Time Management And Staying On Task

Have you ever noticed that some days or maybe a lot of days when you get started working your business after a while you find yourself so far off task that you might-as-well have not started in the first place? Checking email, Facebooking (non-business activities like reading personal posts, posting comments, and playing games, etc. You know what I'm talking about – fun but unproductive), or surfing the web looking for a new cell phone cover.....unfortunately it is very easy to burn an entire day engaged in these kinds of wasteful activities without realizing just how much time has actually gone by.

I know that we all can become easily distracted from the tasks we know need to be done. Not necessarily because they are difficult, boring, or we hate doing them, that's not it at all. We're all very busy. And there are so many things that need to be done, along with hundreds of distractions & responsibilities from family (especially if children are part of the equation), friends, & life in general, and as we all know there are only 24 hours in a day. At one point I became so frustrated with my inability to stay focused on the task and not seeming to be able to get anything accomplished that I almost gave up on trying to do this business. But I'm no quitter and this is too important to give up on. So I decided to sit down and figure out a way to fix this issue I was having with my productivity. And after much trial and error, this is what I found works best for me. It may or may not work for you. But if you are experiencing the same difficulties staying on the task it's certainly worth a try, right?

Anyway, here it is.

• For my last business activity of the day, I review my list of tasks that need to be done. I keep a running list that I update as things change. If something new comes up I add it, so my list never gets completed. I'm constantly adding items to and subtracting items from it.
• After I review the list I prioritize each task; the most important in the top or number one position and the next important item in the second position and so on and so forth until all the tasks are ranked on the list.
• When I have finished prioritizing the list I look at each task to determine if its something I want or even can do myself. If it is something I can't or don't want to do I outsource it. Keep in mind that it will require some time to set this up and some cost, but outsourcing can allow you to accomplish much more in a shorter time frame. Virtual Assistants can be a valuable resource and are not really all that expensive if you invest the time to set it up the right way from the beginning. If you can afford to do this it can make a big difference in your business, but even if you can't afford it when you first start out you will definitely want to incorporate this into your business as-soon-as-possible. Outsourcing will make your business run more efficiently and be more profitable. This has the effect of giving you more time and freedom, which is why we do this business in the first place, right?
• Next, I estimate the amount of time each task will take or how much time I want or need to spend on it.
• Then I set a goal of which tasks I'd like to get done the next day. I shoot for 3 to 4 hours of work. I try to set a reasonable number of task to fit the allotted time, but I also like to challenge myself to accomplish more than I think I can, so I tend to put quite a bit on my list, but that's just me. You don't have to put more than 1 task on the list if that's all the time you have to spare. At least you are doing something to move your business forward.

The critical things here are:

1. don't overload yourself,
2. don't fret about NOT getting everything on your list done, as long as you are taking action then you're making progress, and you will never go wrong doing that.
3. and most importantly reward yourself for moving forward and getting something accomplished.

Sometimes if my list is really heavy I will break it up into more manageable groups and take breaks in-between groups as a reward for completing a set of tasks. But I always keep track of how much time I spend doing non-business activities and I determine beforehand how much time that will be and I remain very disciplined regarding that schedule.

Discipline is the key – you have to be disciplined to make this work.

My personal preference is to try to get my list done early in the day to avoid interruptions. It just seems easier and things flow smoother that way (from my experience). However, this is not really a hard, set in stone type rule, it's just a general guideline that seems to work best for me. Like many things in life, when applying to advise from someone else, you will need to test different schemes or modify a few things until you find what works best for you. Don't be afraid to experiment, you never know, you might discover a much more efficient way for you to get stuff accomplished, or develop a greater insight in the process that gives you an advantage, or maybe even create something new you and others will find beneficial.

We would love to hear from you regarding your experiences or comments. Your feedback is important to help us improve the information we regularly share with our readers.

To Your Success,
Christopher Gibson

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