Mastering Time Management for Productivity

Speaker 1 0:04

Welcome to the systemized business . Here we dive into strategic productivity to help you overcome entrepreneurial overwhelm . I am BK and I do not believe that you have to be a slave to your business . You can streamline both your business and your life with simple systems . So , whether you're a female entrepreneur navigating the fast-paced world of business , this podcast is your go-to resource for simplifying processes , optimizing efficiency and achieving more with less stress . Let's get started on building the systems that will take you from overwhelmed to in control . Hi there , friends , today is the beginning of a brand new series .

Speaker 1 0:50

Over the next few episodes , we'll be going through time management , a time management series which I'm hoping is really going to simplify the processes of managing our time and being more productive . What if this is the year that we finally get control of our time ? What if 2025 is the year that we conquer the distractions and the things that steal our time , so that we realize the things that have been on our vision list for the longest time but we have never been able to attain ? What would you accomplish if you quit doom scrolling or letting Netflix decide that you are going to watch that next episode ? Would you make more money ? Would you have more time with your family ? Would you have time for a hobby , maybe ? What would you be able to achieve ? See , time management creates a rhythm in our days that reduces stress , and it allows us this sense of stability in our daily lives . Us this sense of stability in our daily lives . Thinking through the details of our day , from the places we work to the routines that we implement , will help us create a foundational system and structure that we can build on and grow with , and this definitely means letting go of that , you know , the unnecessary details , so that we can focus on what is truly important . So I'm hoping that these strategies will help make the most use of your time every day and will help us be the most productive this year .

Speaker 1 2:41

So the first thing to consider when we are thinking about mapping out our day is to think about our peak productivity times . As you visualize your day , where , or when , rather , are you most productive ? What is the time of day that you most thrive ? Think for a moment about how your most ideal productive day would go . Do you take the mornings slow , do you get right into work , or are you most productive at night ? Because once you can pinpoint your most productive hours , you're better able to then work out the rest of your days so that you can make the most out of the time that you have throughout the day . Maybe you find that you are having difficulty getting productive at all during the day . This is going to help you identify what is blocking your productivity . For example , you might find it difficult to get going during the day because you are not getting enough sleep . So if you were to fix your sleep , then you can fix your days .

Speaker 1 4:08

There've been studies done on optimal productivity , and one in particular just highlighted that the most productive time is around 11 am , that most people are most mentally alert between 9 am and 11 am . So then you tend to see studies like this are kind of instrumental when people are scheduling meetings or they're scheduling their deep work . These are things that you can find out and you can try . Are you also within the bracket of people that is mentally alert between 9 am and 11 am ? You might be , and you might leverage that information .

Speaker 1 5:01

So as you think through your particular day , your typical layout of your day , picture the parts that you might want to change . Perhaps there are daily time management habits that you would like to get rid of . Maybe there are habits that you'd like to do more of . Maybe you are the kind of person who has multiple times throughout the day where you feel the most productive . This is information that you definitely need to know as you think about your day and how you're going to manage your time to the best of your ability , and because life is life , there's always distractions , there are always people and things that need us , things that we have not planned for . So if you find that you are one of those people who does their best work and is their most mentally alert between 9 am and 11 am , but something happens and those hours are reduced to maybe 30 minutes or even an hour , what do you do ? Do you just Throw them all out and just conclude that okay , well , my productive time has been completely lost . There's nothing I can do ? Another thing that we want to do as we look at managing our time effectively is letting go of this all or nothing mindset when it comes to our time , this all or nothing mindset when it comes to our time . If you cannot do all of it , then do some of it , because once that schedule has been thrown off , it can seem like the rest of the day is negatively affected as well , but that doesn't need to be the case

Optimizing Workspaces for Productivity

Speaker 1 6:59

.

Speaker 1 6:59

In order to make the most of your time all the time , take the hour that you have , take the time that you have to do everything you can with it . You don't need to rush , you just need to choose the highest priority task first . Work on whatever will move you ahead the furthest . Take it one minute at a time , five minutes at a time , 10 minutes at a time . It's amazing what can happen in just 10 minutes , in just 10 focused minutes . It can be easy to let an entire hour go by when you are doom scrolling , but when you are focused , it's amazing what you can do with a little bit of time . So focus on exactly what's in front of you . Focus on the tasks that will move you the most towards your goal in the time that you have . So knowing when you are the most productive during the day is very important , but also knowing how to spend the time , even if it's limited , is also very important , because a little done is better than nothing done at all . When you're considering the time of day that you are at your peak in productivity , we also must consider where we are most productive .

