I work for myself and it seems like I’m working 24/7. How can I manage my time more efficiently?

As the owner of my own business, this has been one of my biggest challenges to overcome. For a long time, I felt like I was constantly working and had more than I could ever finish, but I still wasn’t quite able to pay the bills. There are several pieces that were essential parts of making self-employment work for me; hopefully they’ll help you, too.

1)   First, I listened to this podcast on productivity by Chris Kresser and it changed my life. Truly. Kresser’s usual topic is health related, but he created a two-part blog series (here’s part 2) to talk about how he maintained his productivity and tackled all the parts of his life and business, and it made all the difference in the world to hear what he had to say. (He even schedules in his meditation time; for someone who’s incredibly busy, he has a very calm voice.)

2)   I took Chris Kresser’s advice and downloaded TimeOut. (This is the mac version; I believe he talks about a PC version in his podcast.) You can set TimeOut for any amount of time you like and it will “lock” you out of your computer. For instance, every hour it prompts me to take a 15-minute break. This may sound counter-productive, but forcing myself to complete things within a 60-minute window has helped immensely, and the forced break has made my productivity skyrocket. The program also prompts you to take a 15-second break every 10 minutes – this is to encourage you to look away from the screen, as staring at a 2D screen all day is not good for your eyes. (As an added bonus, these 15-second breaks have eliminated some mind-blowing headaches that I used to get from staring at a computer screen all day.)

3)   At the beginning of every week, I print out a calendar that shows the week and make a list on the side of the page of all the things I want to accomplish. Every day, I write in what I want to accomplish in hour-long blocks (to match my TimeOut time.) This helps me keep track of what I want to do that day, and that week. Of course you can just schedule all this information into your calendar instead — I just find that the printed out version works better for me personally.

4)   Limiting email. It’s amazing how much checking email can eat up the time in your day. Chris Kresser suggests this and I have found it to be essential: I have turned off my email notifications on my phone, and my new messages only download when prompted. On my computer itself, I open a new window (No, not just a new tab, a new window) that I use for anything I have to do online for the task I’m trying to complete. I hide the window that has my email and I don’t check it unless I’m either between projects for the day or I’m waiting for something from someone. It can be hard to get used to, but I have found it to be essential.

5)   DELEGATION. This one is the most important. From everything that I have learned and experienced – often the hard way – this is THE key to success. You are not the only one who can do your job, nor should you be. How much are you limiting your own success because you’re stuck doing small menial tasks when you could be focusing on the bigger pieces of your business, like what makes you money? If you think you don’t have time to train someone to do the work that you do, that’s a sign that someone should help you with your work – showing them how to do it once or twice would then free up the time you’d spend on that task day after day, or week after week. This can be anything from managing your social media and/or scheduling your posts for you, having someone answer your emails, entering data, doing research for you, doing your accounting, paying your bills, or even cleaning your house or doing your dishes. Your time is worth money. If you’re spending all your time on tasks that are costing you more than they’re making you, it’s time to delegate.

What has helped you with your time management?