Trying to do too much leads to a time crunch. Whether it's showings, scheduling, billing, or following up leads, managing time effectively is crucial. For most of us, time truly equals money.
There is a clear trade-off between the time you spend working and the money you earn. However, the executive productivity trade-off is also directly tied to the effectiveness of the time spent.
If you frequently feel exhausted, complaining about what seems like chaos with small wins scattered throughout, something's not right. Productivity acts as the shovel that helps you move the mountain of tasks and responsibilities blocking your path to genuine business growth.
However, investing in a complicated time management system isn't always necessary. Here are five effective ways to enhance your time management using best practices, allowing you to achieve meaningful improvements.
5 Ways to Improve Time Management
Focus on Goals
What's the first step of time management? Understanding your goals.
You can't maintain productivity without prioritizing. And you can't prioritize effectively without understanding your goals.
Setting goals provides clear benchmarks to measure your progress toward success. Whether it's a target for calls, leads, meetings, or marketing efforts, the key is to define them precisely and keep a record. More specific goals, such as a set number of listings, significantly increase your likelihood of achievement.
Working backward, understanding your goals helps you improve time management by enhancing your focus.
Related: How to Prioritize Your Goals
Set Deadlines
Now it’s time to give your work a start and an end. If you set a goal only for a vague future point, you won't be able to manage your time effectively. How do you identify a priority when you don't understand when the work needs to be done?
Setting deadlines provides a way to measure your progress. If a deadline is near and you're not closer to your goal, consider re-evaluating your approach. Important tasks should have deadlines, as they keep you accountable for achieving your objectives.
Bonus: let other people know about your deadlines and goals, and watch how often they stay on your mind.
Learn to Prioritize
Once you understand your goals and set some timelines, you can use them to prioritize how you spend your time. Think of your work in terms of value. You have virtually infinite tasks you could be doing. How are you choosing what to focus on?
Highest value comes first. Prioritize what pays real dividends. Consider using a system like the Eisenhower Matrix to identify what work should be prioritized, what you need to schedule time for, what should be delegated, and the tasks that don't need to be done at all.
Get Organized
People who struggle with organization tend to over-complicate things, but you don’t need to invest in complicated systems or relearn basic skills to stay organized as an adult. Keep your approach simple: spend an hour planning each Sunday and 20 minutes each day. Write down your tasks in a straightforward list, and develop a habit of following that list.
Adopting organization and learning to track your work helps you stay productive instead of wasting time without understanding why. Take detailed notes about your work to assess progress, whether that involves making calls or sending emails.
Delegate, Combine, and Prune
Once you're organized and clear on your priorities, start assigning tasks for each day. These should be specific, measurable, and aligned with your goals. Tracking your progress on these tasks will help you identify what’s hindering your improvement.
You might consider combining tasks like monitoring your listings and content marketing to increase your productivity within a limited timeframe. As your routine tasks grow, you’ll master them and recognize the value of delegating in the workplace to free up more time for creative and relationship-building activities that advance your business. A virtual executive assistant can support you in reaching your delegation goals and help you concentrate on expanding your business.
Related: How to Delegate Effectively to Be a More Impactful Leader