Block Scheduling, Book Ends, And Prioritization

As a business owner, dad, and husband there is a lot to juggle. I must maintain and grow my business, maintain family relationships, maintain friend relationships, and so much more.

Here are just a few of the many thoughts a Lawntrepreneur may experience this time of year...

Did I order those parts for the mower to be ready for spring?
I need to post the open position.
Have I finalized my lawn list for spring and reached out to customers?
Have I advertised to bring on new customers for the spring?
Oh no it's snowing... I have to put my plow on.
I was supposed to bring my daughter to music class, but now I have to plow.
I have to replace the brakes and tires on my enclosed trailer.
I need to send letters to the customers I am dropping in the spring.
I have to make it home for dinner with my wife at 5pm because I will probably be out plowing for the next two days.
I want to make sure I get something for my kid's Easter basket.
And the list goes on and on...

On Ep 478. Block Scheduling, Book Ends, And Prioritization of the podcast, I talked about time blocking. That's the system I have found most helpful for me. I carve out set periods of time for certain tasks. For example, I do my coaching calls every Thursday from 9AM to 2PM, that's a time block.

There are many different ways to organize your time, time blocking is just one example. Before we get into the different strategies you can use to organize your time, let’s talk about why it’s important. With all these different hats we wear as business owners, husbands, dads, it’s easy to get caught up and become a jack of trades and master of nothing. Each and every thought going through your head is important, but if your head is constantly spinning from your to-do list, nothing will ever get done. And most certainly nothing will be well done, hence master of nothing. Your business will suffer and your relationships will suffer.

By no means do I have this time management thing mastered, but I do my best every day to balance everything I have to get done. I want to succeed in my business and in life. I Want to be thriving not surviving. It will take time, but putting time and energy into organizing how you approach your to-do list will help make the to-do list shorter and the day-to-day activities easier.

Let’s jump into some strategies that you could implement to improve your time management.

Time Blocking: Scheduling out your day based on tasks that need to be accomplished in certain amounts of time.

Prioritizing: Making a to-do list, then pick the 1-3 most important things and accomplish those tasks first. Then repeat the process.

Working in Intervals: This is for someone who has a long to-do list and doesn't know where to start. Pick one task and set the timer for 15-20 minutes and see what you can accomplish, when the time is up, either set another timer to finish the task you are working on, or repeat the timer and move on to the next task. I think you'll be surprised at what you can get done.

Whatever your method is, it's important to do what you can to stay organized. The more organized and systematized your business can be, the easier it'll be on you. Each one of these strategies has their time and place. Each strategy works differently depending on the personality. You need to find the strategies that's going to work best for you and your business.