Did you ladies know February is National Time Management Month in the U.S.?

Okay, neither did I, but it is, so in honor of this (albeit, strange) tradition, I wanted to whip up a behind-the-scenes look at my most-adored tools for creating more time in your day.

While anybody can benefit from this list, I wrote it particularly for solopreneurs who haven’t yet created an iron-clad team, and whose business kiiinda entirely weighs on their own shoulders. (Clearly I am one of said solopreneurs, as evidenced by the self-made graphic below. At least I tried, right?)

Because who couldn’t use a few more beautiful hours to finish that looming client project, prep a delish meal, or you know…catch up on #RichKids of Beverly Hills (just me?)

So here ya have it, ladies: Five fun, fresh ways to get more shit done, in less time.

1. Get Hip to Pomodoro

Oh, Pomodoro, how I love thee. Let’s break it down: Writing is one task that eeeeverybody puts off. You know how it is: You think, “Yes! I’m totally going to write that blog post RIGHT NOW.” Except right now turns into, “Right after I check my e-mail again, and you know, respond to that one tag on Facebook because clearly that’s important…” – and then you’ve wasted an entire afternoon doing everything BUT that one thing that needed done like, yesterday.

But do successful, crisply-dressed (yoga pants are crisp, right?) small business babes behave that way? Not once they discover Pomodoro, they don’t!

Pomodoro isn’t just ‘tomato’ in Italian, it’s also a nifty system for getting shit done-zo. And it’s entirely free!

So, to pomodoro: You set a timer and work uninterrupted for 25 minutes. Why 25? Well, there’s some hard psychology behind it: Apparently humans are only wired to be able to concentrate intensely for 25 minutes at at time.

I have www.tomato-timer.com in my Chrome toolbar for easy access. As soon as I pop open my browser to write, I create a Pomodoro tab & get typin’.

No joke, I get so much done during my 25-minute creative bursts it’s nuts. Don’t believe me? Just try it. I dare ya. You’ll be zoomin’ through tasks in no time – and you can thank me later. You know, after you write that entire week’s worth of blog posts.

2. Make E-mail Fun

There’s no denying, e-mail can get overwhelming. Luckily, I’ve discovered two tools that turn email into a game – and one quite literally.

Over at emailga.me, all you do is you sign up with your email addy & start playing. Essentially the game gives you points for making quick decisions about the emails in your inbox. The quicker your decision – to reply, archive, Boomerang or delete – the more points you get.

Even better, it automagically adds a little line to your signature that lets peeps know you’re playing the game & to “excuse” your brevity. (Even though, really? Brief emails = the best emails. Am I right?)

Another fantastic way to handle email overwhelm is Mailstrom.co. For less than one venti Starbucks frappucinno you can keep your inbox clean & tidy & EMPTY.

I’d say it’s worth it. (It’d take waaaaay more frappy’s to tackle an inbox on your own, ya dig?)

3. You Better Batch, B*tch

Ugh. Batching. I resisted this idea sooo hard for sooo long. And then one day I realized that my time management sucked, and I needed to change something – and quick.

Enter batching.

Batching means performing similar tasks in large chunks of time. You know how it is: You kinda get into something once you start. And batching things allows you to stay in the same frame of mind & get a lot more done (whereas switching between tasks means your brain has to try extra hard to keep up – and you lose precious focused work time).

What can you batch?
Social media – Use Buffer (my fave) or the schedule feature on Facebook

Blogging – As a writer I know firsthand that once you’re in the groove, it’s best to just stay there. Why not write an entire month’s worth of newsletters in one glorious afternoon?

Email – You can even use the above tools to do it! Just pick a time every day or every week to clear up your inbox & do it all at once.

Facebookin’ – I don’t know about you, but I belong to a ton of networking & biz-related groups on Facebook. I’ve found it’s better to dive in at a certain time each day & poke around, spark up convos on threads that intrigue me, offer advice & reply to tags in one fabulous fell swoop

Client calls – As a total introvert, this is a must. I can’t schedule too many calls in one day, but I’d rather have client calls just 1-2 days a week, so the rest of time I can devote to precious creation. It’s too much energy for me to switch back & forth between social Erica & writer Erica.

4. Automation

If you’ve been in biz for a minute, I know you’ve heard this one before, but I’m going to repeat it because it is just that good. This is another piece of advice I resisted, ’cause I knew the the initial work of setting up automated systems would probably royally suck. But ever since I batched the tasks one lazy Sunday afternoon (see step #3), I have never been happier or more productive! (And I mean that in the least cheesy-spammy-testimonial way possible).

So what should you automate? The general rule of thumb is to automate anything that you have to do over & over again in your business, in generally the same way.

Me? I automate with canned responses on Gmail, Wave for accounting (it pulls in all my bank & PayPal information – gold!), and use PayPal & Mailchimp together to send out intake forms to my peeps after purchase.

One of my fave sites for automation is IFTTT. The site includes “recipes” that you can set up to ensure something always happens when something else happens – the IFFT stands for if this, then that.

For example, I have a recipe set up so that whenever someone emails me an attachment, it’s automatically saved to my Dropbox account. I never have to download anything – and those free e-books (aka ethical bribes) don’t clutter my sleek lil’ Macbook Pro.

5. Rock Out!

Spotify is the shit, hands down – and it may be my fave time hack on the list. I don’t know about you ladies, but I simply can not work if I don’t have some delicious jams on in the background.

Fact: Music makes you more productive – so I know I can’t be alone.

Now, there’s definitely a fine line & you can’t listen to just anything. If you tend to get too swept up in the lyrics or bust into spontaneous dance parties (that actually hinder your productivity instead of help it – there are definitely some dance parties that are absolutely necessary), you can also try a little online app called Coffitivity. It provides just the right amount of background noise to boost your productivity, but not enough to distracts you. Don’t ask me how they do it, but dang, science. It’s a beautiful thing, ya’ll.

Coffivity is especially rad for entrepreneurs like me who don’t always make it to the local coffee shop (oops?), but love the buzz & hum of people ’cause it makes us feel more human. 🙂

BONUS HACK!

RescueTime is an app you install on your computer (and in my case, usually forget about) that tracks how you spend all your time and shoots you a digest at the end of the week with a breakdown. It’s been super eye-opening – if a little scary – to see how much time I actually spend doing certain things online (ahem, 4 hours a week on Facebook is totally acceptable, right?). If you’re into it, you can even set various goals to try to keep yourself in check. Now that’s hot.

YOUR TURN! //

What are some of YOUR fave ways to save time & get shit done? I’d love to learn more about the deliciously fun tools, processes & mind tricks you use to get stuff done. Spill in the comments, you savvy lady you!