22 | Time Management Tips to Get More Done Each Day -

Listen and subscribe on your favorite podcast app:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Podcasts | Pod.link / Pick Another App

Disclaimer: Please note this post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a commission if clicked at no extra cost to you. Though the opinions remain my own

Table of Contents

Podcast Description

I know we all wish we could get more things done and cross more things off our to-do list, I’m one of those people too. But what if I told you that there actually is a way for you to at least be able to get more done each day?

Well in this episode, I’m going to share my top time management tips that’ll help you get more things done each day without adding more to your plate.

Links Referenced in this Episode:

▶ Listen to episode 9: Managing Distractions When Working From Home

▶ Listen to episode 10: How To Prevent Burnout as an Entrepreneur (And Why You Should Care)

▶ Listen to episode 11: Using Strategic Systems to Reduce Your Overwhelm

Connect with me:

Website | Instagram

Episode Transcript

(Note: This is a formatted AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through, but is not an optimized blog post. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

Episode Introduction

I know we all wish we could get more things done and cross more things off our to-do list. I’m one of those people too. But what if I told you that there actually is a way for you to be able to at least get a little bit more done each day?

Well, in this episode, I’m going to share my top time management tips that’ll help you get more things done each day without adding more to your plate. Now let’s dive on in.

Hey, I’m Lucy Reyes, your host of the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, where I’m on a mission to help online entrepreneurs like you focus on all the right things and kiss overwhelm goodbye. Here, you’re going to learn strategies that will boost your productivity so that you can scale your online biz and impact lives sooner. It’s your time to shine. So let’s get started.

Hey, hey, welcome back to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, episode 22. So let’s talk about time management and how improving on your time management skills can help you get more done each day, regardless of the distractions you may have going on around you.

What is time management?

But first, let’s start by clarifying what time management even means.

In its most basic terms and defined by a site called Mindtools, time management is “the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities” and in doing so, it increases effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity.

So in even more simpler terms, you’re working smarter, not harder throughout the day, but you’re still getting things done.

Top Time Management Tips for Online Business Owners

So let’s get you to where you want to be by guiding you through my top five time management tips for online business owners.

1) Get enough rest

So the first thing is to get enough rest. One way to ensure that you’re actually effective during the day is by getting enough rest.

I know that as an online entrepreneur, you’re likely trying to hustle, hustle, hustle, and you might not be getting the recommended amount of sleep each night.

However, that is very counterintuitive. Because if you’re not getting enough rest, the amount of time that you’re spending working on your business is actually going to increase and you’re going to get less done.

Why? Because you’re less focused. You’re more tired so you’re not even able to be as creative as you normally would if you were having a really good amount of sleep each night. There’s so many different reasons why you need to get enough rest.

So it’s not selfish. It’s actually a basic need that you need to do. So making time to get rest is so super important and is what is going to help you recharge and keep your body healthy, which in turn just makes it easier for you to manage all of your time better.

Now in episode 10, I talk about ways to prevent burnout as an online entrepreneur and this is one of those ways. If you don’t get enough rest, you’re eventually just going to lead yourself into burnout and that is something that is not fun.

You don’t want to go there. And if you’ve been there before, you know that it’s not fun. So definitely make sure that you are getting enough rest.

2) Brain dump regularly

Now, the second thing is that you’ll want to get into the habit of brain dumping regularly. So you can choose to do this on paper or digitally so that way you can always have it with you.

Personally, I do all of my brain dumping for my business inside of Trello, and is one of the strategies that I teach throughout all of my programs because brain dumping can truly, truly be super powerful in clearing your mind and getting all the thoughts and ideas out of your head.

So regardless of the method that you choose, whether it’s on paper or in some project management tool, or even just a Google doc, you definitely want to get into the habit of getting out all of your thoughts consistently. Once a day at minimum.

It could be something as simple as like, “okay, what do I still have left to do? What was I not able to accomplish today? What are some ideas that came to my head?” And it doesn’t even have to be like a full blown brain dump session.

You can even just have a dedicated place somewhere where you can randomly write down your thoughts and then you categorize those later. That is something that I love to do.

I have categorized all my brain dumps inside of Trello in all the different ways so that way, when I have an idea or thoughts about a specific subject or topic, I can just go into that Trello board and brain dump whatever came to my mind there. And then I can just revisit that the next time I’m about to work on that project.

So brain dumping is a great way to not only keep track of the things that you need to do, but also get rid of all of the stress that comes with forgetting certain events, task ideas, whatever it is. So definitely make it a habit.

