Affiliate links | Time management is something I’ve worked hard over the last few years to perfect. As a self-employed, work from home blogger, it’s my responsibility to stay productive and organized in my work. I don’t have a boss looking over my shoulder, making sure I get all my work done before home time. If you’re in a similar position or just find yourself slacking in that area in general, here are 10 time management tips you’ll definitely thank me for later.
Time management certainly incorporates a few different elements, such as procrastination (or lack of it), productivity and organization. But even the most productive person in the world might find themselves falling behind and not managing their time in the most efficient way possible. There never feels like there’s enough hours in the day. But if you work smarter – there’s more than enough to get everything done and have some time leftover at the end.
Related read: 22 Ways To Organize Your Life
Over the years, I’ve had a rocky relationship with productivity and time management. I’ve been through many phases where I worked too hard, didn’t know when to stop and ultimately ended up with burn out throughout the week. I’ve had a few blogging breaks for that very reason because I worked myself too hard, didn’t manage my time well and just couldn’t deal.
Which is the exact point you don’t want to get to. And if you use these 10 time management tips effectively, then that will prevent you from reaching that burn out point that none of us need or want. Time management is everything. And effective time management can allow you be productive, grow your business and have that important time off as well.
Related reads:
- 10 Meaningful Things To Do On Your Day Off
- Why You Should Have a Digital Detox (and What To Do Instead)
Let’s get stuck in to these 10 time management tips you’ll thank me for later:
10 time management tips you’ll thank me for later:
Get used to working from a to-do list
To-do lists are great for helping you manage your time and workload. I would highly suggest categorizing your to-do lists as well into certain categories such as “blogging”, “chores” etc to help make it a bit more manageable. I know how long these to-do lists can get sometimes!
Get up earlier + establish a solid morning routine
This makes a huge difference for in terms of my time management and productivity. If I don’t perform my morning routine, I feel off for the entire day. If I get up too late, I don’t feel motivated. So really, starting your day right can have a hugely powerful impact on how you manage your time and work throughout the day.
Related reads:
- 7 Things To Do Every Morning For An Amazing Start To the Day
- 15 Minute Morning Mindset Routine
- The Miracle Morning: 10 Things To Do Before Work
Stop multi-tasking
Multi-tasking eats into your time like a maggot. You might think you’re saving time and getting more done but you’re not. Ultimately, all you’re doing is a half-assed job on two things, rather than a great job on one thing and both things are taking twice as long because you’re not focused.
Get rid of distractions + turn off notifications
A good follow on point from the one above, in order to stop multi-tasking, it helps to switch off distractions. If you have a specific task you need to get done, turn off the notifications on your phone so you’re not distracted when they go off so you can get that task done in a much more timely manner!
Stay organized + tidy your work space
This is a big one for me and if you’ve been reading my blog for long enough will know how important it is to me to be organized in all areas of my life. Staying organized with my work is a huge tip for time management because being organized quite simply saves you time. This includes keeping your workspace tidy.
10 time management tips you’ll thank me for later:
Focus on the end goal
Focusing on the end goal of a task is a great time management tip because it stops you from looking backwards and getting distracted and allows you to focus on what’s ahead instead. Think about how good it’ll feel when this task is done. What goal you can tick off once it’s complete.
Related reads:
Work when you’re the most productive
This is a little contradictory to the point about getting up early, I know. But it’s important to work when you’re the most productive. Although I still believe it’s worth having a morning routine because that really can set up your mindset for the entire day, there’s no point forcing yourself to work at 6am if you’re half asleep.
Set deadlines + prioritize
As well as categorizing your to-do list, it’s also helpful to prioritize your to-do list. Highlight the tasks that are the most urgent and get stuck into those first – during your most productive time of the day. Trust me, it’ll help your time management massively! Also set yourself deadlines for tasks, to give you that extra motivational boost.
Keep on top of stress and overwhelm
A great way to manage your time is to ensure you’re not stressed and overwhelmed with what you have to do. This goes hand in hand with prioritizing, categorizing and also staying organized. Which can all have a say in how stressed we end up with our workload.
