FAN MAIL FRIDAYS: How I Manage My Time Everyday As An Entrepreneur, Blogger, and Gym Junkie :D

To those who are asking, yes, I entertain non-beauty related queries for my Fan Mail Fridays segment; I actually appreciate it because it's sort of my breather from Beauty Blogging! Here's one from one of my long- time readers, Rhania:

Hi Ms. M,

I know you're a busy person...doing things like personal life, exercise, family time, travel, and work; they make your sched a little bit complicated plus you blog everyday! I wonder how you manage your time. I wonder if you use apps or you have a journal/planner. I admire how you handle your time everyday!

Have a nice day, Ms. M!

Rhania

Hey Rhania!

Thanks for writing to me again. I hope you're doing well. 

I may not be the perfect person to ask regarding time management because I do make mistakes often and I am late sometimes (I know blaming is wrong, but F.U., traffic), but I do have a little something to share when it comes to managing-my-time; Take note, MY time because it works for me and here's to hoping that you pick up a few useful stuff from my system and it works for you. :)

Before, I used to be all over the place: I'd only remember my tasks on the day itself, not jot down notes, and just try to do everything at once, until the consequences of my being messed up hit me right smack in the face. :p I then developed an easy system so I can manage my time properly, even if not perfectly; I had to most especially when I put up my business because of the bigger responsibilities that I had to do not only for myself, but for other people as well! 

I'd like to share this time management system of mine with everyone today.

My Time Manager of Choice: iCal. Because admit it, you don't get to finish your annual planner, really. :p

What my schedule looks like on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Mornings are usually reserved to meetings and a bit of email work, afternoons are reserved to more email work, events (if any), and looking for potential clients for my biz, and evenings are reserved to my daily workout and Blogging.

It all starts with determining your daily roles. I'm not only Martha, per se; I am also a Blogger and an Executive Director of my company.

So everyday, I am:

1. Martha/Gym Junkie

2. Blogger

3. Executive Director

The roles will depend on what you do, of course and yes, Motherhood is a role! it is important to determine the roles you play on a daily basis because your work will be defined by these. 

Of course, we all have more than 5 roles that we play on a daily basis, but just prioritize the top three; narrowing down your choices will make you a more productive being and when you're productive, you'll just find that you have extra time to perform the other minor roles in your day.

PRODUCTIVE VS. BUSY

Speaking of Productive, I've realized that there's a thin line between that and Busy: Productive is doing things and Busy is trying to do things. See, Busy people do so much, but realize at the end of the day that they don't really get things done whereas Productive people do only little, but realize at the end of the day that they've accomplished more than intended. Being busy is trying to do everything and micro- managing while being Productive is doing what matters the most and prioritizing bigger, more strategic tasks that will affect the whole in a positive way. Nowadays, I try to be more productive than busy. To be more productive, what I do is I categorize my tasks everyday in this format:

1. URGENT- things to do that are more important than my eyebrows

2. SEMI- URGENT- things that are also important, but my eyebrows are importanter

3. NOT AT ALL URGENT- I'll do this tomorrow. Eyebrows first.

Urgent tasks, I try to finish in two to four hours; Semi- Urgent, I squeeze in when I accomplish my urgent tasks so I'll have more free days; Not At All Urgent, I do in the evening along with Blogging or the next day.

To recap, these are my simple time management techniques:

1. Define your daily roles

2. Be Productive, not Busy

I would also like to remind everyone that you should make time for yourself everyday: it could be working out, taking your weekly spa retreat, or weekly coffee with friends. Put it in your schedule (like what I do). Make it mandatory. You owe yourself attention and love just as much as your work, kids, and family. Don't forget to give yourself a little pat on the back no matter how good or bad your day is, always. ;)

Hope you picked up something useful today! :)