If you’ve tried adopting a time management system in the past and given up because you found yourself spending so much time trying to follow it that it hurts your productivity, chances are you took the wrong approach.
Productivity is personal, and yet many people adopt new systems with a one-size-fits-all approach. If you try to follow a popular system precisely as recommended by a guru, you have a high likelihood of failure because it doesn’t fit your work style.
Instead of adopting a time management system as-is, customize it to fit your needs.
Here’s how.
You are busy.
As a business leader, there are dozens of demands competing for your attention every day.
If you don’t have systems in place that help you focus, overwhelm and brain-fog will lead to productivity paralysis.
Next thing you know, it’s 4 p.m., you’re exhausted after hours of busywork and meetings, finally sitting down to do the focused work you’ve been looking forward to, and what happens?
Your mind bounces around faster than a ping-pong ball.
Either that, or your brain feels so heavy that it’s like you’re pushing each thought through mud.
“When your ability to focus and pay attention breaks down, your ability to achieve your goals breaks down. Your ability to solve your problems breaks down. You feel much worse about yourself because you become less competent,” –Johann Hari
Choose a System that Fits Your Personality
If you’ve failed to stick with time management systems in the past, you likely chose options that are a poor fit. Many thought leaders share ”the top” approaches for improving productivity, but the reality is that your personality plays a significant role in which strategies will work for you. Here’s why:
- If you still don’t enjoy using a system over time, you’re unlikely to stick with it over the long-term.
- If it’s not intuitive for you, there’s a good chance that you’re going to spend so much time struggling to go through the steps that it makes you less productive.
Before choosing a system, think about the factors that help you focus to find an option that aligns with your work style.
If you do your research, you’ll find numerous time management systems that each cater best to different preferences and lifestyles. However, here are a couple of popular options to help you get started:
- If you love structure and hate having unread messages, try time blocking. This system limits idle time and gives you a clear plan for every day by blocking off time for all of your activities, including responding to emails.
- If you’re goal-driven and need the flexibility to shift your priorities in real-time, consider Agile Results. This system breaks your goals into milestones that you can iterate on.
- If you love creating methodical to-do lists, try GTD. It gives you a system to convert all of your ideas into actionable to-dos.
If you’d like in-depth recommendations, there are tons of personality assessments out there to help you understand what conditions you need to perform your best. Like productivity systems, the right test is the one whose results make the most sense to you.
Hire a Virtual Assistant to Manage Your Calendar and Inbox
The unfortunate reality of time management systems is that while they boost your productivity in the long-run, they can be time-consuming to adopt. Regardless of which strategy you choose, you have to be intentional about what times you schedule meetings and manage your inbox. This is what allows you to maximize time for deep work and minimize distractions.
To reap the benefits of your time management system without the hassle of trying to schedule meetings, and respond to emails at the optimal times, hire a virtual assistant to do it for you. All you have to do is share the guidelines you’re following to maximize productivity, such as:
- Reserving blocks throughout the week for deep work
- Scheduling meetings only in the first or second half of the day, if possible
- Adding or removing buffer times between appointments depending on how you work best
And any other scheduling best practices that your system recommends.
A virtual assistant can also ease your email burden while helping you respond to urgent messages promptly. Here’s how:
- They can organize your inbox based on logical criteria such as sender or type of email
- Bring urgent emails to your attention
- Add email details such as prospect information and files into your CRM and other systems
This allows you to limit the amount of time you spend in your inbox while continuing to respond quickly to critical emails.
Download our inbox management guide to learn more.
