Organise my time

Hi, steven-brandon88. It's great you posed this question. Time, after all, is a key ingredient in anything we try to accomplish in life.

First of all, there's a huge misconception most people seem to have. (I also used to be one of these people.) They think that working more will get more things done. Of course it's natural to think that you can get more done by working eight hours a day instead of four. But in reality, it's nonsense. If you can stay focused on one thing at a time for a shorter period of time (e.g. two hours), you can get a lot more done than doing things on-and-off for the whole day.

The key is to learn how to focus. If you're starting a business of your own, you might think that you'd be better off if you didn't have a day job. And that could be true to a certain extent, because you'd have more time to hang out with your buddies and play video games, but it doesn't really affect the business. You don't need the full eight hours to run a business; you just need to split your day into segments and learn how to focus on (effectively) doing one thing at a time.

Every working day should be segmented into at least two parts: your new project (i.e. your business) and everything else. We've got to understand that everyone has different commitments and lifestyles so it's practically useless to come up with perfect time segments for everyone's needs. That said, earlier is still better. If you tend to wake up at 7 a.m., it's usually more effective to go to bed earlier and get up at, say, 5 a.m. than wait until you're back from work. This is because work tends to drain a lot of energy. It's dangerously easy to say "I'll start tomorrow" if you choose to work on your stuff at night. But if you work on your business in the morning, your mind is still fresh and you probably have more motivation too. You should first take care of what's most important to you and then move on to other things.

That should get you started. Don't forget to let me know how it goes. I'll be waiting for your status report. I'm no expert, but I would be happy to help if you need any further assistance. You might also find some of my blog posts helpful if you're struggling with time management and motivation (the link to Self-Learner is down there *points with finger*).

2 words for you Steven: Pomodoro Technique.

It's worked wonders for me. The Pomodoro Technique breaks down a period of time into work/rest blocks. I like to do it by the hour.

I work for 45 minutes then rest for 15.

This creates order in the mind which is a phenomenal organizing tool Also motivates me to hustle when working and let go entirely when resting which is a critical aspect to staying refreshed.

Google offers a neat little app to put into your Chrome browser. It's called Chromodoro, google it for the download.

Ryan

I alway make a list before I go to bed every night so I KNOW what i'm doing as soon as I get up in the morning. Keeps me focused and its great ticking them off one by one . . . though some take longer than expected sometimes. The key is having the DISCIPLINE to get into the habit of doing it . . . then you get a lot more done.

I use a mathematical formula to priorities things; it really helps me to focus on what’s important.

I ask myself:

ADD – what new things should I be doing in my business that will help me achieve my goals
MIUNUS – what things am currently doing, but should stop doing as they are adding no real value to my business at all
MULIPLY – what things am I currently doing, but should be doing more of
DIVIDE – what things am I currently doing, but should do less of

I do this about once a month for about 10 -15min. Hope it helps!

Time ofcourse is the most important thing and very valuable in life. But it has to be tackled properly. For this I suggest getting things done course. It really takes a completely new take on time management which actually works because it also focuses on location along with time.