Time Management & Prioritising Tasks - Filofax Friday - Week 2

Hello friends! It is Friday again which must mean that it is Filofax Friday.  The trouble is I am almost forever in Friday mode with this series. Why? Well I start thinking about it at the weekend, then Monday I usually plan what I want to say (I never script it though as I like to keep it more fluid that way), I then make the inserts for the freebie download. If I can squeeze it in I will record on Monday too but usually I record on Tuesday and either edit Tuesday or Wednesday and then I upload overnight either on Wednesday or Thursday. So you can see for me, it pretty much feels like Filofax Friday every day of the week. I am not complaining though because I do enjoy doing it. It is a little time consuming I have to admit but with being quite a dab hand now and prioritising and scheduling my tasks in, it becomes an enjoying process rather than a chore. I really hope that you are enjoying this series and will get something from it. I do it because I enjoy doing it and I hope that along the way I am inspiring you to use your day planners and get more organised as a result,

So let's move on to this weeks video. Now the video this week is rather a long one weighing in at around 50 minutes long. Pretty ironic I know for a video that is about time management. Do bear with me on this though! I thought about splitting it down into several videos but then when I was editing it, I just thought that it flows so much better as one. I figured that some people would watch it all in one go, maybe whilst cooking dinner or eating lunch or something and for others maybe they could watch it in chunks so I left it as one long video for you to decide to watch it in whatever way best suits you and your life commitments. Just think of how long it took me to put it all together!! Just stop and start and pause and revisit whenever best suits you.

Please do remember that this is just my opinion. Some of which I have drawn from my academic and corporate days in the HR & Training industry, others of it is from my own personal experiences. This video is intended to motivate and inspire you. It is not the only way of doing things, it is just my way. Please do bear that in mind. Please take on board my suggestions and comments and then make them your own. Do things in a way that best suits you and your current life situations.

Homework
Again this week there is home for you to complete if you would like to do so. Remember it is not compulosry, no one will know if you have done it or not. I am just setting prompts / tasks for you to help and motivate you in this series. Pick and choose each week whether you would like to do the homework or not it is entirely up to you! If you ever need to ask or clarify anything with me please do get in touch through any of the social media platforms. Sometimes it takes a while but I do reply to each and every message that is left for me.

1. Over a few typical days, analyse your time usage - see how much time you actually spend:
Thinking, planning, writing, reading, being interrupted, on the telephone, reading / sending email, at lunch, at coffee breaks, staring into space, complaining you never have enough time to do X etc. Those are just a few suggestions to get you started so use these to come up with your own categories to suit your life. Write as much of it down as you can, perhaps in a grid using a tally or in  your diary section. Don't forget to be honest with yourself!

2. Once you have done number one, go back and look over the time that you spent watching tv, at the bus stop etc. Did it shock you? Could you multi task during any of it? Could any of it be slimmed down? Do you have to spend so long on each task? Did you actually get to do any of the things you wanted to do as well as had to do? Please do think about that. I bet some of the tasks could be jiggled around to fit better. If you are a journaler, journal about your findings and your thoughts on those.

3. Now you know where you spend your time use the prioritising tasks grid to work out what taks have to be done in priority. Once you know that you can now schedule your day in your diary. Put items in your to do list or diarise when you are going to do them. Assign times for different activities and stick to them e.g:  9 - 10 check and respond to emails, 10 am do X, etc. Be realistic with how long tasks take, leave a little wiggle time as it is always good to have for the unknown or to gain time back. Remember to plan in activities you want to do like reading, having a bath, painting etc. Try and stick to your day to see how it goes. Tick off as you go and feel the pleasure of knowing how productive your day has been!!

Download
This week's download contains the prioritising square as seen in the video in both A5 and pesonal sizes. Instructions on how to print etc are included in the download. You will need software that can 'unzip' the folder to release the files as both pdf and jpeg. Also included in A5 and personal for you to either read or print out and put in your filofax is the piece I read at the very end about the mayonnaise jar and also a few motivational quotes. To download the files for week 2 please click here. If you still need to get week 1 please click here. Please note that the inserts that I am offering as freebies as part of this series are different to the ones that I sell, so if you have already purchased a set of my inserts these are in addition for you. If you haven't purchased any of my inserts and would like to or just have a nose at them you can view them in my Etsy shop here. 

Next Week

I am not sure as of yet what next week will entail. This week took me so long to put together that I need to get some other bits done before I think about next week. There will definitely be one for next week though so please don't worry about that. I have my own ideas and I also need to go through all the comments that you have left for me too but there will be a Filofax Friday for sure!

Finally...
Thank you for watching / reading folks and enjoy your planning. I hope you like this blog format with the sections above, this is what I am going to do every week from now on so you know there is a section for homework and for the download etc.

Remember your planner will only work for you and help keep you organised and on track if you use it. 

As a side note, I also vlogged this week and that vlog contains info / I talk about the making of Filofax Friday. So if you are interested you can check that out here...