I’ve tried everything!  I found only one thing works…have a list of the three things I want to accomplish for the day.  It sits in front of my monitor.  I can usually kick out 2 of the 3. 

Trying to do too much at once, which quickly become paralysis by analysis. Often times far less gets accomplished. Prioritizing most important tasks seems tricky (do I blog, video, create programs, re tweak the site etc).

I use a good old paper based system – a wired notebook . However, I definitely need a better way to keep track of things as my life is getting more complicated in terms of things that I am involved in and things I need to make sure get done. Find a balance is certainly a challenge.

Working for years with new business start-ups the number one challenge is knowing what to do. So time management always comes down to doing one thing each day to either learn more about your business or complete one set-up task

I’m fighting against time management since my childhood days…
Currently, I try to organize my tasks on a weekly basis, monday to sunday. Every day I work on no more then 3 big tasks, with blocks of 90 minutes max, plus some maintenance “time zones” (like reading mails, browsing forums, and so on), typically around noon and at the end of the day, around 7 pm.And I keep a list of my current goals written on big stripes of brown wrapping paper on my wall.
And I seriously think that this is a really BIG issue, so your posts are very appreciated!

I think my biggest problem was trying to do to much. I had all sorts of great ideas, but very few of them were ever getting done because there’s only 24 hours in the day. Even with detailed task lists and goals, I found that I wasn’t getting everything done and even worse my projects that were successful weren’t getting enough attention because I was spread out to thin. What really worked was stepping way back and looking really figuring out what I wanted to be working on, improving what was working and moving some projects on to the back burner until I could give them the proper effort. It’s tough because I still have hundreds of ideas popping up in my head, but simplifying has really led to me getting more done.

I have a REALLY simple system (for me – this isn’t necessarily what I recommend to others).

I start the day by thinking about one thing I can do to move my biz forward today. And then I do it. And then I can either work on other projects or else take the rest of the day off guilt-free (well, nearly ). Works pretty well as a way to get the important stuff done and also have a lot of free time which is why I’m in biz for myself.

Cathy

Hey David.

I have a good system I’ve been using lately and it’s been really successful for me. It’s basically the Pomodoro technique. The biggest challenge I have with time is family. I can spend family time at night, no problem. But often times it seems when family sees that I work from home they automatically think I can stop everything and go do things outside of work.

The… “We need to go get this…” or “It’s time to pick the kids up from school”.

A little here and there each day adds up.

So I suppose I have a good system, it’s just the interruptions. I have almost been thinking of renting out a house around the block and use it as my office.

I’ve had that thought, too. (The outside office). And, yeah, I’m familiar with the Pomodoro. Its another way to do things…. if you can keep the distractions at bay.

Absolutely. Simpler the better.

Yep, its a biggie. You have no idea how much this issue pops up in every survey I run to my audience.

For the past 50 years Action on ONE new thing has been the solution.
I do not Multitask, but found delegation easy.
Rest of tome is spent with the mundane repetitious requirements of Business management, regardless the business.
Never relied on artificial systems, just always have my written plans in front on many 8×11 notebooks

I struggle with this issue a lot, as I find focus to be very difficult when there seems to be soooo much that seems needed to be done. 
 I am making progress with the idea of only putting 4 things on my to do list and choose the 1 thing I seem to have the most resistance to, be done by 11am. I do not always get the list done but when I look back over a 7 day period, I definitely have got more things ticked of, than trying to throw too much on the daily to do list.   

     David…an excruciating problem. Try this.                                         
 
FOLLOW THESE FIVE STEPS
 1. At night, write down the five most important things you need to work on the next day in priority order.
2. Next morning, work on No 1 until you can’t work on it any more–for whatever reason–no access to required information, can’t contact the person you need to speak to, your computer breaks down, your hangover is killing you, etc.
3. Then work on No 2. Work on it until you are stopped (not you being distracted).
4. Continue in this way until you have worked on all 5 items.
5. Move on to lesser tasks.

That’s it. It may take you  a  week to incorporate into your life but you can do this overnight.
 
Can this regime be broken? NO.
OK, YES, BUT only under this condition.
IF you have a pressing, critical problem (you need to see a dentist right now!; the baby is crying; you just spilled coffee on your pants) . 
That’s it. No Internet. No telephone. Nothing.
 Do this 5-point procedure every day.
It works. 

cool

I like Steven Covey’s stuff and John Maxwell’s stuff.  I blend the two together and make some pretty good progress without dwelling too much on the stuff that “doesn’t matter.”  It works for a momma with a baby, a full fledged medical practice and an online business.

As far as I’m concerned, my biggest breakthrough with time management is this : when I turn on the computer, I force myself to work for an hour and a half on my main task of the day BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE ! (That’s the though part : no email, no social media, nothing).

It’s nothing extraordinary, but it’s what brings me the most consistent results on a day to day basis.

Dushan,
from Switzerland

For about 15 years, I’ve used the Franklin-Covey system for time management. It works very well for me & has become a part of my daily life.

Like everyone, I sometimes have unexpected things come up in life that weren’t on the schedule. Still, what I really struggle with, though, is procrastination. Sometimes a can lose an hour a day by not getting started on my list as soon as possible.

Turning the items on your to-do list into appointments and scheduling them throughout the day is one way to not only clear off to-do’s, it commits you to a schedule and blocks out time for your tasks. Since many of us use an electronic calendar and/or task list now, this method also makes it easy to set alarms or reminders for those “scheduled tasks”.

Cole, I used to think procrastination was a function of time management. No longer. Of course, time management is a factor in procrastination but the elemental factor is Self-knowledge (which leads to self-management, which leads to reducing procrastination). 
If you know yourself well you will not be as susceptible to P. because you will have the inner knowledge-guidance -to tell you what is important and what not so important and you will make time and task decisions more effectively.