Speaker 1 8:32

Now I want you to close your eyes and visualize your ideal , most productive workplace . Look around you . Are there others around you ? What does it look like ? What does it sound like ? What does it smell like ? Is it a casual place ? Is it a formal setting ? When you visualize like this , this gives you an indication of where you want to work , where you think and feel would be the best place that would help you do your best work . You might have a favorite coffee shop where you'd like to go to work . Maybe think about regularly going to that place a few times a week during the most productive times of the day , and if you were not able to get to your ideal setting , maybe you'd want to create that atmosphere with the other qualities that reflect an ideal working setting .

Speaker 1 9:42

When we think about places to work , there's several places that we can think about . The coffee shop is a great idea , is a great place to get out of being isolated . If you tend to work at home by yourself a lot , you can be around people without being directly interrupted by those people . There are co-working spaces now that people who work remotely utilize very often , and a lot of these spaces are set up to have the same amenities of a typical workplace . Sometimes they're even better , actually so you can take advantage of some of these places . They're great places to surround yourself with other people who are as productive as you are . It's a great motivator . It's a great space to work in a great environment . Great motivator , it's a great space to work in a great environment .

Speaker 1 10:41

If you have an office , if your business has an office , then you can look at how to enhance this place , this workspace , to reflect your work needs . You might need to minimize the distractions or , you know , take things off your desk which kind of catch your eye when you're trying to focus , so you can really kind of bring in the elements that will enhance your productivity within your office . Another place you could work maybe . Sometimes we need something different , right , we could work outside , maybe , go to the park and , you know , find a table under the shade and just work in the midst of nature . You can take in some of the sights and sounds that you really don't typically have when you're in a productive state , and sometimes that different environment really can trigger your creativity . If that's what you need , it's really refreshing for your mind , for your body and for your work as well .

Speaker 1 11:50

If you tend to work at home , then you may . If you have not done so , you may want to have a designated workspace that you can add or remove elements according to your ideal environment . Typically , when you work at home , the distractions can be a bit much , but there are ways to kind of minimize those distractions . If you have a designated work space , that could also be a trigger for your mind . As soon as you enter that space , then your mind already knows that okay , we're going into work mode and you begin to behave accordingly and you begin to behave accordingly . So those are kind of some ideas of how to just to make sure or to guard your productivity . And in the spaces that you work , you know when you think about when and where you are the most productive . You also have to consider how you work .

Speaker 1 13:02

As humans , we are typically social by nature . Some of us , of course , are more social than others . You get energy from being around other people . Then you immediately can pick from the list we just created the types of workspaces that would really appeal to you . Being around people , being around that energy can help you be more productive without necessarily being social right . So it's helpful to know the type of person you are and how you work and then make your decisions based on that , not only the times that you work best , but the places that you work best too . If you like or you enjoy working with a small group of people , perhaps have one other person or two other people to invite for a work session that you could inspire yourself , you could inspire each other to and hold each other accountable , as you guys look to be more productive this year .

Speaker 1 14:27

So it really is just about asking yourself the simple questions of when , where and how am I the most productive ? And this will help design productive days . And just to be clear , we are not saying by being productive , we're not saying filling every hour , every minute with work . By being productive , I mean being intentional with how we spend our time and being happy with what we did with our time . So this series is going to help us do just that Design the days that we want , so that we can live the life that we want , whether it is in business or just in our personal lives . In business or just in our personal lives , we want to be productive in the sense that we want our days and our time to be intentional .

Speaker 1 15:27

All right , I'm so glad you are joining me for this series on time management . I really hope that it gets us thinking and gets us intentional in just structuring our days a little bit differently . I think if we do different then we get different results , and I am all for making this year a year of intentionality and and this starts with the way I spend my days . So thank you for joining me for this episode . I hope you found it of some value to you and I hope you stick with me until next week for our next installment . If you this episode , please do me a huge favor . Subscribe to the show , leave a review if you have one more minute , please . It does help us immensely , just for other people to find the show . If you want to connect with us , in the show notes our links to social media , the website . I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and I will talk to you soon . Bye for now , yeah .