8
healthy habits
for efficient time
management
1. Categorise your tasks
Create a to-do list and categorise your
tasks as high, medium or low in terms of
importance. At the beginning of each
week, pull out your planner and write
down any concrete due dates. Be sure
to reserve time to complete high priority
tasks so you don’t rush them or fall
behind. While you’re at it, make a list of
all the small tasks that can be done
during spare time, and mark them off as
you go.
2. Stay focused
Stay Focused.
Distraction is
a big part of
procrastination,
and getting
distracted will
cause you to lose
focus on your
tasks.
Distraction is a big part of
procrastination, and getting distracted
will cause you to lose focus on your tasks.
Keep personal tasks outside of business
hours (this includes texting friends), have
moments when you let voicemail get
your incoming calls, and plan specific
times to be on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, etc. While social media is an
important tool for personal trainers, you
need to be disciplined when using it or
you’ll kid yourself into thinking that two
hours on Facebook is ‘work time’.
3. Outsource
Any task that you don’t enjoy doing and
that costs you less than your hourly rate
should be outsourced to someone else.
For example, if your training time is
valued at $50 an hour, consider paying
someone $20 an hour to mow your lawn.
4. Create moments of
peace
When you start to feel frazzled and
rushed, stop what you’re doing. Rushing
from task to task will leave you frazzled
all day, but taking ten minutes to close
your eyes or meditate might just help you
catch up.
5. Start saying ‘no’
yourself if saying yes will help you move
closer towards your goal. If not, the
answer should be ‘no’. Also be sure that
you have a clear understanding of what
the task involves. It should have purpose,
time scale, importance, and offer
something in return.
6. Overestimate time spent
When estimating how much time it will
take to perform a certain task, be
generous. Any time left over can be used
to tick off those small tasks we talked
about. When making your estimated
time breakdown, be sure to include
everything, from training clients and
making exercise plans to invoicing,
social media promotion, and writing
your weekly newsletter (if you have one).
Not only will you keep on top of things
much more efficiently, but you’ll get a
much clearer understanding of the hours
you’re actually working.
7. You name the time
Asking your clients “when is a good time
for you” will leave you with a scattered
schedule that’s hard to manage.
Instead, offer your clients two times.
They’ve already decided they want you,
or they wouldn’t have called, so take
advantage of that. Quiet on a Monday?
Say, “I currently have two times on a
Monday I can offer you, 6:00am or
8:00am.” They may have asked for a
Thursday, but a Monday could work just
as well and you’ve now got a filled spot
where you want it.
8. If you’re a PT, make use
of software products
Software products for PTs can make
life a lot easier when you know the
right ones to use. And the number of
fitness software products out there
is huge. Some ou