Escape the Monday Blues: 6 Time Management Essentials
It’s Monday morning.
You wake up and immediately feel dread.
Too many meetings to count. An overflowing inbox full of new requests. And multiple proposals with looming deadlines.
Another week facing the giant list of to-dos you can never seem to check off.
Another busy week.
In today’s world, we’ve glorified this state of “busy” as a badge of honor.
We often find ourselves comparing war stories of who worked the most hours last week and who got the fewest hours of sleep. Winner winner! Wait…what’s the prize for this competition…
It’s like living a, less than comedic, version of Ground Hog Day as you repeat this cycle week after week.
But what if it didn’t have to be this way?
What if you started every Monday morning knowing exactly what you’d get accomplished that day? Knowing you’d check everything off your to-do list. Minus the overwhelm.
All it takes is a little planning.
I’m already too busy, I don’t have time to plan.
Remember that dreaded Monday morning you’re living on repeat?
It’s because you don’t feel in control.
You don’t yet know how you’re going to get everything done.
So it all just feels overwhelming and like you just want to pull the covers back over your head.
When you make a plan and intentionally schedule your time, you can be deliberate with exactly what you’re going to accomplish.
Planning ahead gives you a chance to align with your priorities and feel confident in the “how” for getting it all done. You’ll feel more in control and less like you are at the whim of someone else’s wants and needs.
So, when you get the IM from Becky asking when she can review the deck for next week’s presentation? You can confidently respond: “Wednesday at 3 PM.” And actually mean it…
Scheduling your time also allows you to focus on just the task at hand instead of spinning in confusion worrying about all the other things you “should” be doing. This focus makes you more efficient and helps you feel less like you’re being pulled in a million different directions.
So, while putting some time up front in planning may seem like just one more thing to do, the return on that time investment can be life-changing.
Okay, I’m convinced. But where do I start?
I’m so glad you asked.
Improving your time management habits can be simple.
It’s all about following a process that becomes second nature. And before you know it, you’ve accelerated your productivity, eliminated your overwhelm, and can’t imagine how you navigated life before.
Here’s how to get started:
#1 Create a master to-do list
A master to-do list combines all the to-dos you have floating around into a single source of truth.
These to-dos will come from emails, IMs, sticky notes, or even just random thoughts that pop into your head.
Put them all in a single location. This is your brain’s external hard drive. Get it out of your head (you’re running out of storage up there!)
When all of those to-dos are documented in a single place, you don’t need to worry if you’re forgetting about something.
You’ll also be able to make better decisions on exactly what to work on because you can easily see all the options.
#2 Prioritize
Yes, yes, that scary “P” word.
In a world where everything feels urgent, it can be difficult to decide what you should prioritize.
But, there is no “right” priority. There’s just the next action.
Take a look at your master to-do list of all the possible tasks and projects you could act on, use your intuition, and pick one.
Just get started. Start making progress and getting some momentum. Then move on to the next.
#3 Plan a week at a time
Have you ever noticed some days are crammed full of meetings while others seem completely open to possibility?
Every day is unique.
By planning a week at a time, you can incorporate these nuances. You can more easily identify when you’ll have time to work on a project and what deadlines will be realistic.
Planning for the following week on a Friday afternoon also helps you go into the weekend with little stress about the week ahead. You’ll be able to hit the ground running come Monday morning without wasting time staring at a pile of conflicting priorities with no clue where to start. You’ll already have a plan!
#4 Schedule your work time
Scheduling makes it real.
When you schedule time on your calendar for exactly when you’ll work on a task, you can easily see what’s realistic. And what’s not. The calendar never lies.
If you were stuck on what to prioritize before, scheduling your work time will force you to make these priority decisions. You’ll see what you’re saying ‘no’ to when you say ‘yes’ to something else. If you say ‘yes’ to attending that Wednesday afternoon meeting, you’re saying ‘no’ to writing the first draft of that proposal. You get to decide. Whatever you’re saying ‘yes’ to, is your priority.
Scheduling time to do the work is also how you set your brain at ease that you know the “how” for executing your well-thought-out plan.
#5 Schedule time for the things you want to do
When you’re intentionally scheduling your time, it’s not about increasing productivity and cramming in as much work as you can.
It’s about creating a schedule and a life you can look forward to. A schedule that doesn’t jolt you awake on a Monday morning in a cold sweat.
Any pre-planned schedule must include personal time. In fact, schedule that time FIRST and let everything else fall in around it.
Schedule breaks throughout your day. Time to take your dog on a walk. Time to work out. Time for some guilt-free Netflix binging.
No more relying on the leftover scraps of time at the end of the day to try to fit in a little “me time”. Schedule it. Then treat your personal time with the same importance and urgency as you give your business appointments.
#6 Allow for the unknown
We can’t predict the future.
But what you can predict… Something unexpected will come up.
Your perfectly planned week will never go exactly as you outlined. Guaranteed.
Any pre-planned schedule must include flex time. Plan for the unexpected.
Flex time should be in the form of white space on your calendar. This open time will prevent you from derailing priorities when an unexpected project hits your desk. You’ll have space to fit in the unexpected or allow for overflow on tasks you underestimated in the first place.
You don’t have to be able to predict the future to successfully follow your plan. Just schedule time for those unknowns. Life is a little more predictable than you think…
Embracing a system for planning and managing your time can be the secret to creating a life you’re excited about.
When you know exactly what you’re going to get done and how, you can escape the Sunday Scaries and stop carrying that constant weight of anxiety.
When your schedule includes time for the things that excite you and bring you joy…who wouldn’t want to wake up to that?!
If you’re unsure how to start scheduling your week for success, download your free Time-Block Like a She Boss example template to get started!
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