Welcome back to another episode of the Marissa Raider Show. I am so excited that you're here today because we are going to be breaking down the perfect time management techniques for creatives who are creatives. That's a great question. Anybody who is creating products or services that they are selling. So if you're doing online courses, you're a va you're spending time creating what you sell, you're creative. So hop on in to this episode, I'm so excited to break down these perfect time management techniques that are just for you. Hey, hey, I am super excited that you're here with me today learning all of my tips and tricks for the perfect time management techniques because as a creative, I struggle with time management a little bit not going to lie, but I am here to tell you that I have the perfect time management techniques that are going to save your sanity, save your time and boost your productivity.

So I want to know right now, do you struggle with managing your time as a creative? Do you find yourself wondering what to do next or how to effectively balance all of the things that are happening? Inside your brain, all of the projects, all of the ideas, time management can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. So I want to dive right in to what the perfect time management approach is for people like you and me who have a lot of things going on inside of their brains and want to lessen the stress and be able to better manage it. So the perfect time management approach for creatives is having an ability to balance your creative projects and daily tasks with efficient planning and execution. I'm really great at that first part, balancing creative projects and my daily tasks, but not so good at the efficient planning and the actual execution of them.

It takes a lot of brain power for me to be able to actually make a solid plan and execute it. I've got ideas flowing all the time as you probably do as well. But slowing myself down long enough to create a schedule that allows me to prioritize the most important projects while also making time for other important tasks like my family, these techniques here that I'm gonna teach you today are going to help you learn to reduce stress, increase your product and create better work. So if you're like me and you struggle to make sense of it all and actually focus in on what you need to be focused on these steps are going to be life changing. All right. So the first thing you need to do is to prioritize your projects. This means identifying which projects are the most important, allocating your time accordingly. So start by making a list of all of your projects.

OK. What's your first step? This is the teacher in me, make a list of all of your projects and then you need to categorize them by level of importance. Once you've identified your most important project, make sure to allocate your time accordingly, giving it the majority of your attention and energy. A lot of creatives myself included, struggle with balancing multiple projects at once and this can lead to overwhelm and burnout. So prioritize the projects and focus on the most important ones. First, you can reduce your stress and create better work. This next tip I actually talked about in last week's episode a little bit, but I wanna dive even more into it today and it's time blocking. This is a time management technique that involves scheduling specific blocks of time for each task or project on your to do list. So why, why do you need to do this?

It helps you stay focused and avoid distractions like other projects that your brain manifests while you're trying to get the first project done. This also ensures that you have enough time to complete each task. So to implement time blocking, what you need to do is you need to start by creating a schedule for your day. If you don't know how to create a schedule for your day or you struggle to stick to a schedule that you've created for your day. Check out last week's episode because it's all about creating the perfect schedule for your day. I even give away a little freebie at the end of a planner that I made. That helps me keep my days organized. So go back, check that episode out if you haven't already. But blocking off specific times for each task or project includes breaks, time for self-care, stick to that schedule as closely as possible and then adjust things as needed based on your progress. Ok. So you're not only going to block off those times for your priority tasks for your project, but you also need to include breaks and time for a little bit of self-care time.

Blocking is super powerful for creatives who struggle with distractions and lack of focus. Hello, a DH D mama right here. But by creating a schedule sticking to it, you actually can increase your productivity and create better work in less time. And that is something that I pride myself on that. I have been able to successfully do I get asked all the time. How do you do it all? You run a coaching business and a product based business and you have your kids at home with you. Yes. Well, yes, I do. And I am not completely insane. My friends might tell you otherwise, but I don't feel insane. And that's the key. The other piece to this that leads to my success is I create a routine, creating routines are important because they establish a rhythm and they reduce your decision fatigue. What this means is that creating a consistent schedule for your day, including your wake up time, your meals, your exercise in your work hours allows your brain to go into autopilot.

When it comes to those decisions, you're making fewer decision, which leads to less fatigue, which leads to more bandwidth in your brain for the things that matter. So starting a routine, you need to identify the tasks that are most important to you and then schedule them at the same time every day. It's this novel idea. I know, I hear you. My kids don't always wake up at the same time. Our days don't always look the same. They have different activities. We have different plans. I get it. But there are some things that you can create a routine out of. You can wake up at the same time every day. You can move your body every day. It doesn't have to be the same workout every day. But maybe if your kids are up already at 7 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. whatever, God forsaken time they get up, who knows summer's coming. Lord bless us all and our crazy schedules and our Children.

But when you set a time, so say 6 30 is always gonna be your workout time or 7 a.m. is always gonna be your workout time and your kids are up for the day, include them in it, take them outside, go for a walk instead of doing your normal in-house workout or maybe you find an activity for them to do while you work out, try to keep your routines consistent. This helps establish a pattern and gets you into a productive rhythm. Also need to make sure that when you're creating your routine, that you are thinking about those external pieces, don't create your perfect routine and then be angry when you only get to do it once every two months, create a routine that fits the season of life that you're currently in by creating a routine. It's gonna help you stay focused. You're gonna have less stress and guess what?

That allows you to create better work and enjoy your time outside of work even more. All right. So let's put it all together so that you have a perfect time management approach. OK? There are three components of this perfect time management system. And the first is prioritizing your projects, then you're gonna go into that time blocking and then you're gonna create a routine by doing that. You'll have less stress, increase productivity and ultimately create better work. So what's next? Download my free time management planner that I talked about earlier. It's gonna help you get organized and prioritize your projects. And with this planner you can take control of your time and focus on creating your best work. So go down to the show notes, check it out, click on there once you've downloaded it. If you love it, come leave me a review. Let me know how it's going. Reach out my D MS, just come see me, just come hang out with me.

That's all I really want in this life is to find other entrepreneurs who are doing the thing and following their dreams. I wanna be a part of it. I promise I'm not gonna sell you on anything unless you ask me to. I really just genuinely want to get to know you. So come find me on Instagram at Mercer or coaching. Come hang out on my blog, hit me up in my emails, whatever you prefer, come say hi, come hang out. And if you would be so kind to leave a review or share this episode with a pal, a pal, who am I with your business bestie? And come back next Monday for another mindset Monday episode. And until then guess what I'm gonna be doing? Yeah, you got it. I'm gonna be here cheering you on.