How I Manage My Time

One thing we feel there’s never enough of is time.

As business owners, it feels like that statement is true to the umpteenth degree.

Being glued to my desk at all points in time isn’t sustainable, it’s also not healthy for my sanity.

So it’s important to prioritise, like making an entire day unavailable to take meetings, setting boundaries and booking time off in advance.

Here’s how I put it into practice:

No meeting Fridays

I’m in a lot of meetings throughout the week, which is great for helping my clients and reviewing their finances. However, back-to-back meetings mean certain tasks get pushed to the side or put on my “do later” list.

Now, I could extend my work days, working until 8 pm, maybe midnight, but I also value my sanity. This is why I initiated “No Meetings Friday”, one day a week where it’s just me and my computer. This gives me an entire day to work on any tasks from the week without interruptions or meetings pulling my focus.

Incorporating this into my weeks has made me more productive and helped with complete my tasks more efficiently, and it’s a great way to signify the end of my week.

Try it out and see how it works for you! You could do Friday for the end of the week, or start with a No Meeting Monday to help with level-setting your week. The choice is yours!

Setting boundaries with clients

I work with my clients, finding ways that work for both of us. However, that doesn’t mean I’m available 24/7 and my clients know that. When it comes to things like correspondence, we’re all just trying to do our best, and being tied to our phones and our e-mails all the time is not great for our mental wellness. That’s where boundaries come in.

One of those ways is through legal contracts. No seriously. I build my expectations into my legal contracts with my clients. It’s a direct way to convey your expectations and manage your clients’ when it comes to out-of-office messages, general communication, and scope creep.

Another way I set boundaries is by over-communicating my time off, giving weeks of notice to any changes or OOO to ensure there’s time to reschedule and it’s not last minute. 

Booking day/time off ahead of time

I keep my calendar as accurate as possible, both for my business responsibilities and my personal. As soon as I know I’m going to be busy during a time or day, it goes on the calendar. 

The more notice you can give people, the better and not only that but putting your time off on your calendar makes it more “official”. Once you create the time slot on your calendar, that time is spoken for, it’s protected.

Then once it’s on my calendar, I notify my team and create an Out Of Office Reply for my e-mail for the duration of time I’ll be away.

I take time off seriously, and the best way to set that precedent for my team is to embody that myself and respect my own time both in and out of the office.

These are just a few of the ways I manage my time with respect for myself, my team and my clients. Protecting your time while also communicating effectively is key to setting clear boundaries and keeping your sanity.

How do you manage your time?