Business is booming (or you’re in the planning stages for it to be), and it seems like your to-do list never ends. While this is a great problem, it still has to be solved.
There aren’t enough hours in the day to get to that coveted work-life balance, but you can’t give up your sanity in exchange for checking off boxes.
The good news is that you don’t have to. You just have to adjust your habits to ensure everything is done more efficiently.
Think about the job of a CEO. No matter the CEO’s industry, the job is demanding and full of juggling dozens of hats. Talk about a never-ending to-do list! Yet, thousands of people excel at this role because their time management practices are on point.
You’ll rarely catch a CEO wasting a minute during their workday, but they sure know how to relax after hours! If you’re interested in having this type of balance, check out these three CEO-recommended time management tips to get things done so you can enjoy your downtime.
1. Plan for the Week Ahead
There’s a saying from Benjamin Franklin that, although shortened, is frequently used in business: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
CEOs don’t get to work and wonder what they’re going to do that day. They have their schedule written out, their task list organized by order of importance, and their entire week mapped. Of course, the odds of the week going as planned is minimal, so this is done in pencil or on the computer, so it’s easy to make changes.
Still, they have an outline of what needs to be done, the due dates, and what events and tasks are on the horizon.
When you plan at least a week ahead, you always work toward accomplishing more than that day’s tasks. Instead of constantly trying to put out fires because of last-minute deadlines, you’re preventing them from happening in the first place.
2. Use a Time Management Tool to Help
What are you currently using to juggle your tasks and write down new to-dos as they come up? If it’s a smartphone note list or a post-it on your desk, chances are, you’re not being as efficient as you could be.
Using tools like Google Calendar or other event planners is a great starting point. But how are you determining what’s important or monitoring upcoming deadlines?
Time management tools like Trello and other Gantt chart-type software help you see what’s coming up so you can plan ahead.
The Eisenhower Matrix is another popular technique many CEOs use to prioritize the urgent and important over the “eventual” to-dos. You take your checklist for that day and break it into four matrices. These help you see what is urgent or essential, like a meeting you can’t miss, versus what needs to get done but isn’t critical, such as checking out the latest business travel statistics for your industry.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel; you don’t have time for that! Use a strategy that has been proven to be successful, find one that works, and stick with it.
3. Give Yourself Some Think Time
You’ll be tempted to plan everything to the minute, thinking it will get you more done in your day. In reality, meetings run late, traffic isn’t always smooth, and people call or knock on your door at the worst possible moment.
In other words, life happens, and you need a buffer between tasks to address the delays proactively.
Instead of scheduling back-to-back tasks, add in a 5-10 minute break. If nothing happens and you’re running on time, great! You now have “think time” to reflect on the last interaction or plan for your next one.
Use that time to decompress between jobs. Don’t jump in and tackle your email or check messages. You have (or should have) that in your schedule for another time. This is your buffer time. When you take advantage of it, your mental health feels the benefits.
We all need some time, but most of us grab our phones and go straight to interacting or scrolling instead of taking a few minutes to be in our heads. Since that’s when creativity and the best ideas happen, this time is not wasted. It could be the best few minutes of your day!
Conclusion
We all have the same 24 hours in our days, yet some people seem to get more done than others.
No, they don’t have magic watches to stop time or a genie in a bottle granting them wishes. They have time management skills, and so do you once you start using these three tips.
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