Every organizational guru says the same thing: we spend too much time on irrelevant tasks. Not to say these tasks are not important, just perhaps you shouldn’t be the one accomplishing them.
As the founder and visionary for your online business, your time should not be spent in the weeds.
A symptom of misspent time is a feeling of frustration with your progress – or lack thereof. Some bloggers may be dreading the moment they open the laptop to begin their day.
To determine how wisely you are using your time, begin with a list of tasks you accomplish regularly. You can also track your time for a week or more to get a better idea of where your time is being spent.
In reviewing your task list:
- Note how long a task takes on average;
- Categorize tasks to determine trends;
- Ask yourself if you are the only one who can complete the task;
- Give it a mark out of 100 for how much attention the task requires;
- Record your emotions about the task; and
- Rate the task on how important it is to your goals.
Make the best use of your time by choosing the tasks you spend it on.
If you have found you are accomplishing many five-minute tasks, you may consider batching the tasks. An example could be email – perhaps you only check it out from 8:00 until 8:30, again at 12:00 and 4:00.
Batching a simple task reduces the energy needed in task switching. Psychology Today says, “Each task switch might waste only 1/10th of a second, but if you do a lot of switching in a day it can add up to a loss of 40% of your productivity.”
Determining time trends can open doors for your online business.
When you categorize the kinds of tasks you are completing, you give yourself a view of the forest and not just the trees. Looking at the history of your tasks may also help you determine the next steps for your academic blog.
This leads into the next point – determining if you are the only one who can complete the task.
It can be an exciting thought, that the task requires a skill and finesse that only you can provide. However, if anyone could do the task, maybe you don’t need to do it yourself.
Attention and energy are currency in time management.
Some tasks, like data entry, may only require 50% of your attention. Could you complete it while watching Netflix? Other tasks may require a more intense concentration – and noise-cancelling headphones – to complete.
Noting your own energy rhythms will assist in this research, as well. Early birds may find they are more successful in the latter task first thing in the morning, saving data entry for the evening Netflix binge on the couch. Night owls might sleep in, start late, and save the heavy-duty tasks for when the kids are in bed and the house is quiet.
You can complete a task, but do you want to.
At this point in your time review, you may begin to notice how intricate task prioritization can be. You may have determined that you are repetitively doing a task because you are the only one who knows how, that it’s an increasing trend for your business, and maybe it takes hardly any time and attention.
However, just because you are capable, doesn’t mean you have to be the one who completes the task for your business. For academic bloggers who are finding their business a slog, delegation can be incredibly beneficial.
Alternatively, this trend could be pulling you away from your goals and the change you want to make in the world.
You can complete a task, but do you need to.
Mike Michalowicz calls the most important task your business needs the Queen Bee Role. It is this task that must be served first and foremost. As in a beehive, where the most important task is for the queen to lay eggs:
“As the most critical function for the colony to thrive is the production of eggs, so the queen bee, who is designated to fulfill that role, is protected and served. She is fed. She is sheltered. She is not distracted by anything other than doing her job.”
All other tasks and roles must protect your business’ ability to accomplish the Queen Bee Role. It’s important to note, Michalowicz says, that it is not the person that is important but the role. Which means you don’t have to accomplish that role yourself if that’s not where your strengths lie.
It also means that you may be distracted by tasks that are not integral to that role. If you find this is the case, you may choose to alter your processes, delegate the tasks elsewhere, or delete the tasks if they don’t benefit the role or your academic blog.
Create a schedule that works for you.
Once your review is complete, block out the hours in your day for important queen bee tasks, noting the times your energy is high and when your attention is complete. Fill in the blanks with the tasks you both need and love to do.
Building a schedule that supports your goals for blog and business can be incredibly satisfying. Completing each job can be joyful when the time feels well-spent. Further to this, delegation can be an investment in both your business success and personal happiness.
Need a sounding board on task relevance and necessity? Share your quandary in the comments below or reach out to us directly – chris@gradblogger.com – for our hopefully helpful perspective!