Related reads:
- How To Switch Off and Relax In Times of Stress
- 6 Treatments For Stress and Anxiety
- How EFT Can Be Used To Reduce Stress & Anxiety
Stay alert and energized
And finally, my last of these 10 time management tips is to ensure that you’re staying alert and energized throughout the day. It’s so easy to waste time procrastinating when we feel sluggish or tired. But there are a ton of ways we can avoid that happening throughout our day.
Related read: 10 Natural Ways To Beat the Afternoon Energy Slump
Bonus tip: Remember that not every day will be the same and some days even these 10 time management tips won’t work. Life will get in the way and unexpected things will crop up and that’s okay. It happens. Its important to remember that there’s always tomorrow and things can wait.
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Totally on board with these tips – I always have to stop myself from flitting between lots of different tasks and make myself do one at a time. It’s so much more efficient. And I love a list. Great post.
Thanks for sharing, these are great tips for time management, I might use a couple of these 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Working from a to do list helps me get everything done, but I’m so guilty for getting distracted by my phone🙄 x
Aren’t we all 😂
When I am losing my focus or wish to have a come back to blogging from a break or laziness your blog is one of the blogs I read to get some inspiration and motivation. I don’t know how you do it but you are one of the top most blogger i look upto. These management tips were highly needed for me as I am a multi- talented person working with art+ digital illustration and blogging, these days I am working round the clock. It gets so difficult to manage at one point … Some of these tips will surely help me out hopefully if I stick to them. Thanks for writing and sharing these tips with us.
This is such a great post. I am awful at time management and it is something I am trying to improve. This blog post have given me lots of tips to try. I have recently turned my spare room into an office and I find I am so much more productive at my desk than I was sitting in the livingroom with a laptop. There are no distractions in my office but there were so many in the livingroom.
That’s great to hear! Glad you’ve found that space to work that works for you! x
Thanks for this! I would say getting on top of the stress you feel at the moment is the best thing once could do to manage their time (based on my experience). When you allow the stress to take control of your emotion and mind, you’d end up not accomplishing anything.
Oh I totally agree, stress helps NOTHING!
Prioritizing is definitely a great skill to master. It can save a lot of time and stress. I’m horrible for multitasking. I’m so scatterbrained lol
Haha oh no!
Wonderful post! I learn so much from you! I am a morning person…if the morning does not go right, I lose track for the rest of the day. I will return to this post for pick-me-ups…little things I can do better. Thank you!
Thank you! I’m totally the same. Love my morning routines.
This post its great Jenny! Specially now that a lot of us is working from home and need to stay focus. Loved it!
Thank you 😌
I really need a planner and need to dedicate set time to housework and blogging etc xx
This is so helpful and I’ll definitely take note of these points. I don’t work from home but I do try and set out time to blog but often become distracted.
Hope these tips help x
I am quite easily distracted working from home, I think “oh I can just put that load of washing on” etc. But my new job encourages me to have no social media running for at least 90 minutes a day and it’s a game changer!
Rosie
Oh wow that’s great!
Time management has been a struggle for me lately! I think it’s because I learn something new everyday from blogging, so I try to go back and “change” or “fix” things. I really need to sit and only focus on 3 things at a time, which has been a great change for my “everyday life”
That’s a great plan. But totally understandable cos there’s always something new to learn in blogging x
A tidy working space is a must – I’m sharing my office with Arran at the moment and let’s just say he’s not a very tidy colleague haha xx
Oh my god that’d drive me mad!!!
im gulty on multitasking and having many distractions!! im not used to work from home specially now that i had to saty home all the time. this are great tips!!
http://www.nayacerola.com
I really need to stop letting reading and youtube distract me! x
These are really useful tips! I find a to-do list helps me feel so much more productive and is useful as I have something to refer back to when I’m not sure what to do next! Making the most of my mornings I also find is a big help.
Tash // A Girl with a View
These are really helpful tips. Prioritising your workload is so important. I need to stop getting distracted too and focus on what needs to get done instead of completing unimportant tasks first.
I’m really bad for letting myself get overwhelmed by everything and trying to flick between different jobs so everything is moving forward, rather than just focusing on one. There are some really good tips here – definitely things I’ll be trying to implement. Great post!
I’ve found that waking up early to do some work is really helping me out lately. I’m working on MBA while also working full time and running my blog. It’s a lot to handle but these tips are super helpful too!
