We wear many different hats during the day and keeping track of it all can be insane. Give your brain computer a backup drive by doing these three things.

1. Make it a routine

Routines are an essential part of any time management plan because when something is routine you don’t have to think about it. Even if life and work throws huge curve balls at you, keeping at least some small part the same each day helps you feel more in control. If at all possible, try to make these routines in the morning. Get up at the same time. Exercise, eat breakfast, whatever it is you do in the morning, make it a habit. When you start the day in control it’s easier to keep that feeling of control longer.

2. Do small pieces of a large task every day

I have an author friend who says she writes 5 pages a day no matter what. Writing a book is a huge task. But 5 pages a day? That’s not too bad. Stop thinking about your huge task, and break it up into smaller bits. Worrying and procrastinating take up a lot of brain hard drive space you could use for other things.

3. Use external cues and reminders

Some people don’t write things down because they’ll “just remember.” Everybody remembers until they forget! Even if you could somehow remember everything you need to do, that processing power is far better used on other things. Don’t waste memory space on reminders. Set an alarm. Write it in your calendar. Leave a note on a white board. Wherever you choose to keep track of deadlines and to-dos, make sure it’s in one location. If you have to use mental capacity remembering WHERE you wrote your reminder, it defeats the purpose of using reminders.

We can’t trade our brain computer in for a bigger more powerful model, so we need to work hard with our time management skills to keep the one we have in good shape.

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The coveted RSVP…When we’re the event organizer, we can’t believe people won’t take 5 seconds to give us an answer. When we’re the event attendee we let that invitation sit on our counter for weeks until we have “time” to think about it. I am a huge fan of taking care of small tasks right away, but I’m a pretty bad example of the prompt RSVP. Here are four ways we can help improve the way we respond to events.

 1. Use Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s law says that work expands to fill the time that we give it. When you, the event organizer, give us 3 weeks to give you an answer, that’s how long it’s going to take. We let that small task expand to fill the time available. If you’re organizing a social event like a wedding, or birthday party, give us plenty of notice, but a smaller window to respond.

 2. Use the 5-Minute Rule

When you receive that event invitation, apply the 5 minute rule: if it takes less than 5 minutes, do it now. You’re never going to feel any more like finding a stamp and mailing in that piece of paper than you do right now, so you might as well just get it over with.

 3. Define What You’re Waiting For

Maybe you can’t RSVP right now because you’re waiting on something. Perhaps you need to check with your spouse, or check your work schedule. In that case, add that quick task to your calendar so you define when it will happen rather than allow it to be relegated to the infinite “later.” If, for example, you’re waiting on your work schedule, let the organizer know that so they aren’t left to just wonder about you. “Put me down as a Yes, but I’ll need to confirm on ____ when I find out for sure that I’ll be in town.”

4. Remember the Other Perspective

If you’re tempted to let that RSVP slide, consider the other perspective. Consider how frustrating it is to put off grocery shopping for a big event because you have no clue how much food to buy. Consider how frustrating it is to think your friends aren’t responding because they’re holding out for a better offer. As an organizer, make sure you remember your friends, just like you, have busy lives and things slip so don’t take it personally. Your party is great, but it’s not the most important thing on their minds right now.

Finally, if I have ever been late RSVPing to your baby shower/wedding/party/Bar Mitzvah, etc… I’m sorry. I offer this blog as my apology.

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Check out How to Speak so People Will Buy and other publications by Emily Schwartz

 Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

Ah…. Monday. We dread it over the weekend, but when it arrives it can be a huge time management asset. We are recharged from two days off, and haven’t become frustrated by a busy week quite yet. Here are three ways to make the most of your Mondays.

1. Do your most important thing

What are your highest priorities for the week? Try scheduling them on Mondays. Early in the week, you have less chance of a last minute task derailing your plan and you can capitalize on what little focus you have before mid-week burnout sets in.

2. Don’t schedule meetings

Monday meetings sound like a good idea to make sure everyone is on the same page before beginning the work week, but they eat up valuable focus time you can be using elsewhere. Try using Mondays for your priorities and schedule your planning meetings later in the week.

3. Get up early

It may be difficult to drag yourself out of bed on a Monday, but you’ll feel even less like getting up early after a few exhausting days of work. Take advantage of your two prior days of relaxation and set your alarm clock earlier to maximize your Monday productivity. Get the week started off on the right foot.

All three of these tips assume that you’ve taken at least a little time over your weekend to enjoy yourself and unwind. Make sure you enjoy a few “desserts” on your off days to keep you Time Diet balanced!

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More books by Emily Schwartz: How To Speak So People Will Buy

Time management is hard enough when it’s just us. Throw a kid or two into the mix? Your schedule just got a whole lot harder! Many of you know we had our first child this year. Here’s what we’ve learned about time management in the past 9 months.

1. Start the day ready

My husband and I both work full time, and we would both be in a perpetual state of “trying to get to work” if we didn’t do EVERYTHING the night before. Bottles made, lunches made, clothes picked out, computer packed up, etc…I hate doing this the night before, but when I wake up and don’t have to worry about it, my stress level instantly decreases. It sets the tone for the rest of the day.

