Do you create a to-do list each day and fill it with a variety of tasks, both must-dos and if-time-dos? How often do you clear the list, that is, complete everything on it? Although some people may be able to cross everything off the list each day, many people never do. After all, there’s always something to add. Things that you just think of, requests from other people, tasks that pop up out of nowhere. And, then life gets busy, especially around this time of year as we begin to prepare for the holidays ahead. The busier life gets, the longer our lists grow. We may begin to wish that we had more hours in a day to get everything done. Then, we could be our truly productive selves. But, what we think of as an issue of busyness is really an issue of time management. 

What is time management?

Time management is about planning your time wisely. Time is a finite resource. However, we act as if we’re rich with it, filling our days with less important tasks and activities that make it seem nearly impossible to do the important stuff. Sure, creating a to-do list in the first place is a part of establishing good time management skills; however, it’s often not enough. 

Why? Because many of us simply work down the list, doing each task as it comes, regardless of its importance. In this way, we put laundry on par with our Power Hour. Sure, clean socks are important, but they don’t add money to our bank accounts and they also don’t help us serve our networks.  That’s where prioritizing comes in.

What are your priorities?

How often have you become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks on your to-do list? You may lament, “If I have to add one more thing, I’ll scream!” as you add more and more items. But adding things to the list doesn’t make you more productive if you lose sight of your priorities. Your priorities will guide you as you work through your list and decide what to work on first.

When you create your list, pinpoint the top two tasks that are most important for the day. These are the tasks you have to do no matter what. Here’s a hint, one of them should always be related to your business. For example, your Power Hour is critical to helping you build the foundation for a strong, successful network marketing business. However, if you’re like most people, you may treat it like a less important task, getting to it whenever you can. As a result, you may find yourself squeezing in a Power Hour only once or twice a week, which makes achieving your goals much more challenging. 

By making your Power Hour a priority, you can be sure you’ll do it each day. Connecting to your network is the foundation of network marketing. Making time to do so is crucial if you want to achieve your goals and overall success in your business. During this time, you’ll also want to work on other aspects of your business, as well as pursue personal development activities. This will help you offer the highest level of service to everyone in your network. 

Study the business cycle

Every business has a cycle; that is, a time when it’s super busy and a time when it’s not. The less busy times are ideal for planning and preparing for the busy times.

When is your business the busiest? For many network marketers, it’s during the holiday season when people are entertaining and focused on giving gifts. For others, especially those in the health and wellness industry, it’s the first part of the year when people are focused on getting in shape and fulfilling their health-related goals. Another busy time may be the late spring and summer months. 

If you’ve been in business for a year, look over your sales figures and see when you were the busiest. Then, plan to be busy during that time again this year. If you’re new to your business, ask others on your team who have been doing it longer when they noticed they were the busiest. Use their response as a guide to help you plan for a busy time as well.

Time management tip: How to plan for busy times

What does it mean to plan for busy times? 

• Increase the number of Power Hours. If you’re doing two or three a week, consider ramping up and doing a Power Hour a day in the lead up to the busy time of the year. This puts you in touch with your best advocates so you can deliver great service, listen for a need, and stay top of mind.
• Sharpen your skills. If you feel you’ve hit a plateau or just want to take your skills to the next level, take training courses to help you sharpen your skills. 
• Get a coach or mentor. A coach will hold you accountable and help you prioritize your day. A mentor will offer advice to help you through any challenging situations you may face. 

Make a schedule

If the term “time management” makes you think of scheduling, you’re right. It may not be the most exciting thing; however, if you want to succeed and create a thriving business, you may want to make peace with creating a schedule. 

This doesn’t mean everything is set in stone. After all, things happen beyond our control. And, it doesn’t mean you have to schedule your entire day – although, there’s nothing wrong with that if you’re so inclined. It just means making time for the top priorities of your day so that you know you’ll complete them. 

If your health is a top priority, then you’ll want to schedule in time for your workout. This is your can’t-miss time for you to go to the gym, go for a run or long bike ride, whatever you do to keep in shape. You may write on the calendar or an app that for an hour from 7 am, you’ll workout. Similarly, iIf your business is a top priority, it’s making time to connect to and follow up with your customers, prospects, and distributors. You may plan it for every morning at 10 or several times a week at 2 in the afternoon. The time itself doesn’t matter – it just matters that you’re making time to get it done.

Everything else falls around these times. With the exception of an emergency, nothing can distract you from getting it done. You also know that these times are off-limits for scheduling anything else. 

Take time for yourself

When people think of productivity, they often think of getting done as much as they can in a day. But productivity can also involve refueling your own energy levels. Remember, you can’t be of use to anyone if you let your gas tank run out. Just as you schedule time for your top priorities in the day, also take time to recharge.

Recharging can take the form of anything. You could schedule 20 minutes to pray or meditate quietly. Perhaps reading a chapter of a great book or watching an inspiring talk online. Maybe you just sit quietly and watch the clouds float by. Or, maybe you fix yourself a healthy snack or a cup of tea or a smoothie. Whatever it is, make sure you make time for it because it’ll help you avoid mental fatigue and burnout. 

That’s why rest is so important if you want to become more productive. Just as athletes incorporate rest into their hard training routines, you should incorporate rest into your business routine. Rest allows you to refresh and recharge so you can go out and tackle the rest of your day. 

Time management tip: You’ve got this!

It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed when things get busy. In fact, that’s when many people give up and say “this is too much!” However, keep in mind that you have all the tools you need to thrive in the busiest times. A positive, resilient, can-do attitude will help you keep your eyes on the goal and handle it all with finesse. 

Teamzy makes time management a breeze

Our CRM makes it so much easier to plow through your to-do list and build your business at the same time. Simply log into your Teamzy Dashboard to see who to contact each day. Not sure what to say when you reach out? We have scripts to help you connect with everyone in your network. Set goals, find your Why, and improve your skills with our training programs. Teamzy is so much more than a CRM; it’s the tool you need to build your network marketing business from the heart. Click here to learn more.