Your Most Critical Productivity Resource
Practical steps for time management!
Welcome to All the Tasks Fit to Print, my newsletter on all issues productivity-related for authors (and other solopreneurs)! Watch for my new book, Holistic Productivity: Essays on a New Vision for a Well Balanced Life!
Time management in project management isn't just about clocking hours, it's about integrating time as a pivotal resource in your planning process. Rather than treating your calendar as a pair of shackles, consider it the same way you do money and work effort: important resources that help you accomplish your goals.
Spending a lot of money might help your business grow, if used for advertising, product development, or team members, but throwing as much of it as you can at the wall makes no sense. Time is no different. Understanding time as a resource helps harmonize all elements of your project’s tasks, ensuring that every hour “spent” contributes effectively toward your goals.
Example of Mismanaged Time
Consider the common task of writing a blog or social media post. Many people allocate a couple of hours per week to things like that without considering the actual resources it demands. Outside of the hour you’ve blocked on your calendar, the process involves multiple steps such as topic selection, research, drafting, editing, formatting, and publishing. Each of these steps consumes time and mental energy, which are often underestimated.
You end up spending three hours on something you thought would take you one, along with feeling mentally drained by the unexpected work and frustrated by the “wasted” time you did not account for.
This is why it is important to come at your calendar with the mentality of a project manager, knowing that tasks require multiple steps and should be parsed out over time in order to preserve energy and maximize efficiency.
Time is a resource! Budget accordingly!
Steps to Planning Your Time Effectively
Break Down the Project: Start by delineating all the steps involved in your project. For instance, for writing a blog post list out each phase from brainstorming to publication. If you are bad at this, use Goblin Tools to do it for you (YAY technology!).
Allocate Time for Each Step: Assign adequate time for each step, considering the mental and creative effort required. This might mean scheduling brainstorming in one block, drafting in another, and editing in a separate session.
Schedule Flexibly: Allow flexibility in your schedule to accommodate the creative process and unexpected delays. This ensures that you’re not just filling time slots on your poor, overburdened calendar, but are genuinely advancing towards your project completion.
Review and Adjust: Continuously review your schedule in relation to the project’s progress. Adjust as needed to optimize the use of time and other resources.
By treating time as a resource, you adopt a more holistic approach to your time, energy, and goals. This might feel like slacking, but in actually it improves your productivity and safeguards your energy, preventing burnout and enhancing overall project success!
Watch for my new book!
