Tips & Tools That Will Help You Master Your Time Management
The following introduces some tips and tricks that might help you to just get that little bit more organised in your daily routine.
The Basics
1. Make a “to do” list
2. Prioritise your work load
3. Set yourself little targets throughout the day & stick to your schedule
4. Avoid distractions such as social networks
5. Learn to say “no”
6. Answer emails only straight away if they are urgent
7. Keep your email inbox clean and create folders for every client and other topics
8. Set yourself reminders in your calendar
9. Take breaks
Getting Organised
Technique A: The Important/Urgent Matrix
This is an alternative to the standard “to do” list which requires you to prioritise your tasks by urgency and importance.
If something is both Important and Urgent, it must take top priority.
If something is Urgent but not Important, it should be slotted in around your top priorities.
If something is Important but not Urgent, it can be delayed for later in the day.
If something is Not Important and Not Urgent, don’t do it until all other work is complete.
Technique B: The Pomodoro Technique
1. Choose a task you’d like to get done.
2. Set the timer (pomodoro) for 25 minutes and make a small oath to yourself: I will spend 25 minutes on this task and I will not interrupt myself.
3. Work on the task until the pomodoro rings and Immerse yourself in the task for the next 25 minutes. If you suddenly realize you have something else you need to do, write the task down on a sheet of paper.
4. When the pomodoro rings, put a checkmark on the paper.
5. Take a short break.
6. Every 4 pomodoros, take a longer break.
Find out more information on the pomodoro technique here.
A Few Useful Tools
1) Trello (Workflow Manager)
Trello is a nifty little tool that lets you organise anything and everything. You can share it within a team which makes it an interesting alternative for SEOs as opposed to simply Excel. It’s also available as a mobile app – bonus!
2) Coggle (Brainstorming Tool)
SEOs brainstorm. Often. Sometimes it takes time to make sense of your quickly scribbled down notes and type them into a word document. Coggle is a very easy-to-use platform which lets you create a brainstorm chart quickly. Once finished you can save the document as a picture and send it to others.
3) Pocket (Save Stuff Later)
Which SEO hasn’t been in the situation of having one million tabs open in the browser without actually having the time to look at them all?! Enter Pocket. This little tool enables you to just drop URLs in there and view the sites at a later time.
4) Tom’s Planner (Campaign Manager)
This tool is impressive as it is easy to use and lets you create a campaign within minutes! Just add your activity, assign persons and status, and put in a date. There are many different options available which makes it a handy alternative to Excel.
Some more tools to try
- https://www.toggl.com – Free Time Tracking Software
- https://www.rememberthemilk.com/ – Task Manager
- https://www.dropbox.com/ – File Sharing
- https://evernote.com/ – Task Manager
- https://www.focusboosterapp.com/ – Pomodoro Timer
- http://mind42.com/ – Mind-mapping tool
- https://www.focusatwill.com/ – Music Concentration App
Hopefully, these tips are helpful, now go and get organised!
