I’m sharing time management hacks I’ve learned over the years, and I wish I had known them sooner. As a mom of two little ones, a business owner of two businesses, church stuff, and kids stuff – I have a full schedule.
And so something that I’m often asked is, “Amanda, how do you have time to do all these things?” And I want to help you keep yourself sane during the week by using these productivity hacks.
Simple Time Management Hacks You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner
Before you head into a busy (busier) season, I wanted to equip you with a few simple time management hacks I use every week. Press play and learn how to regain a little bit of sanity while making all your friends impressed by how you keep juggling everything.
Map Out Week Using Google Calendar
The first thing I do every single week is map out my week. I will look at every task I have to complete for the week and do a big brain dump of all the tasks that need to be done within this week. I did it for a long time, and I don’t know why I fell out of practice. Still, I’m back at putting this all into my Google calendar. So I will map out every hour of my day using a Google calendar.
I’m sure you have reached the end of an eight-hour workday. You have looked down at your clock, and I felt you had done nothing. And to me, that is the worst feeling. I hate that feeling whenever I think I’ve wasted an entire day. And so whenever I map out hour by hour, I am good at sticking to it. It is color-coded, and I can always open up my Google Calendar and know exactly what I need to do at what time, which helps me stay on task. On Friday, I will be mapping out my calendar for the upcoming Monday through Friday, so I know what my upcoming week will look like.
One No-Call Day Per Week
The second thing I do is keep at least one no-call day. I do not take meetings on that day. If I need to get into the trenches and do deep mind work, this is the day that I will do it. It gives me one day to relax (and not worry about my outfit or makeup).
Weekly Inbox Zero
I used to be big on trying to keep my inbox at Inbox Zero. Inbox Zero was the mission every day, which led to me having my inbox open all the time. And so, as soon as an email came through, I felt I had to respond. It didn’t matter if I was recording this podcast episode. I would see that notification come through and respond to it.
I try not to have a daily inbox zero anymore. If I can get to Inbox Zero weekly, that’s great because it allows me to close out my inbox and not feel like I have to respond and put out fires constantly.
Regular Team Meetings
Schedule weekly meetings to discuss projects and delegate if you have a team. We have our weekly meetings with the team on Tuesdays, and it’s always a great refresher.
My Mondays do not usually have a rhyme or rhythm other than getting groceries. Whatever still needs to be done from the weekend happens this day. But then we have our standing meetings on Tuesday. This really allows me to get a pulse on every single project.
When scheduling a regular team meeting, it’s better to have these earlier in the week and day because afterward, I have a block of time to knock out smaller tasks related to the meeting. Team meetings makes me feel less anxious. I’m in a good place whenever I have this team meeting, and everybody’s on the same page. It allows me to have better workdays Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I can move forward into the rest of my week knowing that I’ve delegated everything, all the wheels are turning, and we’re moving projects.
Turn Off Notifications
I’ve taken notifications off my phone. You can be mid-conversation, and an email notification that pops up on your phone. Then suddenly, you’re looking at it, and it’s seven o’clock at night, and you’re working.
I don’t want my email or notifications to control me. I have notifications turned off for Facebook, Instagram, email, ClickUp, and Linkedin because I don’t want to be in the middle of eating dinner and see that somebody messaged me on Instagram. I feel like I have to reply, and I want to be in control of my time.
One Sales Generating Task Per Day
I do one sales-generating task per day. I only log off my computer if I have finished one sales-generating task because those are the only tasks I do myself most of the time. And they are what keep the business moving forward.
This can be following up with leads by sending over personalized emails, sending out an email newsletter, setting up a networking lunch, or sending out an email pitch to a podcast or somebody you want to speak with. These tasks will keep our pipeline full, so I can continue having team meetings. I can continue delegating projects.
Time Management Hacks
These are the few things I do daily and weekly that help our team move forward. They also are just like time management hacks that everyone should get in the process of adding to their business.
