Hi everyone! I'm in the process of creating my first e-newsletter, and I've decided that the first issue will discuss effective time management techniques. Since you all are experienced jugglers, between running businesses, managing family life, and (for some) holding down full-time jobs, I figured you'd be a great resource. If you'd like to share some time management tips/tricks that I could include in my newsletter and/or possibly future blogs and articles, in exchange I will cite you as the source and will include a link to your web site. If you're interested, please PM your comments to me. Don't forget to include your e-mail address so I can send you a copy of the first issue! If you can't PM me for some reason, you can reply to this post and I'll PM you with my e-mail address so you can send your comments to me.

If you don't have specific comments but are interested in receiving the e-newsletter, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll add you to my mailing list.

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Tammi Metzler ~ The Write Associate
Free call: "How to Write Email Subject Lines That Grab Attention!"

Hi Tammi -
Time management, to me, is all about lists and planning. If I don't have an outline figured out, I can go on all kinds of tangents. But working through a list often takes less time than I calculated!

I don't have any decent ideas for you at this hour, but please add me to your email list for the newsletter. Thanks for the offer!

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

Hi Tammi, a newsletter is a great idea!

Let's see...time management for me means checking first thing in the a.m. to see what's come in and weighing those tasks against any large/long term projects we may be working on - usually focusing on the smaller tasks first so that those are done and out of the way for the day.

"Batching" work by client as well so that I'm not jumping around from invoice to invoice.

I also use my email (Windows Mail) program to filter each client's emails into their own folder, so I can easily see how much comes in for each client. With 8-10 regular ongoing clients and an email address for nearly each one, this makes a huge difference for me in staying organized.

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Hi Tammi!

Mac users will appreciate this one! There is a fantastic free program called Anxiety that serves as an omnipresent to-do list. It integrates into iCal and Apple Mail to prioritize tasks as they are created.

The best part is that it is always available via my taskbar, so I can check things off quickly, and without having to open a program. It also automatically adds things to iCal for me...so my important and pressing tasks are at the top of the list, and are organized by category (i.e. home, work, school, etc.).

That may not help the general VA, but for anyone who uses a Mac, it's a must-have!

And I want this newsletter! I'll PM you with my email!

Bri

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Brianna Young, VA and Graphic Artist
www.virtualsolutionsadmin.com
"It's not the piano that makes beautiful music. It's the person sitting AT the piano!"

This is great, ladies! I love reading tips to better manage my time, which is why I chose the subject - I thought others could benefit as well. Thanks!

Mary Ruth - would you PM me your email address so I can add you to the mailing list?

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Tammi Metzler ~ The Write Associate
Free call: "How to Write Email Subject Lines That Grab Attention!"

Hi Tammi,

Trying to keep myself organized is a project in itself! I have two busy teenagers and still work a full time job. I keep everything organized date wise on my outlook calender, color coding between the kids, personal, ect.

I also go over the calender every night, while looking at e-mails one last time and make a to-do list for the next day. For now it works for me, but I'm sure once I start working with clients I'm going to have to come up with another system. We'll see how things work

Would love to see a newsletter of tips, I'll pm with my e-mail

Thanks

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Deb Frawley
Gem's Virtual Office

Since I work a 9-5 as well, I have set specific home hours that I am working on Goddess as my "second job." I check my email first, make up a priorities to-do list, and try to stay focused on 1 client at a time.

In addition, I NEVER answer my phone (my clients are made aware of this from the start). I set specific times of day (morning/afternoon breaks and lunch) that I make return calls and I set local client appointments between 7:00-8:00am. My cell phone (which I use as my work number) is set to "silence" so I'm not dealing with constant distractions at my 9-5 but I can still communicate with my Goddess clients during the day on my breaks and I am aware of who called in case they don't leave a message.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Hi Tammi. As far as time management goes, all I can say is "To-Do List", "To-Do List", "To-Do List"! I am a mother of three (11, 6, & 15 mos.) and I work a full time job while trying to get Your Task Matters off the ground. Every week I make a To-Do List of things that I need to get done and then I complete the list in order of priortity or deadline. I add to the list as additional things arise but I never let a list go past one week. On Monday I start a new list and "roll-over" anything that I didn't get done the week before. This way, I get to re-read the entire list to make sure that nothing gets overlooked. It's especially effective if you determine that you are going to complete a set number of tasks each day. I usually start my day with the harder, more demanding items while my brain is fresh and move to the less demanding items later in the day. This way, even though I am only completing the "not so important things" as the day goes on, I am still getting items done. I also set goals. Every month I identify one thing that I must accomplish before the month is over, i.e., go to the dentist, get the oil changed on the car, write a business plan, etc. The goal can be about anything and everything. My objective is to identify a task that I might otherwise put off, and accomplish it. It works.

I plan my day in 15 minute increments. This helps me to stay on task and get maximum productivity out of my day. Of course, not all days go exactly as planned, but it has made a huge impact on the amount of work that I am able to accomplish in a day.

I make lists and schedule everything.

Bette Creek