Time Management is key when running your own business. And when you enjoy writing articles for Steemit as much as I do, you need even more skill in managing your time, in order to ensure you are able to actually have time to write as everything takes time.
Work smarter, not harder
I have learnt a lot about managing my own time during the years and believe I can provide a few tips that might be able to assist all of us trying to find time doing everything we need to do.
First and foremost make sure you are not tired, and get an early start.
In order to be able to manage your time effectively you need to be fresh and ready to work at all times. I am a morning person, so I wake up early in the mornings, around 05:00 is my standard wake up time. This means I need to be asleep at least around 22:00 at night to get my 7 - 8 hours which is required to function optimally. Well, I actually found that I only need about 6 hours of sleep in order to be awake.
Planning is critical, but don't over plan.
We need to plan everything we need to do. If you have a 09:00 - 17:00 job, it does not leave a lot of time to write your daily article. If you think about, most of us travel at least 2 hours to and from work, which means we already used up 10 hours of our days. This means we really need to plan carefully, and when you plan to do something, stick to it and do it. My calendar is like my bible for planning. If something is not in the calendar, it will probably not happen.
Do the most important things first.
Image Credit
I have read a lot about time management during the years, and this tip, really helps a lot. I just find that when you do the most important things first, it is like you are freeing up your mind to not have to worry about that critical or important thing that you still need to do. So, plan to do your most important things first.
Ensure to devote your attention
When you are busty with a task, focus on the current task and do not worry about other tasks, which you are planning to do later. Focus is key to ensure you finish the task at hand in the allocated planned slot. Don't worry about those unimportant things, focus in the task at hand You will be surprised to find how quickly you start to save time when you focus.
Turn key tasks into habits.
I have recently read a blog posts on Time Management, where I learnt a great tip. If you can turn your regular tasks into habits, it just comes naturally. Take writing for example, if you write something for Steemit every day, it will become a habit. I write an article per day for Steemit, except for weekends, as I am usually not in the position to write. The point is that I write an article for for Steemit every day to the point where it became a habit.
Exercise
Most websites and blogs about time management will have this tip in. There are too many studies showing that if you exercise, you will be more productive. We cannot ignore this fact.
Take regular breaks
I try to break for 2-3 minutes at least every hour. When you sit down to work again, it just focuses your attention on the task at hand again.
Work on similar things together
It works to batch similar tasks together. It saves time in the long run. If we take Steemit writing for example, for me there are three tasks.
- Planning and research
- Writing
- Clean Up and Add images.
I have found that when I focus to write a specific article, I don't plan now, write two hours later and then clean the article up for posting. I do all if it at the same time.
Make sure you allocate a timeframe to complete the task in.
This is very important. For some or other reason, this really works for me. If I allocate a specific tome to get a specific job done, it just happens. And the more you focus on the time that you need to complete, the faster it starts to happen.
Don't do stuff that is not essential.
It is important that you do not do stuff that is not important. It takes up too much time. If it is not that important don't do it. If it becomes more important, you will by default plan to do it.
