Time managment

Prioritize your activities - if you have several projects going on, chart out which ones will have the most results / profits, and focus on working on those a set number of hours a day. Anything that is unprofitable, leave that for last. And get rid of cable - that does wonders with productivity time!

What I do is plan my week in advance on a spreadsheet. I put what I plan to do and the approximate time it will take. Its easy to jump from one project to the next when they dont make you money. you have to focus on one or two things you like and focus all your time on them. And plan out a long range plan too, which will be helped by your weekly plan. Just how I do it, hope it helps you too...

You need to have a set plan you are working on, so you know exactly what the next task is when you work.

And set a timer...

Here is a link to my article "Time Management - The Power Hour" which talks about how a timer helps.

I think to need to be thinking long term (not the week ahead).. Where do you see your business in 6 months? 2 years? 5 years?

Go to staples/office depot and buy ya a couple of legal pads. Make you a daily to-do list on what you want to accomplish that day. As you complete each task cross it off. Don't move onto the next one until the other is complete. Also set break goals. For example you may say you need to complete 3 tasks before you enjoy a cig or an hour TV break.

Working online it can be easy to get distracted but by making simple lists such as this you can manage your time efficiently and go to bed at night feeling super productive.

Hi, I feel at lease you're getting your thoughts out there. What you need is get someone to hold you accountable for your actions.

Run everything you do through ToodleDo. Give things priorities and due dates properly, and then when you log in, everything you need to do right now is there at the top of the list. I break all my stuff down into 'Personal', 'IM' and 'Company Development' folders, and they have subtasks if you upgrade to pro. Definitely the best thing i've used to manage my time.

Hi, I think everything here is said... what helps me the most is GTD by David Allen...
David Allen, Getting Things Done® and GTD®

To your success

Here it is... taught to me by one of the kings of marketing...

Your business has 3 core activities - traffic, products and marketing to your list.

Divide your day into 3 equal time blocks.

Spend an equal amount of time on each of the 3 activities every day.

Prioritize your daily activities for each time block. If you don't get it done today, move on to the next activity block.

Forget goals to do lists, timers and all the other stuff.

Oh...

And your first question every day should be: What is the first major task I can do today to product income?

Sal

PS: I am disorganized as they come, but I don't use software etc... and do pretty good for myself.

Hey Cashtree,

I have been there myself and if I am being honest have days when I slip back there and need to have serious words with myself when that happens. If I don't do something then the only person I can blame is me and I am going to be the person most affected by it.

I really don't suggest using a project or time management program at present, as I find these can be a big distraction in themselves, figuring out which one to use and how to use it, playing around with it etc. which wastes more time. Well this is what happened with me. To start with you should keep it simple and just use a notepad and pen and write down all the goals that you want to achieve in a week. Once you can see that clearly you can pick some important tasks you can do each day - I find when you cross something off it can be really satisfying and spur you on to do more.

If you are really battling with working on a certain task, instead of wasting time messing around and not doing it, work on another task that day and go back to it later. Give yourself rewards once you have completed a few tasks and remember to take breaks - away from the computer works well for me, going for walks or just chatting to a positive friend.

At the end of each day I write down or say aloud to myself what I have achieved that day and how proud I am of myself for doing so much, I am often surprised to see how many other things I have done that I didn't actually think of.

A timer is a great idea but when you are on the internet it doesn't always stop you from going to another site or doing something you don't actually need to do but it is good to have there as an additional resource.

Once you have worked simply for a week or two and can see the progress you can step it up and create a plan for the month, next 6 months etc and think about incorporating a project management system.

What also helps me is speaking to other people. If you have some support it can also help you as IM can sometimes be a lonely place. You can swap tips and ideas and also give each other the moral boost that we all sometimes require.

There are so many ways that you can improve your time management, you need to find the best way that works for you and once you get into a routine it will come easier.

Wishing you all the best - you can do it

Thanks guys, I appreciate the time and effort you put into your posts and I hope others benefit from it as much as I hope to.

Practice makes perfect is a half truth. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Just take action is also a half truth. Take specific, productive action is the key in this instance.

Well all I can say it that forgive yourself for what you have done in the past and start over with new breath.

Keep doing what works, even when you feel stuck. If you haven't stop trying you haven't fail yet.

Don't bit yourself up. What I have done is I made a list of "critical activities", activities that would bring me money and would grow my business, and a list of non money making activities.

Example:

blogging- that's not a money making activity. That's a traffic getting activity, so if you're spending a lot of time doing it and then wonder why you don't haven't made any money, here's your answer.

video editing- another non money making activity

setting up your blog- another one

Releasing a wso- this is a money making activity

Uploading your new kindle book- another money making activity

These are just examples.

If you follow this plan, what you're going to find is that there a lot of activities that we need to do in order to get to the money but that in it self will not bring you money, that doesn't mean you shouldn't do them, that means that you shouldn't spend too much time on them because you will feel that you have worked all day, every single day, and you still are not making money.

One of the things that helps is to set up a business plan and action steps.

In your phase 1 of your business plan list building might be the priority, if so you need to make a critical activities board that would allow you to quickly know if you're doing things that will get you there faster or not, but in this case money is not the goal.

In phase 2 maybe it might be monetizing the list with a product or service launch- then you need to do it all again and make sure that you make as much critical activities as possible.

Hope this helps

Regards

Mario

P.S- Right now, I'm way out of my critical activities zone. But I am conscious of that.

Create a daily schedule and stick to it. I usually plan
out my week in advance.

Creating a daily to-do list will keep you from getting
distracted with other projects. I notice I am less
productive when I don't have a task list. I find my
self doing a little of this and a little of that, then realize
I have not really accomplished a whole lot for the day.

Create a schedule of your activities. If you work with one assignment, finish it and don't be preoccupied of other things.