Time is one of your most valuable assets, and there are a lot of opportunities to waste time during the workday. In order to increase productivity, you’ll want to look for ways to improve efficiencies in your daily tasks.
Here are my top 4 tips for effectively managing your time as a PPC manager.
1. Plan Tomorrow, Today
The last thing I do before shutting down my computer for the night is to create a to-do list for tomorrow. I’ll review my calendar to see what upcoming meetings I have, check emails for any pending requests, and write down in a notebook my tasks for the next day. I like doing this because writing down what I need to do means I don’t have to waste brain power trying to remember it all. I also do this outside of work for personal to-do items because it works so well. I prefer writing daily to-dos instead of recording them electronically because of the satisfaction I feel of drawing a line through a task once it’s complete. By planning for tomorrow, today I can pretty much forget about work once I leave the office.
2. Prioritize Your Tasks
On my to-do list, I also set a priority level for each task. I have three very unscientific categories that I group each task into: “must do first”, “must do today”, “would be nice to do today”. I’ll use a highlighter or a mark next to each one to know what group it is in. My “must do first” tasks my most important tasks and are usually things like updating reports for clients and putting together call notes. I like to get these out of the way first thing in the morning so I know I’m prepared for the day’s meetings.
My “must do today” tasks are things that need to get done today, like launching a new campaign or updating ads for a promotion. Basically, anything that a client or coworker is expecting to be completed. My last category of “would be nice to do today” is anything that I can do once I complete my first two task categories. They are things on my to-do list that need to get done but don’t have a strict deadline. Often times, I don’t complete all of these tasks so then I’ll shift them to the next day. These are mostly regular maintenance tasks in accounts.
3. Try To Avoid Monday and Friday Meetings
Trust me, I know often times our meeting schedule isn’t up to us but I do try to make an effort to have as few meetings as possible on Monday and Friday.
Mondays have often spent updating reports, reviewing performance, and getting things in order for the week. It’s nice to have a full day to yourself to prepare for the week ahead.
Friday is the day where I complete any pending tasks I couldn’t get to earlier in the week. Having a buffer at the front and back end of the week helps tremendously to keep me organized.
4. Don’t Schedule Meetings Back-to-Back
Another tip that often times isn’t completely under your control, but if possible I like to give myself at least a 30-minute break between meetings. I get two main benefits from this. First, it gives me time to review my notes and schedule any to-dos that arose from the meeting. Second, it gives me time to prep for the next call. Just taking 5 minutes to look at notes for the upcoming call allows my brain to fully shift from one task to another.
If you are looking for more ways to put time back in your day, check out these posts.
What other time management tips do you swear by? Let us know in the comments below!
