The best time management system I’ve ever used

There are a lot of time management systems out there. I like and have used David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system. And I use several parts of his system still.

But my favorite time management system is Stephen Covey’s First Things First system. (He might not call it a time management system but that’s a simple way to describe one of its functions).

With First Things First, you really do put “first things first”. Rather than starting with your list of tasks and to-do’s, you start with the relationships that are important to you. You choose a few of those relationships, set specific goals to accomplish with them in the week, and schedule those goals. You also add in some personal growth time, too.

Once you’ve scheduled in those essential parts, THEN you add all of your other tasks and to-dos around those.

What I like about his system is that it puts our relationships first. That’s so powerful because it’s really our relationships that enrich our lives. And I like that it forces me to think about how I can add value to key people in my life. (To be honest, it’s so easy to let a day, a week, and even a month slip by without thinking about how I can improve my relationships. But with Covey’s First Things First system, I’m forced to think first about the people who are important to me before I figure out everything else)

Like all time management systems, Covey’s isn’t perfect. I think we all need to cobble together a time management “Frankensystem” that works for us individually. But if I could recommend any changes to your time management, it would be to figure out how you can adopt a First Things First approach and start intentionally adding more value to your relationships.

You just received the one thing you’ve been begging for

We’re all busy. All the time. And life doesn’t seem to be slowing down. We sometimes say to our friends and family (and Twitter followers)… “If I only had more time!!!”

Well guess what. The universe listened. The earth shifted slightly (well, it didn’t JUST shift slightly, I think it happened a while ago) and now we have an extra day every 4 years in order to make up the cosmic difference.

End result?

You’ve just received a gift of 24 more hours that you wouldn’t most other years. This day is literally extraordinary (“extra”+”ordinary”)… so what are you going to do with that gift of time? As I write this, it’s 7:27 in my timezone. Which means I have 4.5 hours left in my “bonus day” to make it a great day. My plan?

Today is extraordinary so I wanted to do extraordinary things.

• I’m going to spend some time with family
• I’m going to do a bunch of billable work
• I’m going to work on my business
• I’m going to learn something

If I can accomplish all of those things on any given day then I’m a happy camper, but it’s rare that I hit all of them. So since I have this extra free day, I’m going to make the most of it by making the day extraordinary!

I want to leverage the day on my journey toward living a fulfilled, successful life.

We don’t always get free stuff in life. But today we got something extra — the very thing that each one of us has been begging for.

Bonus thought: If today turned out to be a regular day and you didn’t do anything extraordinary, that’s okay. Chances are, you might have been required to still show up for work and perform the duties you’ve promised your boss. So why not commit to doing something extraordinary on Saturday — as the “extra day” you would have taken if you could have taken today off.

How to get more work done without staying at the office longer

This morning I got out of bed, grabbed a coffee, and sat down at my computer. The first thing I did was turn on Twitter and read through some tweets. Unfortunately, I got caught up in a vortex of tweets and, before I knew it, a considerable amount of my most productive time was lost.

Now, I should be clear: I don’t think the time was WASTED because social media is important to my business and it’s a way that (as a home-based entrepreneur) I stay connected to the outside world. However, the time was misused because the morning is usually very productive time for me. I usually get a lot of really good work done then. And most of it was spent on social media… which is an activity that could have been spent at a different time of day.

We all have those fluctuations in productivity — those moments in the day when we are more productive and less productive. For me, the morning is a great time, as is about 2pm to 3pm and then 8pm to 10pm. I get A LOT of work done during those times. As for the other times of the day, I’m not useless but I’m certainly not at my peak.

You have rhythms like that, too, and they depend on a number of factors like how much sleep you get, what your diet is like, what your exercise routine is like, what other responsibilities you have (i.e., parenthood), and other factors. So I’m not here to tell you that a certain time of day is the best time or worst time for you.

It’s up to you to find out when you are at your most productive for certain tasks. Chances are, you have some key tasks (probably revenue-generating tasks) that require most of your focus and energy. If you can figure out when you are at your best, you can accomplish most of your key tasks during that time. Then stack up the less-essential activities for the other times — maybe emails and phone meetings, for example.

To figure out your most productive and least productive times, keep a journal for a week. Set an hourly alarm on your computer or smartphone and when the alarm chimes, write down what you accomplished and what your focus and energy levels were (i.e., high, medium, low). Keep this journal for a week or longer and watch for patterns. Don’t forget that there are other factors to account for — such as if you have a cold or if you were partying all weekend.

Once you know the productivity rhythms of your body, you can schedule your week around when you get the most work done.

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