How I ACTUALLY manage my time as an efficient online business owner

I've come up with a system that really helps me to manage my time and work productively throughout the day.

I'm here to help you get your work under control and feel less stressed as you tackle your workload.

I get how difficult it can be to manage your time as an online business owner. I think all of my clients struggle with this to some extent. It is definitely a common challenge because we are constantly having things thrown at us, people and situations trying to cut through our concentration, and of course we encounter personal blocks as well.

But, as I'm sure you know, time management is crucial for the success of any online business. It impacts your productivity, efficiency, and ultimately, your success.

Either keep reading or watch the video below to learn about my system:

For my system, what I do is use a combination of tools to help me get the most out of my time. I use a calendar and a project management tool.

I personally use Google Calendar and Asana, as these are my favourite and what I find works best for me, but you can accomplish this system with any other calendar and any other project management tool. Whatever you are currently using can work!

So, here's how I do it.

Step 1: Time Blocking with a Calendar

I use my calendar to block my time. If you haven't heard of time blocking, it is essentially a productivity method where you block out different times of your day, each block representing a specific type of task. So, for example, you can have one hour every morning blocked out to work on content and then you will use that time to do any content-related tasks you need to get done that day. You can get even more specific if you need to, like having time blocks for writing captions or creating graphics. But the key is to have it be within a category so that you aren't doing any context switching and you can stay within the zone of that task for the entire time block, before switching gears. It's a great opportunity to batch work as well, which is another productivity hack.

To block my time, I go through and set up recurring events as my time blocks. I create a separate calendar within my calendar as a template to schedule these blocks so that it doesn't actually block off my time on the outside and prevent people from booking calls through my schedulers. You can create multiple calendars in one Google Calendar. I'm not sure if you can with other calendars. But, this works perfect for me.

I have blocks of time for client work, YouTube/Admin tasks, Lunch, Checking emails, Mindfulness breaks, and Professional Development. I adjust my template as needed depending on how many clients I have and how much time I need to make sure I have blocked out for their work versus my own business work.

In the past, I have used colour-coding to further differentiate the time blocks. However, I don't feel the need to do that anymore. Now, I just have my template as a more dull colour and then I have meetings and specific events as more bold colours and that's how I differentiate now.

Step 2: Organize and Track Specific Tasks

Then, in Asana, I organize my actual specific tasks. This is where I keep track of all of my ideas and to-dos so that it's as easy as possible to write down new things.

I've also been asked why I don't just use Google Calendar's tasks feature to track these specific tasks, and while I can see how that may work when you're just getting started or for personal tasks, it just is not enough for running my business. Asana allows me to organize all the systems in my business, it is my central hub where all of my projects are, all of my business information is, all of my content is planned and stored. It's where I communicate and collaborate with team members. It is just on a whole other level. Google Calendar is not a project management tool and simply cannot do everything that's needed to really organize and systemize a business. But it is a great tool for time blocking and scheduling meetings.

If you want to see an example system that I use Asana for in my business, you can see and test out my SOP Bank System for free here.

I organize my tasks for each week in Asana in a way so that I can see my day and week laid out for me with all of my tasks I want to complete for the week. I also organize by priority if I have a lot of tasks.

Putting it all together

When I am ready to get down to work, I make sure to have my Google Calendar and Asana open all day long so that I can refer to them throughout the day to keep myself on track.

I will start by looking at Google Calendar to see which time block I am in and that tells me which type of tasks I need to be working on. Then, I go over to Asana and see which specific tasks I have to do within that category and I get to work!

If you want more information on how I organize my systems in Asana, check out this post next and I'll give you all the deets!