This is a great list! I think one thing that really helps me is when I stay off my phone! I turn off my notifications, and turn on the forest app, so I can get through everything I need to do without getting distracted. Great post Jenny xx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
These are all great tips! I definitely find working from to-do lists super helpful, especially as I forget a lot of things haha. I would like to get up earlier and get a good morning routine, I do struggle with that sometimes though as I do work shifts xx
Those tips are on the point. I do most of those things except have a tidy work space. I like my creative mess, as I call it, I pretty much know where everything is in that mess. Been doing like that for years so the brain must have adapted to it. I also do not like to get up early, but I do it, because I do have kids who need to be feed before I send them to school. So hubs and I do get up before them and do breakfast and some little things we like to do to start our day.
I’m awful for trying to multi-task all the time!! I definitely need to try and just focus on one thing at a time! Thank you for sharing your tips 🙂 xx
Holly | http://www.gollymissholly.uk
Need to remember these! I work full time so struggle to find the time to blog, I’m good with lists and staying organised in that sense, but I need to set more time aside to blog, rather than just finding half and hour here or there or doing it at the same time as watching TV! Becca x
These are great tips! I’m still a little stuck on the multi-tasking. THere are times when I think it works and times when I think it does.
This is all fab advice! If I get up late it completely messes my whole day up, it puts me in such a mood haha! To-do lists are such a help, I love seeing each thing getting ticked off as the day goes on xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
These are some great tips! A solid morning routine can help you start your day off organised and productive. A tidy workspace is so important. Thank you for sharing these tips Jenny.
Lauren | http://www.bournemouthgirl.com
Great tips Jenny! I’m one of those weirdos that loves to do lists! I find it so motivating seeing my progress as I cross things off. I also definitely agree with not multitasking and removing as many distractions as possible. Both distractions and multitasking are so taxing on the brain and make us feel mentally drained faster!
This has some great points! I definitely agree with the getting up earlier as if I get up any later than 9 I just don’t feel good at all. Also I live for to do lists and they help me so much xx
Great tips here. Prioritisation and avoiding too much multi-tasking are really big ones.
Though interestingly, I was reading recently that procrastinatons is not always a bad thing. And I keep reminding myself of that from time to time 🙂
Great advice! Def putting this into practice
I enjoyed your tips on time management. I have found that there is no such thing as “multi-tasking.” The brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When I try to multi-task, I actually get less done. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you Jenny for this advices☺️ do nit multitask is my favorite advice because I love doing that 😶. But end up didn’t finish anything as I hope in the first place. Yea do not multitask. It makes me distracted A LOT😅
I must get up earlier! I agree, I feel so much more productive when I have done so; it’s just a case of going to bed earlier, ideally before midnight! 😅
Really great advice! I always love a tidy work space, and one thing I like to do is set time limits on completing tasks 🙂
Love your tips to stay energized and aware of what needs to be done! I despise doing half-ass jobs at anything and love the satisfaction of getting something done in good time and good taste. 🙂
Multi-tasking, notifications and distractions are my biggest time management gremlins. I’m a habitual multi-tasker, I can’t get out of that rut. Notifications I’ve got better with, I turn off my phone when I’m working. Distractions, sadly, I can’t do anything about with a husband and a daughter who don’t understand the meaning of a closed door… Fab tips though, Jenny, you are the queen of organisation that I aspire to emulate! xxx
I plan my day out it makes the world of difference knowing what needs to be done!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
These are great tips Jenny! I sruggle with my time management for my blog, but at my regular job I am much better. I am wondering if this is because blogging is on the side, so although I try to be productive, my mindset isn’t, if that makes sense? I think having a designated work space would help, as you know that is where you need to do your work.
Thanks for sharing!
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
These are such useful tips! I definitely think that getting up earlier and creating a to-do list helps me to be more productive!
Serena / http://www.ramblingsofanotherunigraduate.com
Fantastic tips! I will definitely be trying these to manage my time and be more productive.
Amazing tips, I definitely need to stop multi-tasking I always want to do everything at once and achieve nothing.
These are such great tips as always Jenny!
I use a journal every morning now to write out my to do lists and priorities for the day. Then I do some gentle yoga and slowly get ready.
