As a business coach, I often receive feedback from clients expressing their concerns about not having enough time in their day. The daily juggling of workload, meetings, and unexpected interruptions can often make it challenging to keep up with everything.

To regain control of their schedules, the first step I suggest conducting is a simple time audit.

This simple exercise of logging how time is spent and identifying areas where time could be better allocated can result in improved productivity and efficiency.

Moreover, the act of tracking time can prompt individuals to make better decisions in the moment, leading to immediate gains in productivity.

Here's how to conduct a time audit:

1. Start by carefully selecting a typical day or week to track your time. Ideally you'll want to choose a 'typical' day or week, so you can get an accurate picture of how you spend your time.

2. Using a time-tracking app or spreadsheet, record your activities in 15-minute increments throughout the day. It is essential to be specific and detailed in describing the tasks undertaken.

3. At the end of the day or week, review your time tracking records and categorise activities. For example, you may have spent X amount of time on email correspondence, Y amount on meeting attendance, Z amount doing client work, etc.

4. To further evaluate the most valuable activities, a Skill/Value Box can be filled out. This approach will provide a clearer understanding of the activities that contribute most significantly to your overall success.

5. The next step is to identify areas where time is being spent unnecessarily or insufficiently. Analyse patterns and trends to determine where adjustments can be made. Consider delegating or eliminating certain activities altogether, if appropriate.

6. Finally, utilising the knowledge gleaned from the time audit, create a default diary to better organise your week. This step will allow for more productive use of time and result in more efficient work practices.

7. Invest in a simple daily planner to help you optimise each day, whilst sticking to the overall weekly default diary you developed at step 6.

By conducting a time audit, business leaders can gain valuable insight into their work habits and optimise their time to achieve their goals.

Those who complete this exercise often report back that they freed up 5-7 hours per week.

Yet despite the promise of getting some time back, I sometimes get push back from clients when I suggest doing this as homework.

This is understandable, because when you’re already stretched thin for time, an exercise like this seems like just one more thing to do.

Here’s what a person who did NOT want to do the audit had to say about it afterwards:

1. Paying attention to how I spent my time led to making better choices

“First of all, the act of writing down everything I did made me more mindful of how I was spending my time. I found myself making better choices in the moment. Did I really want to admit that I spent 90 minutes reading articles online or aimlessly browsing Facebook?”

2. Despite the overhead of tracking, I was more productive

“Despite the overhead of doing the tracking, I was more productive that week. I also started to approach my calendar by considering “return on time invested” and saw opportunities to claw back my time. In person meetings that took an hour on my calendar actually took 2 or more hours once I accounted for travel and “getting ready” time. I switched most of these to phone meetings. I also dropped some activities that ate up more time than they were worth.”

3. I got a reality-check about how long things really take

“Finally, I got a reality-check about how long things really take. This has made project estimating easier and more accurate. I’m far more realistic about what I can get done in a day or week and I schedule appropriately. I’m less stressed and more productive."

If your struggling with effective time management or experiencing a sense of being inundated with work responsibilities, I would encourage you to book a call with me to learn more about coaching.

As a business coach, I can help you develop strategies and systems to optimise your time and achieve your business goals. You can book 15-minutes on my calendar here: Book Time with Trent.