There is a saying that everyone is familiar with – Time is money. It can be quite difficult to create and maintain an effective time management diary. Time management can be the difference between your success and failure. As an entrepreneur, you need to manage your time from when you get out of bed, to how you spend your time during the day, as this will dictate how much money you will make.
This is how an online diary helps you manage your time efficiently, saving you money and making sure that you get the most out of your day.
There are three key points to a successful diary – Organisation, considerations, and effectiveness. Let’s discuss these in more detail.
Organisation
The first thing you need to figure out is when you work best. When are you more creative? The morning, or the afternoon? This will help you ascertain what time you should mark off to do more creative tasks such as writing and planning. This helps you to be more specific about when you book meetings, ensuring that your time is used efficiently and effectively.
The “all day” Appointment Function
You can use the “all day” appointment function to remind yourself about events and activities that are important. This will appear differently on different devices, so take note of that.
Categories and Colour Coding
Sorting things into specific categories and colour coding will help you keep track of different types of appointments. Colours help you to quickly see what types of events you have categorised for throughout your day so that you can get a rough idea of what you are doing on a given day. Set different colours for when you have a client as opposed to when you have a doctor’s appointment or staff meeting.
Recurring Meetings Function
Consider booking recurring meetings for regular clients and appointments. This works well with colleagues and reports that you want regular contact with. Monitor these closely as they could become more of a nuisance if you find that you have to regularly cancel, or postpone them. This can become a waste of your time.
Alert Reminders
It is good practice to confirm appointments the day before. Set an alert to remind you to confirm appointments. This reminds both you and the client of a meeting, making sure that you don’t waste your time and money.
Considerations
Book Appointments Strategically
When scheduling an appointment think carefully about what else you have going on in the days leading up to it and after. If you need a day to prepare for a meeting or will need to draft a proposal right after the meeting, you need to take the time this will take into account and schedule any other plans accordingly. An open space on a calendar does not mean an available appointment slot. You need to consider your schedule holistically. Organise appointments so that you don’t feel pressed for time.
Multi-Tasking Isn’t Necessarily The Answer
This follows from the previous point. While multitasking can be a great time-saver, focusing clearly on one thing is far more productive. Allocate time for the most important things on your schedule. For example, if you have an important deadline, you should allocate some time the day before to work on the project without interruption.
Get Someone To Help You
If this seems like a lot to learn, or just to deal with, why not consider hiring a personal or virtual assistant? Having someone help you with your diary management can help you handle your time much better if you struggle to do it yourself. They can create your diary for you and it will sink to a diary that you can see. An effective time management diary can take time and you might not have that.
Effectiveness
Make Sure That Appointments Have A Clear Agenda
An appointment needs to have a clear agenda in order to run smoothly. If you have an appointment that does not have an agreed-upon agenda, your time will be wasted. Make sure to include any additional information when you book an appointment so that you have a clear direction and don’t forget important points for your agenda. Be sure to add the type of meeting, where it is going to take place, the date, time, who will be in attendance, etc.
Having a virtual diary is the best way to keep a lot of information in one place. It promotes better business practices and can save you time and make you money by better structuring your workday.