2. Understand when it’s OK to be flexible

I hate being late. I love having a plan. When we had our daughter, I had to quickly realize that plans are great but not EVERY plan is a life or death situation if it doesn’t happen perfectly. Whenever I sense that a plan is about to derail, I think, “Am I mad about what’s happening right now? Or am I just mad that my plan didn’t work.”

3. Allow more time

After a few months of being upset that “unexpected” things kept making us late, I realized I needed to start expecting the unexpected. A sudden screaming fest, or outfit change isn’t a surprise anymore. Instead, it’s a welcomed surprise when it doesn’t happen and I have a few extra minutes of breathing room. It’s all about adjusting expectations.

4. Change your mindset

Finally, “busy” and “rushing” are a mindset. I don’t want my daughter to think we just rush around all the time. I want her to know that you can get a lot done and still smile about it and stay calm.

Now, lest you think my home is always perfectly organized, we’re always on time, and we never get upset…let me assure you that is NOT the case. However, I’ve found that the days we’re able to achieve the four things listed above are FAR more organized than the days we let them slide.

Check out other publications by Emily Schwartz The Time Diet: Time Management for College Survival on Amazon.com

Time Management Book for Students

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Rough day? Busy season? Rewarding ourselves for a job well done is a great habit, but I’ve found that the WAY we choose to reward ourselves can say a lot about our time management. Here’s why…

Things and Experiences

We often reward ourselves with tangible things. We’ll earn a raise, and buy ourselves a new watch. We’ll have a stressful day and pick out a new outfit. There is nothing wrong with this, but rewarding yourself with an experience can be even more meaningful. Be it a weekend getaway, a fancy night out to dinner, or even a movie night in at home, experiences are memorable and enrich our lives.

No Time!

Perhaps you’ve caught yourself passing on an experience because “I don’t have time”….THAT is precisely the problem!

I enjoy fancy things as much as the next person, but I think it’s easier for busy people to buy things for themselves instead of experiences, because things don’t require time out of our day.

I challenge you to make the time for experiences. It’s the best reward you can give yourself. Not only is it a reward for a job well done, but it’s a break from the work you put so much time into.

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Managing your own schedule: Difficult
Balancing your schedule with your significant other’s: Very difficult
Balancing your schedule with your kids: There is no balance, there is only survival

Balancing a hectic schedule with your family, girlfriend, husband, child, or even roommates can be extremely difficult. Before you rip up the calendar and scream about it, try this:

1. Regular check in

Pick a time during the weekend to discuss the coming week’s schedule. When are your most stressful points? When are your partner’s? When will you need help? When can you offer help? When can you plan some mutual relaxation time? When is that unlikely to happen? Going over the week from a more global perspective can help set up realistic expectations for the week ahead.

2. Priorities

When family time management conversations break down it’s sometimes a result of conflicting priorities rather than conflicting schedules. Your husband does his best work in the evening…but that’s when you want to spend together time relaxing. You are a morning person and feel a burst of productivity in the morning…but that’s when you’re scrambling to get the kids ready for the day. Talking about each other’s priorities can help pre-empt schedule arguments later on.

3. Flexibility

When we over schedule ourselves or have an unexpected emergency, it’s frustrating, but we have nobody to be frustrated with but ourselves. When other people are involved, it’s tempting to blame them. Remember, spouses have bad days too. Babies know when you’re in a hurry and choose THAT MOMENT to blow out their diapers. (That’s what they babble about when they get together. I’ve seen it happen.) Cut the other people in your life the same slack you cut yourself.

There is no magic solution that makes the balancing act easy. It’s hard work, but we do it for the people we love.

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Focus is one of the biggest buzzwords when it comes to time management. I’m so unfocused today! I can’t seem to focus on what’s important! I keep getting distracted! Sound familiar? It’s true, focus is one of the vital components of a productive day. So then why is it so difficult? Here are the three main reasons we lose focus:

1. Looking for excuses

Whether we realize it or not, when we’re doing a task we dislike, we look for reasons to stop. We call these things “distractions,” but they can function as excuses. For example, “Oh darn! I can’t finish this task because these emails just came through.” Try not to catch yourself prowling for reasons to switch tasks.

2. Don’t have a goal

It’s hard to focus when you don’t know what you’re focusing on! If you catch yourself jumping haphazardly from one task to the next, you may realize it’s because you haven’t clearly defined what you should be working on. Try taking out a blank piece of paper and writing the task or goal in the middle. It may sound silly, but the clear, visual reminder of what your focus SHOULD be helps tune out the other tasks that aren’t on deck just yet.

3. Failing to predict distractions

Many of the things that distract us aren’t unexpected and in fact we can take proactive steps to prevent them. For example, putting your smartphone out of reach, filtering your email, and asking coworkers to come back later. Also remember to use your knowledge of your energy patterns to your advantage. Not an afternoon person? Don’t save your most challenging tasks for the afternoon!

Focus is not something that just “happens,” we must actively take steps to achieve the mindset!

Connect with The Time Diet for more time management tips

Focus is not something that just “happens,” we must actively take steps to achieve the mindset!