If the number of plates you have spinning in the air is making you look like a Cirque du Soleil performer …

Your list of to do’s is daunting.  The number of plates you have spinning in the air makes you look like a Cirque du Soleil performer.  The flotsam and jetsam of things washing around in your brain is massive, such as:

• Did she email me back about that thing or do I owe her an email?
• What form is due when for that thingamajig?
• When is the renewal date for fostering that baby elephant (a for real thing on my list)?
• What’s your big picture view for this year?
• What’s your plan for fun this month?

It’s enough to bring you to your knees and wave a white flag of surrender.

However help is at hand with a tool that has an easily organized big picture view AND a view of the details. 

But first some background.  How we manage our time has a massive effect on our well being, our health, our income, our profession, our social lives and our productivity.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day but how we manage them includes the gamut from playing it by ear / no real system to a highly complicated, time consuming time management system that even NASA engineers would balk at.

I’m here to serve you up with something truly effective and easy.

‘Cause who wants a time management system that takes more time than it’s worth to manage?

Just like Marie Kondo’s tidying system, where she suggests we keep only items that spark joy, I sincerely (truly, Guide’s honour) believe the way you manage your time should spark joy as well.

It should fill you up, not drag you down.

Ready?

I’ve spent years perfecting my system.  I’ve moved from a paper based daytimer to a system that’s in the cloud so I can access it anytime, from anywhere (no more aching shoulders from lugging the 3 pound bible, ahem I mean daytimer, around in my purse).

Now I use a simple, free app called Workflowy which has loads of benefits including:

1. It can be expanded or shrunk to fit whatever you want to look at at that time. 
2. The lists you make are what we call nested.  You can see the details or just the headings.  Your choice. Easy peasy. 
3. You can drag and drop.  No fussy cutting and pasting.  To move something from one list to another you just simply drag it.
4. You can share lists with people.  You can even choose whether they get to simply view the list or if they can edit it. But don’t freak out; you can keep lists private too.  Your choice.

Here’s my outline for how I use Workflowy to manage my time and my life.  Each bullet is a list.  Interested in trying it out? Simply click here to get the outline (See what I mean about sharing lists? So cool right!).  Copy it to your own Workflowy account, edit it as you wish and away you go.

• Communication (these are things I need to keep abreast of, lists of things to do for different folks):
  • VA (this is my list of to do items for my Virtual Assistant, which I share with him)
  • Staff (ditto but for my staff)
  • Hubs (ditto)
  • Grocery list (my kiddo makes a different meal each week so here’s where I keep track of what items I need to buy for that and other meals)
• Planning (these are things I want to get done this year)
  • Simple year (I’m signed up to a great online program of the same name. Here’s where I keep track of areas in my house I’ve done.  There’s nothing like a to done list to keep you motivated (as opposed to a to do list)
  • Kiddo’s grad (my youngest is graduating from high school this year and this is where I track all the stuff that entails)
  • Year (here are my big goals for the year)
  • Overall (I list my overall goals here)
  • Month by month (then I break them down for each month here. Banish overwhelm, hello organized ease)
  • Renewals (this gives me a quick reference point for things I need to annually renew, including fostering our baby elephant)
  • Home flotsam and jetsam (here’s where I put all the miscellaneous home related items, including packing lists.  Packing is a breeze now thanks to this.)
  • Work flotsam and jetsam (same as above but work related.  Here are ideas, inspiration, lists of invoices upcoming, those that are due, my sales funnel etc.)
  • Current month (these are themes for the current month I want to be sure and pay attention to)
  • Learning (hello sweet list of stuff I’ve got my eye on to learn)
  • Digital (this is my catch all for digital stuff I need to keep track of)
  • Safaris (here I put my safari or get away plans for the year including mini getaways and big trips)

• This week
  • AM (Here’s where I put what I need to focus on this morning)
  • Afternoon (and ditto but for the afternoon)
  • PM (ditto for the evening)
  • Next week (here’s where I put things I know I need to focus on next week)

There you have it.  An easy template for making sure your focus is on the things you need and want it to be on.

Now go forth and conquer and don’t forget to celebrate when you:

• Can easily find that flotsam jetsam thing you were looking for
• Feel super accomplished at the end of the day and/or week or month
• Have learned how to harness this tech tool to bring ease, efficiency and flow