Hey,

Welcome back to the tribe!

Today I’ve got a super important question to ask you all.

Have you ever experienced that sinking feeling when you look at the clock and realize that time has slipped away, and you haven't accomplished what you set out to do?

I know I have.

The key to avoiding this feeling?

Effective time management.

My Story

I want to share with you a personal story that served as my wake-up call to the importance of time management.

You’re going to hate me for this, but, I was always one of those kids that could ace their exams by doing the bare minimum.

I would never listen in class, never revise, do no work and always come out with a good grade. (I would hate me too)

At the time I thought I was blessed with this god given talent and life would be easy.

How wrong I was.

See the thing is, when you've never had to work hard before, it’s almost impossible to learn how to do it.

And when I went to university everything changed for me.

I thought I could get away with not going to any lectures, doing no work and just winging it. In fact, in my first year, my attendance was a whopping 3%.

The only problem was, I wasn’t doing anywhere near as well as I had at school.

I kept finding myself overwhelmed with a growing to-do list and deadlines looming over me. I actually failed a module simply because I didn’t finish my coursework in time.

I knew I couldn’t be that guy that sat down for 12 hours in a row and bash some work out. I had never done that before and I didn’t want to start doing that then.

So, I decided to become a master of time management and productivity. I wanted to get as much possible done in as little time as possible.

That wake-up call sparked a journey of self-discovery and a deep dive into the world of time management.

Obviously, I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert, I’m still a work in progress. But if I can go from where I was, to where I am now, I must be doing something right.

The Key to Effective Time Management

Prioritization and Planning.

You need to master how to prioritize and plan if you want to become a productive powerhouse.

if you can learn to prioritize your most important tasks, your life will become so much easier.

Every month, week and day, make sure to assess the most important things you need to achieve. Once you have a grasp of the most important tasks that need doing you can ensure that you allocate your time and energy efficiently.

The next step is to create a plan. Nobody has ever had immense success without a plan. I challenge you to find me an exception.

I found that by setting aside time at the beginning of each day or week to plan out my tasks gave me a sense of control and direction.

You can experiment with different planning methods, such as using to-do lists, calendars, or digital productivity tools, to find what works best for you.

Just make sure to do it!

Techniques to Improve

There are a number of techniques I used and have been using for a few years now. Here are the most important ones.

We all have those time-wasting activities that consume precious minutes and distract us from our goals.

Scrolling through social media, che checking emails too much, spending loads of time in meetings … you get the gist.

You must Identify your time-wasters and find practical solutions to minimize or eliminate them from your routine.

It goes without saying, that it is much easier said than done. None of this will come easy, but you’ll be thankful that you tried. I promise.

Time blocking is another one of my favourites. This involves scheduling specific blocks of time for different activities or tasks.

I twin this with the Pomodoro Technique.

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that breaks work into focused intervals.

I personally split my time like this: 20 minutes of working, 5 minute break, 20 minutes working, 5 minutes break, 20 minutes working, 15 minute break.

I repeat this until my work is done.

I would highly recommend experimenting with different time blocks and finding a rhythm that works for you.

The last point I will mention is using technology correctly. I think I will do a separate newsletter because it deserves it.

Learning to leverage technology is becoming so important. There are so many productivity apps, software, and tools available to help manage your time effectively.

A lot of them are garbage but finding and using the right ones is going to become a skill on its own.

Find the tools that align with your needs and integrate them into your workflow to streamline your tasks and stay organized.

That’s it folks. I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter!

As always, please reply to this email or send me any questions you have over on Twitter. I’d be happy to answer them, and who knows maybe next week’s newsletter will have all the answers you need.

Speak soon,

Chris