Routines are so effective ☺️
Love Lozza x
http://girlygabble.com
I’d be lost without following a to do list everyday, I’d end up doing some serious procrastinating if I didn’t have one! These are such great tips to help with time management Jenny! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Great tips. Thanks for sharing.
I definitely couldn’t be without a to-do list. It really helps me plan my time and prioritise. Getting up early and having my morning routine works wonders for my productivity too. I would say I’m a reasonably organised person, but there’s definitely room for improvement. Multitasking is something I can be guilty of from time to time 😬
Some great tips here! Time management is always something I struggle with, will definitely try and incorporate some of these into my day. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve gotten *a lot* better at time management over the years, but that doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with it sometimes. Thank you for sharing these great tips! Setting a deadline is what usually helps me stay on track for things. That’s what helps me to know what to prioritize and what not.
Fantastic tips Jenny! I feel like everything I do is half-assed but that’s just because of the chatty toddler-sized distraction.
I’m most productive between 7-10am so I try to squeeze as much stuff into that time as I can, one thing at a time off a to-do list. Nothing would get done otherwise! 🙂
Great tips here! Especially to adjust your schedule to when you’re most productive. That has so much effect!
I agree with all of these! I have to have a to-do to be productive, work more at night because that’s when my brain is most functional and use the Forest app so I have set times to focus and can’t open apps on my phone that will be a distraction x
Sophie
I agree! When I don’t get to do my morning routine on a work day, everything’s just different for the rest of the day and I mean I lose my drive to stay on top of things.
These are some much needed brilliant tips. I am a morning person but I know I need to work on a few – like staying away from distractions and avoiding multitasking😊. Keep inspiring 👍
I agree with all of these tips and definitely needed this post today! Thanks for sharing xx http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
Definitely agree with these! If there’s something I need to do that’s massively urgent, I will end up probably end up doing all of the above….but I do always try and watch Netflix at the same time🙈 (bad, I know).
Saying that, I can’t survive without a to do list – impossible without one! (believe it or not, I am actually quite an organised person, do always meet deadlines)
Great post x
Lovely post and so true- Morning, golden morning and stay focused.
Lovely photos too..
Completely agree with all of these points, especially making a to-do list and having a morning routine! Thanks for sharing!
Great Tips Jenny… Time management is the most important thing these days because time is very precious and we can’t waste it on useless things… 🙂 <3 <3
This is such great advice! Have recently started to work on my morning routine. So there is definitely loads here I can include! I have always struggled with keeping my space clean and tidy. It’s something I am trying to stay on top of now! xoxo
Great post, thank you for sharing! These are some really great and useful tips, all of which I try to stick to myself, ultimately the biggest one for keeping me on track is routine, as long as I have routine I can remain proactive and productive. 😊
As someone who has recently gone self-employed honestly seeing the stop trying to multi-task made me sigh with relief. I always thought multi-tasking meant getting things done quicker but I’m slowly starting to learn it’s better to do one thing at a time and get through the to-do list steadily. Great post with great tips, I just need to full establish my morning routine and actually get out of bed when the alarm goes at 6!
I’ve just started working from home for the first time, starting this week, so this post came at a perfect time! Getting into a routine is going to be super important for me I think, but also categorizing to do lists is a great idea 😊
These are great tips Jenny! As someone who is self employed too, I find I need structure to keep me accountable and I always have a to do list by my side.
Getting up early is also a great tip – something I usually do but have really been slacking recently.
Thank you for sharing!
Em x
Amazing tips, lovely!! I HAVE to work from a to-do list because my brain needs the organisation! I’ve literally got a notepad for my lists and it’s super nice to tick something off!
Daisy xoxo
I love working from lists, they really help me to stay focused on the task in hand. Switching off distractions is a great way for me to get things done! I also completely agree that multi-tasking is a hindrance rather than helpful!
This is brilliant advice. I’d just found my flow but now I’m back at work I need to find a new way to work to best manage my time.
I’ve started getting up at 5.30 to go to the gym, that way I can come straight home from work and blog before doing dinner and prepping for the next day.
I swear nothing would ever get done without a to-do list though.
Although my work to do list is now scarier than my blog to do list, not sure which way I’d prefer that to be 😂