Related Post: The Minimum 4-Bucket System

3) Implement and use strategic systems

The third thing is to use systems. So a big part of time management is making things as efficient as possible. So you’ll want to think about setting up helpful strategic systems to make doing certain tasks a breeze.

Now if you’ve been following me for a while, this is no surprise to you that this is on the list because systems are so, so important.

Strategic systems is what’s going to help you really be able to visually see all of the different things that you’re working on for your business. It’s going to help you create some workflows so that way, you know even the smallest tiniest tasks for something that you may not even have thought of.

It’s all going to be visual and present to you. It’s also something that helps you not overschedule yourself as much because you can see all of the things that are involved with a certain task or project.

So inside of my signature program, Level Up Your Biz with Trello, this is all we’re doing. We’re creating strategic systems for your business.

And you can even head over to episode 11, where I go in way more detail about strategic systems in case this something that’s a little bit newer to you. But keep in mind that these systems don’t just have to be for big tasks. Okay.

Little systems for little tasks add up. And even saving just a few minutes here and there can go a really long way in helping you remain focused throughout the day.

4) Reduce distractions as best as possible

So the fourth thing is you’re going to want to eliminate or reduce distractions as best as possible. For example, turn off the TV when you’re trying to work. Or avoid checking your phone, social media or your emails constantly.

Instead, try to focus on whatever it is that you’re working on. The more you can focus, the quicker you’ll be able to get it done without sacrificing the quality of your work or whatever it is that you’re doing.

Now I know, I know that eliminating your distractions is probably not going to be as easy as it sounds. Right. So reducing them is going to probably be your best bet.

And in episode nine, I have a whole episode on how you can reduce the distractions and how you can remain focused whenever you’re trying to work from home, regardless if you have kids or pets or the doorbell rings or any conditions or anything.

There’s some ways that you can reduce the distractions to at least help you get a little bit more done. Because like I said, we’re not trying to go from step zero all the way to step 200. Even all the baby steps that you take in your business and whatever it is that you do can really go along the way. So definitely check out episode nine, if you need some help with that.

5) Set boundaries

And lastly, you need to set up a couple of different types of boundaries. So boundaries that include you saying no more often which tasks you should do versus which tasks you can delegate, if that’s something that you’re able to do, and when to stop working.

And before you say anything, just know that I’ve been there too. I know that it’s going to be so hard for you to set boundaries when you have so, so many tasks that need to get done. I get it.

However, in order for you to be your best self and in order for you not to sacrifice time away from your loved ones, you’re going to need to set some boundaries. Okay.

So learn how to say no, whether it’s something in your personal life that will give you the flexibility and the space to do something with your business, or if it’s something in your business. Like you can say no to participating in that bundle or speaking in that summit, or to posting on whatever.

Like you can say no to a lot more, and it doesn’t even have to be no to a specific person. It can be no to a certain thing. You can choose to say, no, I’m not going to post on Facebook because that is not where my audience is. No, I’m not going to post on Tik Tok even though that’s the new trend right now. Being able to say no can really go a long, long way.

And if you have a team member, you also want to really practice on delegating certain tasks. I know it can be hard, especially if you’re a perfectionist. That’s like, that’s me, I’m a perfectionist. But it can really, really help you if you can start delegating some more of your tasks.

And especially when you need to stop working. So don’t overwork yourself. Very similarly to what I was saying earlier about getting some rest. You need to have a hard stop. So whether you finished the thing that you’re trying to do or not, then you really still need to set a boundary on how long it is that you’re going to be working on something.

And if it’s consistently taking you longer to get certain things done, then there’s another root cause there that you can then start to dig into at a later time. But definitely try to figure out at least these three boundaries to help you not feel so stressed and to help you manage your time a little bit better. Okay.

Episode Wrap-Up

So with these tips, you’ll be able to find more time in your day and get what you want done.

Time management is one of the most important skills that you can learn. And it’ll not only help you feel more confident in your abilities, but don’t also make sure that no other part of your life gets neglected.

Plus it would just make you happier overall. So the five things to quickly recap is one, get enough rest. Two, brain dump regularly. Three, use strategic systems. Four, reduce distractions or learn to work with them. And five set boundaries.

Now, if you’re going to commit to doing some of these time management tips shared in today’s episode, I would love to know. Take a screenshot of you listening, post it on your Instagram stories and tag me @cheerstoblogging so that way I can cheer you on.

As always, thank you so much for listening to Cheerful Productive Chats with me at Lucy Reyes. To view the complete show notes and all the links mentioned in today’s episode, visit cheerstoproductivity.com/22. And before you go, make sure you subscribe wherever you’re listening so you know once the next productive chat is released. Talk soon and cheers to your productivity and success!