As an online marketer, there is always something to do, so if you are not efficient in time management, your work may soon become very stressful and it may look like you areworking really hard and still getting very little results (or no result).
As an online marketer, time is money. Period.
So, you need to know how to manage your time because that will boost your productivity.
It will help you get more done if you know how to deal with your time in a proper way.
Important : It may look like these tips may not be suitable for newbies because they are still in the learning curve to get a grasp of things and they still aren’t ready to act in the right way, but again, whether you are learning something or taking action, both can be managed with appropriate time management techniques.
So here it goes (my time management tips as an online marketer) :–
Time Management Tip #1 : Always work from a to do list
Your to do list is the list of things you want or need to do.
You can create a daily to do list, a weekly to do list.
Even you can create a 3-day to do list and so on.
You need to write down this to do list in a paper. My preference is keeping a separate notebook for this rather than a single paper, because then you can always add new items to your to do list.
When you have a to do list in front of you, you know what you need to do in advance. Also, you can keep track of these items that you need to do. Your mind simply can’t remember everything and will not be efficiently recover them when you need them to do something, so writing down what you need to do is the best thing to do.
So, whenever an idea comes to your mind that you feel you want
to do, write it down on your to do list notebook.
You can add more items to your to do list whenever you want to, so that you keep track of everything you want to do. Even if you don’t want to do something from your to do list later on, you can put a cross on it in that paper or notebook.
So, this is my first time management tip : always work from a to do list.
Here is an example of a to do list for any day of an online marketer may look like :
(1) Write a blog post on a particular topic [topic name]
(2) Send an email message on the topic [topic name] to my subscribers
(3) Earn credits at these safelists / mailers [a list of 5 mailers]
(4) Post ads about this offer at these 20 sites [mailers/ad exchanges/classfied sites]
(5) Study a certain squeeze page or landing page in depth [landing page URL]
(6) Find more information about a particular offer [offer name]
and so on…
Time Management Tip #2 : Prioritize your to do list items
You can get more done with less time if you know what to do when you are working.
Once you have some items in your to do list, don’t just start working on them one after another.
Not each of them are of same importance to you. Some of them are more important (money making activities) and others are not so important.
You want to complete at least two or three money making activities as quickly as possible each day, before you move on to other items on your list.
So, once you have some items in your to do list, you have to decide which of them are more important. You can put a star before them.
Then each day, you complete at least two or three of these star items during the beginning hours of the day (or select a time block to do these tasks when you are more energetic).
Then, during the later time of the day you can do any of the other tasks that are left in your to do list.
For example, posting some ads at mailers/ad exchanges, or writing a blog post on a good topic, or wrting a good email message for your list subscribers are definitely money making activites. So, you definitely want to complete them at the beginning of the day or anytime you are more energetic.
Then another task not so important, for example earning credits in a set of 5 mailers can be done later time of the day (or when you are less energetic).
Regularly review all your to do list items that are not completed and prioritize important money making items from the other tasks.
Time Management Tip #3 : Work in blocks of time
Once you have a to do list and have prioritized your list items, you always want to work in blocks of time.
This time block of time can be one hour, two hours or three hours (but not more than that).
Why work in blocks of time? Because working in blocks of time allows you to take breaks in between.
Taking break is always helpful, because when you take break, you can unload all the information you have in your brain, which helps your brain to think more clearly. Then when you come back
to work you are more productive.
Also taking break allows you to be prepared for the work that you have to do during the next block of time. You can pick another few items from your to do list, think about them for some time and do them during that next scheduled time.
Time Management Tip #4 : Try to do same type of work in a block of time
In a certain block of time, always try to do same type of work.
You can pick one or two types of similar work and do them during a certain time block.
This way you are in the flow for that particular type of work, and the more you continue working on that task the more clear you become at that particular work, and you will be able to do that work better. It will seem like ideas about that particular type of work are flowing to you much smoothly.
So, during a block of work time, don’t just pick different types of random work to do. Do pick one or two types of specific tasks and try to complete them during that time block.
For example, in a certain block of time of three hours, if you are writing a blog post about a certain topic, once you have finished writing that blog post, you can write another blog post about a related topic.
Why? Because you are already in the flow of “writing a blog post about that topic”.
Or, during a certain block of time of two hours, if you posted ads in 20 mailers in the first one hour, try to pick another 20 mailers and post your ad there. Why? Because you are already in the flow of posting your ads about that offer. Since you are in the flow of posting ads, you may come up with a better idea on how to post ad more efficiently.
Time Management Tip #5 : Keep the to do list beside you when you are working online
This is for adding new items to your to do list notebook whenever you are working online.
Whenever you are working online, you may come up with something that you may feel you need to do immediately or as soon as possible.
But again, you don’t want to stop what you are currently doing. Because you are already in the flow of what you are doing, and you don’t want to break that flow.
So what can you do here? Always keep your to do list notebook beside you when you are working, if you come up with something new that you feel you have to learn or do, then just add it as a new item in your to do list notebook.
For example, suppose while working online you are posting ads about a particular offer in different safelists. While visiting a particular safelist / mailer, you suddenly see a squeeze page that is offering an ebook called “how to make 100 dollars each day using safelists”. You have to sign up to get that ebook.
You feel that you absolutely have to read that ebook. So, will you stop doing what you are doing (posting ads in different safelists) and instead sign up on that page and start reading that ebook?
Definitely not. Then you will not be able to complete the posting of ads that you have decided to complete in that block or scheduled time.
So, what you can do here is bookmark that squeeze page, and add in your to do list notebook “subscribe to this bookmark how to make 100 dollars each day using safelists and read the book”.
Then at a later time you can go to that bookmark, subscribe and read that book. You will not forget to do it because it is added as a new item in your to do list notebook.
Time Management Tip #6 : Have some free time in your day
Your free time is when you are not working online on your computer.
It is the time when you are completely resting, or you are engaged in any other activity that is relaxing or refreshing.
For example, sleeping, taking a nap, exercising, walking in the street, having a talk with a friend, listening music, or something like that.
The more free time you can have in your day, the more you can focus on what you are doing when you are working online.
Remember, it is not long hours of work that is required, it is about what you are doing when you are working. You can get more done by prioritizing properly and still have more free time in your day.
This is another reason taking a full day off can work so well.
When you come back at your work after taking a full day off from your computer, you will see you are more motivated, more energetic and can work on your online work with a more clear perspective.
And this is also a reason for having one or two days every now and then where you work for only one or two hours for that day.
Make sure you don’t work too much, continually. Keep a balance between your work time and free time.
Sure, there will be some days where you have to work long hours, but don’t make it a continual thing. Always take break more if you think that is what is needed.
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