Between our day jobs, our families, our hobbies, and our social lives, we can be easily distracted from what really matters by other areas of our lives. Once we do sit down to work on the foundation of our eCommerce business, we tend to work on the easiest parts of our goals instead of the ones which really matter.
Any successful CEO will tell you working on the parts of your goal which will actually move you forward is the best way to build a profitable business. You want to avoid spending too much time on parts of your goal which don’t take you much closer to success.
Of course, you may not have a full 12-hour day available all of the time to work on your business. You might only have a few hours a day between other obligations to really sit down and put your ideas into practice.
With the right time management tips, you can stay more focused and get more done during the few hours each day you work on your business. We’ve put together 10 of the best time management tips to help you achieve your goals no matter how busy your schedule may be.
#1: The “Brain Dump” Method
The Brain Dump method is exactly as it sounds: whenever you find yourself thinking about dozens of deadlines, tasks, and ideas at one time, put them down on paper. Once you put your ideas on paper, you'll be able to organize and evaluate your ideas more easily.
#2: The Ivy Lee Method
At the end of each day, right down six tasks, you’d like to complete over the course of the next day, and prioritize your tasks in order of true importance – not ease of completion or which will take the shortest amount of time. Focus only on the first task until it’s finished, and so on for the rest of your list.
Many successful entrepreneurs use the Ivy Lee Method and have seen real results. It only takes a minute or two to write down your goals before bed, but it can change your productivity levels drastically.
#3: The Eisenhower Method
The Eisenhower Method states four different types of problems one can have, and how they should be treated:
– Important/Urgent – Should be done immediately.
– Important//Not Urgent – Must be done, but not immediately.
– Unimportant/Urgent – Should be done immediately, but should be delegated.
– Unimportant/Not Urgent – Should be dropped.
Assign your tasks to one of these categories of problems and act accordingly.
#4: The CEO/Worker Bee Method
As entrepreneurs, we play two key roles:
– The CEO: We do planning and create strategies for our business, as well as create ideas and solve problems.
– The Worker Bee: We take our ideas from CEO mode and make them a reality.
Clearly define the two roles and focus on the role you’re playing when you're playing it – don’t slip into the opposite role because it's more fun.
#5: Make a Roadmap For Your Goal
Unless you’re starting a completely new industry, there are other businesses in your niche which have found wild success. They each built their success from the ground up and started somewhere similar to where you’re starting.
Look at their roadmap to success and use it to create one for your goal. Follow the same steps as those who succeeded in order to put yourself on the right course.
#6: Understand Why You Want to Achieve Your Goal
You know what you want to achieve and you know how you’re going to do it, but do you know why? Sometimes we lose sight of why we’re chasing certain dreams, and we can stir up a lot of motivation and inspiration if we return to our reasoning for doing something.
#7: Break Up Your Projects And Turn Them Into Schedule Tasks
Instead of taking a full project head-on, break it up into smaller, achievable tasks and schedule them. By achieving the tasks on schedule, you can avoid procrastination and complete your projects without losing motivation.
#8: Give Everything a Time Frame
Give small goals a short time frame to be completed and give your big goals a larger time frame. This allows you to set deadlines for yourself, which can be very motivating.
#9: Set the Stakes
Think about what will happen if you don’t complete your tasks by their set deadline. When you understand these potentially negative consequences, it’ll motivate you to complete your tasks by the time they’re due.
#10: Recharge Your Batteries
You might want to work non-stop every hour of the day to achieve your goals, but you need to make time for yourself. Relaxation, nutrition, exercise, and meditation are critical to your mental wellbeing, and you should make time for them throughout your day to manage your energy.
This article was originally published by our friends at Fizzle.co
