Working moms ask me regularly about how I run two unrelated businesses, working 25-30 hours per week, while still being the primary caregiver for my young boys. (Yep, I’m one of those professional part-time working moms that I sometimes write about.) Basically, they want to know how do I manage it all? When I boil it down I have 5 productivity and time management tips that enable me to make it all work together.
I decided to write a blog to share what works for me when it comes to productivity and time management so that it might inspire you to look at how you use your time a bit differently. After all, who doesn’t want to work smarter on the stuff that you must do, so you have more time for the stuff you want to do.
And let me say that I’ve been in your shoes of needing to think differently. The more than 110 interviews I did with working moms gave me lots of new ideas to try. Some worked. Some did not, at least not for me. It’s OK to try some new things to help you work smarter.
Being Intentional with Time
The am always looking to be more intentional with my time. And I’ll share a formula to help you think about maximizing your time. It’s one of the only (if not the only) formula I share. Maximizing your time = time management + productivity + staying on task. Essentially, you need to plan and control your time, be productive with the time you have, and stay focused or you won’t get things done. A simple concept with what might be a complex execution.
Morning Power Hour
Each morning is pretty consistent. If you want to read more specifically about what this looks like, check out my blog on my morning routine (this is my most popular on the blog). Let’s talk about after I drop off my young boys to school, though.
Morning is my most productive time. I use the morning to write, strategize, do challenging client work, etc. And instead of powering through a checklist, I work on my most challenging projects and important tasks. This is when I wrote my books; this is the time I work on my client’s toughest challenges. Or I might work on (versus in) my business during this power hour.
If you want to integrate a power hour into your day, I recommend you use that power hour when you’re most productive. Not sure about your peak productivity time or the time you’re most efficient in your day? Maybe this can help. Try to track your time management on a few days when you don’t have meetings and see when you naturally hit your groove. That is your natural productivity peak and you want to use that time wisely.
Batching (or Time Blocking)
In addition to my power hour, I use a few other productivity tools or hacks. One productivity method I use it batching, otherwise known as time blocking. Essentially, it’s easier to do the same thing over and over because you get into a groove. That’s where batching helps. I batch tasks, like writing this blog or checking email, or even doing calls. That way I’m not switching from one task to another, because that takes a lot of mental energy.
It might not make a difference in time management and productivity in a day, but it adds up in a month and year. And besides, you hit a groove when you’re doing the same stuff over and over. I feel like I produce better work and I certainly stay on task more easily.
Pomodoro Technique
On top of batching (or instead of batching some days) I use the Pomodoro technique. Not familiar with this productivity style? You work 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. After three to four 25-minute sessions, you take a longer break of 15+ minutes.
Here’s my trick, though. I plan and use those 5 minutes or 15+ minutes breaks wisely. I might post on social media (for my business) or unload the dishwasher in two 5-minute breaks. After all, doing some home tasks is part of the benefit of working from home. You don’t want to waste loads of productive time doing these home tasks, though. I find the Pomodoro technique works best when I need to stay focused for short spurts or when I’m trying to move several things forward in a day.
My suggestions with the Pomodoro technique are: to use a timer (I find a timer you have to get up to turn off is better than one next to you) and stick to time parameters. But you should also be flexible. If you’ve found you hit a groove on something and you work for 45 straight minutes, it’s OK. You can get back on track for the 25-minute work spurts pretty quickly.
If you want more information on these and other productivity methods, check out my blog post with hints on how to fully utilize them.
Prep the Night Before
I use the night before to save time in the morning. Especially since I try to have a power hour each morning, I want to make the most of it. Each night I essentially create a mini plan of what the next day will look like and I gather the resources that I need. If something you’re working on requires multiple parts, do you have all those parts? If so, put them all together, so you can hit the ground running the next day. I usually use 10-15 minutes to do this. (I also plan for the week on Sunday. This approach helps me with my daily goals and overall planning since I know what I’m working towards for the week.)
For example, I might put together all the online resources I’m using as research for an article I’m writing or for a project for a client. I might write a few titles on slides so that I know what I want to include on a strategic document. You figure out what you need to do the evening before to help you be more productive the next morning or day.
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Don’t be afraid to experiment to see what works best for you and how you use your time. Small adjustments are easier, but sometimes you need to make some big changes to maximize your time. See what works with your natural rhythm when it comes to time management and productivity, though. Do what works for you and don’t feel pressured to use these or any other approaches you read about. Figure out what you need or it won’t help you to change things up.
Do you have any time-saving tips? What do you use to be most efficient with your time? Do you have productivity hacks that you swear by? I’d love to hear them in the comments.
And if you want lots more practical time-saving tips, check out the latest Mompowerment book, available on Amazon (affiliate link).
