieces of technology do you do/use that make your work life a little easier?”
Time management is an interesting topic and everyone has different ways of doing things.
In both posts, things came up such as using tools like BusyCal or managing time differently by checking email at specified times instead of constantly or adding to-do items in your calendar as appointments so they’re sure to be completed.
There are lots of books and articles written on the topic of time management and getting things done.
Ten Time Management Tips that Work in Entrepreneur has some interesting ideas and so does David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
What works for one person may not work for others, but there are some tried and true time management tips that work for everyone.
I know it’s easy for me to sit here and extol this wisdom.
After all, I own the business so I can pretty much determine what works and what doesn’t work.
But I expect this same behavior of my team (cough, team, cough!).
There is only one person who can be sure you are productive: You.
You’ll get some pushback in the beginning, “What do you mean you can’t meet at 5:30 on Friday night?”, but people will begin to get used to the schedule you’ve set and will accommodate.
Of course, there are jobs where this won’t work and there will be times you have to be flexible (for instance, I have a meeting this Friday that couldn’t be moved), but for the most part, these tips will help you manage your time, be more productive, and meet that elusive work/life balance.
Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.