There was a time, I used to track each minute of the day.
People called me crazy.
Looking back, it feels to me I was crazy at the time.
But all of this craziness was to:
- Understand my limitations
- Figure out where my time was going
- Pinpoint areas for improvement
- Identify 20% of activities bringing in 20% of results.
Why was I acting like a crazy maniac?
Because I wasn’t trained to handle a lot of things.
I was missing deadlines, discovery calls and forgetting things.
I was fidgeting all the time.
Tasks would keep piling up.
This was suffocating.
My productivity was suffering and my stress level was sky-high.
If you are thinking that I was the only one who was struggling with this, you are wrong.
Here is what the data says:
The American Psychological Association reports that 20% of adults regularly delay tasks, affecting their efficiency. Research by Zippia reveals that 82% of individuals lack an effective system for managing their time, leading to 51% of their workday being allocated to less valuable activities
This issue is for me as much as it is for you.
Lately, I have been allocating a lot of time to less valuable activities.
Last time, which was many years ago, I developed multiple strategies to:
- Manage time effectively
- Complete all pending tasks without compromising on quality
- Work on things that mattered
So that, I can:
- Manage multiple projects
- Get more done in less
- Stay ahead of my competition
Here is what I did back then and what I am going to keep doing to keep myself on track.
Nothing fancy. Simple Pomodoro technique to get quality work done in less time.
I call them focus hours.
Work for 25 minutes and take 5 minutes to rest.
OR
Work for 52 minutes and take 7-minute rest.
And this has worked pretty well for me.
Along with this, I also implement the POMODORO Framework.
POMODORO Framework
Step 1: Prioritize Tasks
Before you can optimize your routine, you need to figure out what you do daily, so that you can identify high priority ones.
List all tasks and identify the most critical ones.
I use the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize tasks based on urgency and importance.
I have a notion page setup to help me with this. More on this below.
Step 2: Organize Your Day
In the start, I was putting out unrealist deadlines for myself.
And I soon realized that I wasn’t being fair.
My advice would be to break projects into manageable tasks.
Allocate time for each task. And add 20% margin.
Be realistic about how long tasks will take to avoid overloading your schedule.
This will lead to burnout.
Trust me, you don’t want that.
And to keep things smooth, plan your week in advance.
This will save you a lot of planning time.
Step 3: Monitor Time Spent
My favorite part was tracking time spent on each task.
If my estimation was right, I would cheer up like a bird.
Use time-tracking apps to monitor how long you spend on each task.
There are lots of apps.
But I prefer the system that I created in Notion to help me with this.
You should have a regular review of your time logs to identify areas where you can improve efficiency.
Step 4: Optimize Work Periods
This is a no-brainer.
Smaller, focused sprints of work get more results than longer, unfocused slots of work.
Use the Pomodoro Technique to:
- Maintain focus
- Avoid burnout
- Get more done
Step 5: Delegate When Possible
I learned this skill late in life.
The earlier you can work on this, the smoother and stress-free your life will be.
Do what you do best, delegate the rest.
Determine which tasks can be outsourced or delegated.
Step 6: Overcome Procrastination
Procrastination is a serious mental disease.
It will paralyze your business.
Avoid this by defining specific goals for each task.
Or you can use my method, which is a bit difficult:
Work in OKRs.
Define business objectives.
Setup key results to measure the progress on your objectives.
Determine key activities or tasks that need to be done to hit those key results.
I do this with every client.
It makes life a lot easier and tracking progress a lot smoother.
Step 7: Review and Adjust
You can’t improve if you are not measuring something.
That is why, have regular meetings with yourself and review your progress.
I do this in my weekly “Sunday Growth Diaries”
It is a weekly issue, that I publish every Sunday.
I started this series so that I can:
👉 Keep track of my journey 👉 Document my processes 👉 Plan for the next week
And most importantly share my journey with my subscribers.
✔️ Strategic Insights
✔️ Lesson Learned
✔️ Audit – What is working and what is not.
Subscribe to my premium newsletter to get weekly updates from me.
Step 8: Offer Yourself Breaks
Whenever I stop taking breaks during office hours, I burn out.
This is very crucial for my mental sanity.
At times, if I am about to burst when I am taking regular breaks.
These charge me up.
My breaks include:
- Stretching
- Brain games
- Writing something on paper
- Minor scrolling
- Brisk walk
Prioritize self-care to maintain productivity.
Notion Template: Freelancer Time Management Dashboard
To make things easier for you, I have created a system in Notion – X Time Manager.
Let me know how it goes for you.
I am working on something, which will blow your mind.
Hint: It is something that will help you decide whether Upwork is for you or not.
If you can guess what it is, I will give you all my Notion systems for free. Worth more than $500.
Waiting to hear from you.
Adios,
Talha X
Dreamer & Founder @ The Notion Millionaire.
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