HAPPY FRIDAY! WOO HOO! I love Friday’s more than anything around here…but mostly because today I am going to get Starbucks + pedicures with my mom so could anything be any better? NOPE. COULD NOT. I hope your weekend has a million super fun things planned. TODAY on B&A we are discussing time management. It is something SO MANY people struggle with. I get it. TOTALLY. But you have just as many hours in a day as Beyoncé, so girlfriend, USE THEM! My use of all caps is getting out of hand. I’ll calm down. But seriously — if you are having a hard time with keeping yourself in order, I gotchu. Let’s jump into this.
Why You Aren’t As Productive As You Could Be
Reason #1: You spend too much time on your cell phone.
I know. This one will make everyone cringe. But it’s true. If you added up the minutes you spend scrolling through your phone when you wake up in the morning, before you go to bed, when you are in your car before you get out at work, etc. It seriously adds up. I tried to stay off my phone as much as possible the last few days (obviously — besides doing things for work) and found I had MINIMUM an extra hour to get things done. Think of what you could do with seven extra hours a week (aka 31 extra hours a month — THAT IS MORE THAN A WHOLE DAY). Use than hour to get ahead.
Reason #2: You aren’t listening to your body.
The fact of the matter is this — people function differently. AND THANK HEAVENS FOR THAT, amiright??? But the deal is this. Some people work better at 6am, and other at 12am. I am not an early bird. I’m just not. I never will be. I can’t get things done at 6am. So I know I need to spend a little bit of extra time sleeping in in the morning so I can stay up later at night. You will be more productive if you find the time you can concentrate and focus the best. #science
Reason #3: You aren’t prioritizing correctly.
Are you even prioritizing at all? Going through your list willy-nilly isn’t going to anyone any favors. Make your to-do list and then number it by the amount of time it takes to complete it. I always do my tasks in order of the least amount of time to the most amount of time. I like to get the quick things out of the way and then tackle the big projects last. That may not be what works best for you, but find your rhythm and stick to it! I know I personally prioritize breakfast foods….
Reason #4: You are a perfectionist.
Raise your hand if you are like me and can’t let go of a project until it is PERFECT. I get it. I’ve been there. But sometimes you need to do it, do it well, and let it go. Stop stressing over the tiniest details. I’m not saying don’t do a good job, but maybe don’t spend 12 hours on a 5 minute project. Realize where you need to spend more time, and use it wisely.
Reason #5: You say “yes” to everything.
It’s time to stop being the yes man. I realized very quickly that I was taking on too many tasks and overworking myself. I had to stop saying yes to everyone and start putting myself and my business first. It is so important for us to realize IT IS OKAY to not say yes to everyone. Eventually, you’ll get into a system where you can recognize how many tasks you can take on without overwhelming yourself.
So…do any of these things sound like you? They probably do, and that’s ok. Until recently, they sounded like me, too. The first step is to STOP sabotaging yourself. You CAN do amazing things and you WILL do amazing things. Step out of your own sunlight and let yourself shine. You go, girlfriend.
Let me know what your BIGGEST time waster is and how to plan on stopping it this coming week — let’s help to keep each other accountable!
Until next week!
I talk a lot about prioritizing on my blog. I was so busy but very unproductive in my early years of my coaching business. I knew something had to change. The book Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy was a life changer for me.
It’s like the quote that says, “You can do anything, but not everything.” I totally agree that we shouldn’t try to say yes to everything and be perfect all the time. Love this post!
Yes I love that quote too!
wow, this is basically me in a nutshell. LOL I’m so dang busy and I can’t find out why I can’t get my self together… but you basically said it all in 5 short points. saying yes and completing something to perfection is one of the biggest hurdles. you want to say yes and do everything properly, especially working for others because you don’t want to be THAT person. but in the end, you end up going above and beyond and your attention to detail and always saying yes miiiiiiight get you taken advantage of! thanks for this post, it really gave me a kick in my unproductive butt <3
I’m so glad you loved it! I needed it too!!!
I’m actually pretty focused and productive, but I do admit to being a bit of a perfectionist. That surely slows me down.
It slows me down too!
YES! Reason number one! Trying so hard to break this habit. But I feel glued to it for work. Trying to get better about staying productive and time management. Great tips!
Victoria
I totally get it — working from your phone makes it so hard to turn off!
So many of those sound like me! I have gotten really good about saying no, but the others fit pretty well. I’m a perfectionist but also a procrastinator, and those two things just really don’t go well together!
I know. That is me ALL THE WAY!! It’s hard to find a balance.
Yipes, 1, 4, and 5 are all issues I have. That’s not so good…
It isn’t but you can definitely work on it!
Alex got me a dry erase board to help. I write things down that need to be done so I can cross them off my list. It’s really nice to erase my list and see things dwindle down. That said, I have plenty of projects unfinished and with 2 little ones I’m constantly repeating the same chores. It’s hard to get to the end of the day and feel you have nothing to show for it.
I totally get that. I always hate when i get done with my day and feel like there is nothing to show for it. But I love dry erase boards — I need one for our house too!
These are all great tips. I’m still working on finding the balance as a new mom. It’s hard to go from structuring my days around my needs to now having someone who demands a lot more attention!
I don’t have any babies but I can just imagine!
Great tips here. I spend far too much time messing around on my phone. I’ve taken to putting it out of reach when I have something I need to sit down and do.
That is a great thing to do!
I procrastinate way too much for my own good myself. I usually take on too much as well. One is easier than the other to deal with. Thanks for the tips, and enjoy your weekend!
You, too Robert! I hate when I take too much on. It is a problem!
Facebook is my biggest time waster for sure! I try to only check it during certain times a day, but during the last week of the month I usually have a bunch of freelance writing deadlines so I totally check it more often to procrastinate haha I need to do that site blocker timer app for google chrome which will block the site for fixed hours haha
I need that too. But knowing me I’d just head over to safari instead…..
I work better at like 2 or 3 am and I’m really trying to change that! It makes it really hard to get up and get the kids ready for school in the morning. I’m also a perfectionist and procrastinator, which is not a good combo!
I work better at night too!
Ugh, I don’t even want to think about the amount of time I spend on my phone and iPad. It is probably a ridiculous amount. Thats a great tip and I need to implement it!
I hope it helps!!!
I don’t think people expect that being a perfectionist, but that is so true, it can put you behind.
I’ve found that I waste a lot of time online. I think of something I need to look up and get sidetracked looking at something else and then forget what I got on for in the first place. I’ve noticed that if I shut my laptop, I don’t check it nearly as often.
Number 4 and 5 sound just like me! I get FOMO if I don’t say yes to everything and have been trying to learn how to say no.
Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com
Half the time I’m unproductive cos my AMAZING BLOGUAD keeps blowing up my phone… 😉 😉 😉
(Is it bad that I do not care about that tho and would rather be unproductive with y’all than productive and alone? HA)
Coming Up Roses
NO BC SAME.