Diary management and organising time is one of our superpowers as a virtual assistant. I’m a big fan of getting organised with a default diary system. It brings structure to your week and allows you to stay in control of your time.
But what is a default diary system, and how can it help? Let me explain everything you need to know about setting up, using, and managing your diary…
What is a default diary system?
In my opinion, it’s one of the simplest and easiest ways to manage your time effectively. Having a system in place means each week you have pre-set times blocked out in your calendar for set work-related and personal activities.
Focusing on one thing at a time and blocking out pre-set events in a default diary system can be so valuable for a busy business owner. It’s a simple concept that could save you hours in planning!
How can you optimise your calendar?
The best thing to do is to think about how you use your days currently. Note down your weekly activities and take some time to evaluate which areas you feel have been most productive, and which have been the least.
When areas have been most affective, is that because the task matched your energy levels? It’s usually down to how individuals prefer to spend their days. It could be that you’re most productive in the mornings, so you use a default diary system to block out two hours each morning for deep work.
Or maybe you prefer to spend the first hour of your day warming into work, so you schedule lighter tasks or social media marketing activity.
Is there a task that you’ve been putting off and don’t make time for? A great example of this is marketing yourself – business owners tend to push this to the bottom of the list.
Prioritising these essential tasks can help you to stay on top of them in short bursts every week, instead of spending hours catching up.
You could also block set times to meet with clients and attend networking sessions, so it becomes routine and doesn’t eat into the rest of your day.
A great tip is to list activities/tasks you undertake
· Annually
· Six monthly
· Quarterly
· Monthly
· Weekly
· Daily
and add them in to your diary as reoccurring blocks of time. Your main priorities are then in your diary and you’ll never forget them or not realise ‘that time’ is coming up again.
Creating a default diary system means you have more chance knowing what you should be working on. Instead of sitting down at the start of every morning wondering what to do, you already have tasks assigned to your day that you can get on with.
Tips on using your default diary system
Once you’ve realised where you could be using your time more efficiently, test your new system. Block out time in your diary and set as a recurring event. It’s useful to get into the habit of planning ahead, a month or more at a time. This really helps to manage your workload and not take on too much.
You can even set yourself reminders, so when it’s time to move onto the next task you get an alert. This can be especially helpful when you’re busy working on something to avoid a meeting creeping up on you.
Certain weeks might have different priorities, too. Some tasks might be weekly, others fortnightly, and others only monthly. Choose the frequency that works for that task, allowing you flexibility to work on different things.
I categorise the default diary tasks into the following –
· Client work – projects ongoing and their key deliverables
· Business development – time to work ON the business, not in it
· Personal wellbeing – schedule time away from the desk for exercise or breaks
Using a colour-coded system can help you to visualise your day, for example having blue for client work, yellow for business development, and green for wellbeing. You’ll be able to see which areas are dominating your week with a quick glance and evaluate if that’s in line with your plans.
Break these categories down into detailed tasks on your default diary system. Instead of writing ‘client work’, list the specific tasks you are working on that day. Which client are you working for, and which parts of the project are next? Breaking things down into achievable chunks helps increase productivity and makes you feel like you’re making more progress.
Decide what your ‘golden rule’ of your default diary system will be. Being strict with yourself is the key to time management, and many believe you should stick to your system with no movement.
But life happens, so there will always be something you miss from your to-do list because something else has been dropped onto you. Leave some flexibility in the system for days where you don’t feel 100%. However, set yourself a ‘golden rule’ that you can’t break – mine is anything that I add to my calendar for that week MUST be done within the week. This means it may slip on some days, but I catch up another day that week.
Diary management to grow your business
Now you’ve created a diary management system and scheduled in repeat tasks, how do you stay on top of it and make sure it works for you?
Simply put, if you’re being productive and achieving your tasks, it’s working! If you feel like you’re not allocating enough time to certain things, adapt this until it’s right. You may spot an opportunity to outsource tasks and employ a freelance worker, as they’re taking up too much of your time.
You’re bound to make changes along the way as you learn what’s best for you – and that’s ok! No one gets it spot on first time.
Time blocking your diary also gives you a great insight into how long things REALLY take, so you can price and plan for future projects better. It avoids you over-committing to unrealistic tasks, as you will have more awareness of time spent on previous projects.
Using an effective default diary system will make you more productive, more aware of your workload, and give you more time to focus on what’s important. If you need support understanding how to maximise your diary management, Spero Solutions can help! Get in touch and let us know what area of time management you’re struggling with.