My Instagram DM’s have been flooded with requests from you guys about tips for planning better and being more organized. Don’t worry, I’ve listened! I’m sharing everything that’s worked for me over the last few years and some things I’m still getting better at. The key is to always work smarter in order to not burn yourself out. Do you have any planning tips that help you out?
Time Management
This is probably the most important step of all. Without time management, you can’t get anything done efficiently and you won’t have the time to organize the rest of your life! Time management is a skill that I’ve had to master managing both of my careers, but I struggled with it since college. Avoiding multitasking is key when it comes to managing your time. Trust me, I know this sounds really hard when there’s a lot on your plate, but I promise that delegating one task at a time is more productive at the end of the day. Schedule your time for each of your individual tasks carefully so that you can work smarter, rather than rushing through and feeling the pressure.
Organize Your Space
My space is everything to me. Whether it’s my desk at home or my desk at home, it needs to be cleaned, organized, and ready to go. I can’t work my best if there’s any clutter in sight and if I don’t have my essentials in sight. By essentials I mean my having all of my electronics in order, along with a planner, pen, productivity cube, and I always have a bottle of water on hand. Sometimes I light a candle while I work to create a sense of serenity and lighten up the mood when I know that I have a lot to get done.
Create Email Folders
During the last year this has really been my saving grace. With the amount of projects that I have going on there’s absolutely not way that I can properly plan without assigning email folders. Some examples include invoices, blog duties, and sponsorships to name a few. For Summer Fridays, folders are completely different because we have a team and my duties are so separate from influencer things. Be very specific with the names of your folders and color code them to make your life even easier.
Work While Traveling/Commuting
Since I travel so much, I’ve learned to just work on the go. While some people would rather just use this time to relax, I personally don’t find that to be the best use of my time if I’m traveling during daytime hours. On flights I like to stay connected and get things done, and the same goes for long car rides. I’ll bang out emails, take calls when I can, and I really try to make it work so that I have time to myself later on.
Take Less Meetings
I’m sure you’ve all seen the memes about meetings that could’ve been calls or emails and it’s the truth! If you don’t have to carve the time out of your day to drive or commute to an in-person meeting, try to negotiate it into a call or break things down into a detailed email. Taking less meetings saves so much time and leaves more room to be productive.
Take Breaks!
You need to give yourself time to breathe if you’re working so hard. Our bodies are machines and so are our minds, so give them the breaks they deserve. Take a walk, listen to some music, turn on your favorite podcast—whatever works for you. If your body is asking for a break, give it one and don’t feel guilty about it.
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