We shoulder a lot of responsibilities every day and the work to do can keep adding up. Then in time unnoticed, you become lost in the scramble of doing such tasks. You’re unable to decide what to do first and what to do next. This is why planning is one of the most important ingredients for a productive day. But how exactly do we plan for it?
Today, we share the best tips on how to manage your day as a solitary business person:
1. Make a list of everything you need to get done (realistically) for the day
For a smooth sailing and productive tomorrow, make a list of things to do the night before. Write what needs to be done ASAP, and the amount of time you’re supposed to assign to it. This helps you not waste time asking yourself “What was I going to do next?” after you finish certain tasks. List only things that you can do during the day. If you want to do 10 things but can only do 7, then scratch those 3 and leave them for tomorrow.
2. Follow a morning routine
A lot of things can be done by waking up early. Get an early good night’s sleep so you can wake up at an earlier morning hour. If you make a lot of decisions when you wake up, make those decisions the night before so you won’t waste a lot of time the following day. Have rituals like drinking coffee, moving around, taking a bath with cold water to shake the grogginess off, or watching current news updates that affect your niche in business.
Read More: Practical Steps to Having More Productive Solopreneur Mornings
3. Do high priority tasks first
As mentioned in #1, if you’ve listed the tasks that need to be done ASAP, then rank those tasks on the to-do-list according to their importance. For example: If you’re about to attend a local product expo and have a financial report due for tomorrow, then be there at the expo in the morning first and work on that report in the afternoon.
4. Embrace the art of time blocking
This technique allows you to manage your day better by dividing it into segments. All tasks big and small receive individual attention so you can focus on completing them one at a time. Using a sharpie or pen, ruler, and cartolina, you can have a personally crafted time block to pin to your wall. And if you don’t want a tangible time block, you can use Excel or Numbers spreadsheets for it. Time blocking apps are also available online.
5. Batch similar tasks together
To reduce time and effort in completing non-urgent tasks, do them together in their same categories. Batching similar tasks to do is good because your mind doesn’t get thrown off given that doing them requires the same mindset. Example: If you have tasks about numbers and calculations, do them all together in the morning. If you have PR tasks, then do them all in the same afternoon. If you have tasks that are about moving around the city, then do all of them in one day.
6. Take breaks throughout the day
Working on the same task for long hours can cause a burnout and nobody wants that. It is unpleasant and unhealthy. So remember to unwind and get some rest as a reward for your hard work. Go eat or have a juice. Sit on that comfy office sofa or get some fresh air at the rooftop!
7. Review your day to figure out how to improve your productivity tomorrow
What mistakes have you made today? Were you short on time? If your current strategy is no good and can’t be fixed, then change it for tomorrow. Change or update your list of tasks. Move your time blocks. Know the difference between important and urgent. If nothing is urgent then focus on what’s important and profitable. Prioritize difficulty first over the easy tasks if you have to.
Did you feel enlightened about our tips? Comment below and let’s have a discussion. Or if you liked our pieces of advice, pressing that “like” button shows us how much you did.
