7 Time-Management Tweaks For A 4 Half-Day Week.
I remember feeling short of breath and completely overwhelmed by content creation, social media management, driving sales and keeping up with admin and finance, not to mention doing the actual work.
As an owner, manager or solopreneur, we are often managing multiple responsibilities and covering a variety of roles to ensure the business gets what it needs, certainly at the beginning.
We usually get through this period with the enthusiasm of a new venture and aspiration of a better tomorrow.
Years ago, I pushed through these challenges beliving it was normal and wasn’t supposed to be easy. Months turned into years and excitement turned into demotivation and downright frustration.
I knew there had to be a better and more effective way to manage and grow my work.
I am sharing my most effective time-management practices to help busy professionals like us be more effective and less stressed, without tech or tools.
How We Mess Up Time-Management
Time-management 101 calls for prioritizing what’s most important and scheduling those tasks first and when we are stretched across different roles, we apply this to each and systematically work through it to tick off our tasks.
While completing lists releases some dopamine, we begin to realise that to get through each list for role, requires a lot of time and as soon as things start going differently to how we planned, it starts to become a problem.
As we get slowed down, results begin to seem further away and our impatience grows.
We give up, frustrated and pissed off.
Time passes and we must the energy to give it another go, this time with a better system and tools to ease the workload.
Months pass and the cycle repeats.
We learn that we “should” hire others to do the jobs we dislike or don’t excel at and postpone it because we tell ourselves the business doesn’t make enough money yet.
We imprison ourselves.
How I Created A 5(h) x 4(d) x 3(w) Routine
If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you share the ideal that you do not want to spend your entire day and weeks, working?
I want to work 4 half days. That is my work-happiness ratio. More than that and I feel pressured. Less, and I feel a yearning to work.
In order to achieve our goals over a period of time, we must tap into the internal levers that make it possible: belief, behaviour, impact.
The biggest lessons that helped me achieve my 5(h) x 4(d) x 3(m) routine are:
Replace a To Do list with an Idea table. To Do creates pressure whereas ideas create possibilities.
Block free-time first (Freedom First philosophy)
Look inward not outward: stop comparing yourself to others further along the journey. What they’re doing and the tools they’re using are appropriate at their stage, not yours. (Relevance)
2-3 M.I.L: Identify your 2-3 most important levers that directly impact your goal. Your actions should be only those, and not much else. (Impact)
Prioritize vs Plan: Decide which 2 or maximum 3 tasks to complete every day in order of impact. Work through them rather than scheduling tasks at specific times which creates pressure and often, disappointment.
Love what you do: Love the work you are doing or integrate what you love in your work (Consistency)
Do what you do best: Apply your top skills or learn new ones so well that’s what you become known for. (Motivation)
“To Do creates pressure whereas ideas create possibilities.”
Action
These are the main drivers that reduced my stressful 7 to a centred 4 half-day week.
Don’t think that as soon as you adopt all of them you’ll magically work less and feel more ease.
This materialized naturally, over time and mainly because it’s what I wanted.
Adapt it to what you would love your workflow to be and how you can do more quality work in less time.
Tell me how you get on.
Wishing you the absolute very best,
Stefano