4 ways to improve your time management

Practice Self Reflection

It’s essential in life and in business to practice self-reflection. When things happen, ask why: why haven’t you managed your time well up until now? When have you been late in the past? What was the reason?

Identifying exactly what’s going on can help you fix it, even if it’s as simple as setting your timer for ten minutes earlier. It’s also worth trying out different time management systems and identifying which one works best for you.

Become a master scheduler

Many people fail to take transitional time into account: they plan one meeting from 3-4, and one from 4-5, but forget that they need to move from one space to another in-between.

When you’re scheduling meetings and making plans, keep that travel time in consideration.

It’s also worth identifying your time habits: simple time-tracking apps can help you figure out how long you’re currently spending on different tasks. Gaining an oversight can make your future scheduling more accurate, less stressful, and more productive.

Be ready the night before

I’ve been guilty of leaving things to the last minute, but it’s simply not a sustainable practice. In order to streamline your mornings and make sure you maximize your time and productivity, get in the habit of planning and layout out all of your things the night before.

This could include laying out your clothes, packing your lunch, reviewing your calendar, and having all essentials for the next day packed and ready to go.

It can be all too easy to review something quickly before bed and then leave it lying on the kitchen table by accident, so get in the habit of ensuring everything is organized and set before you go to sleep.

Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize

While coffee with friends is nice (and essential for your mental health and wellbeing) you may need to turn it down if your schedule has become too full or you already have commitments.

An essential part of improving your productivity and time management skills is learning to say no and turning down invitations: in order to complete your core tasks, you’ll always need to compromise and prioritize.

But, once you’ve mastered your bedtime and morning schedule, taken commutes into account and reflected on how long tasks truly take you, you may be surprised to find yourself with less stress and more time than before.

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Managing your time is an essential part of running a small business. With seemingly endless small tasks and errands to run, having an oversight of your activities and planning accordingly will save you a lot of headaches; and help you balance your work-life activities.

- Lena Klein