The Most Important Time Management Principle for Mompreneurs: The ONE Thing You Must Do!
The Most Important Time Management Principle for Mompreneurs: The ONE Thing You Must Do!
Time management allows busy mompreneurs like you to get more work done in less time. It allows you to juggle all the responsibilities of home and work without dropping the ball. If you’re ever overwhelmed by how much you don’t know about time management, I want to introduce you to one essential time management principle: time blocking.
The single most important thing you can do to manage your time is learn how to use time blocking to your advantage. Learning to block your time can help you delineate space and create separate focused time for your business, relationships, and other responsibilities.
In today's blog post, I’ll provide information about what time blocking is, how it works, and how you can implement this powerful tool.
What is Time Blocking?
Time blocking is a time management strategy that involves scheduling every part of your day. When you break your work week into smaller pieces, it’s easier for you to focus on getting things done.
Time blocking involves setting aside specific blocks of time to do specific tasks. When you block out your schedule for the week, you can see where you’re spending your time. If you’re spending too much or too little time on certain tasks, you can make adjustments to balance things out.
This method can help you group together similar tasks so you can save time. It allows you to focus on the work in front of you so you have more free time to spend with your family and doing the things you love.
Benefits of Time Blocking
Time blocking offers lots of benefits. Below are five of the best benefits you’ll gain by implementing time blocking into your productivity planning.
- Time blocking increases awareness about how you spend your time.
When you use time blocking, you’ll be able to visualize how you spend your time. It shows you what things are priorities to you, based on the time invested in them. This can help you make changes, giving blocks of time to more important things.
When you have more awareness about how you’re spending time, you’ll be more equipped to make changes to increase productivity and prioritize the things that really matter.
- Time blocking allows you to do focused work.
When you dedicate a block of time to get certain things done, you’ll be able to focus on the task in front of you instead of worrying about the other tasks on your to-do list. Working on one task at a time allows you to have better concentration than when you’re constantly switching between tasks.
- Time blocking can help you beat procrastination.
Procrastination is one of the biggest productivity killers. When you use time blocking to schedule your most difficult tasks first, everything throughout your day will be easier by comparison.
You may also choose to put easier tasks between hard ones to help you stay motivated and energized. How you order your tasks will largely depend on what motivates you and when you have the most energy. Time blocking can help you use knowledge about yourself to boost productivity.
- Time blocking can help you reach big goals.
Time blocking requires concrete planning. When you schedule your week, time blocking forces you to invest time in things that matter to you. If you’re guilty of making goals but failing to follow through, blocking time each week to work on your goals can help you reach your goals.
- Time blocking allows you to guard your time.
It’s easier to say “no” to things when you already have a commitment during that time. Even if the schedule is one you’ve created for yourself, time blocking allows you to guard your time and prevent distractions.
Tips for Time Blocking
Although time blocking is a great tool for improving your productivity, getting started can be difficult. Below are four tips to help you get started with time blocking.
- Don’t over-block.
Start by creating big blocks of time for each part of your life instead of blocking your schedule down to the hour. For example, you might set aside mornings for family and afternoons for business tasks. Start with these large blocks if you’re new to time blocking.
- Group similar tasks.
Put similar tasks into groups and tackle those tasks at the same time each week. For example, you might create and schedule all of your social media posts on Mondays and use a block of time on Tuesdays for client calls. Putting similar tasks together can help you save time overall.
- Plan for the unexpected.
Make sure to schedule with enough flexibility for unexpected events. You won’t be locked into getting things done during little chunks of time if you schedule with extra time built in. If your afternoon involves completing certain tasks, extra time allows you to address unexpected events.
This doesn’t only apply to emergencies. Sometimes tasks take longer than we expect. Putting some flexibility into your schedule allows you to recoup this lost time.
- Block time for your top priorities.
One of the great things about time blocking is that it allows you to set aside time for your highest priorities. This isn’t just for setting aside time for your business, but for blocking quality time with your family.
When creating your schedule, make sure to block time for your spiritual formation. Being a God-centered mompreneur requires you to spend time abiding in Him daily. Proverbs 3:9 tells us to honor the Lord from our wealth and the first of all our produce. This isn’t just about giving Him the first portion of our income, but about giving Him the first portion of our time. Starting my day with God has been the best thing I have done for my life and business. Also, scheduling other essential things for your health for example, a quick exercise/stretching first thing in the morning before other things take over is key for your overall well-being and success. In my free daily planner, I share my morning routine - feel free to download the planner and take what works for you and implement.
Conclusion
Time blocking is one thing you should be doing for yourself and for your business. It’s an important tool that can help you manage everything you need to do to run a successful business and create a happy home.
If you’re trying to juggle it all, I encourage you to sign up for my FREE 5-day workshop titled “Kingdom Driven Mompreneur: How to be Blessed & Balanced in Business AND at Home.” This workshop will be packed with tips and tools to help you run a profitable business and a happy family – all without having to choose one over the other. To sign up, click here.
