This is not another post for me to complain about my lack of sleep. No…I got to bed at 1am and got to sleep until almost 4am and was only woken up twice in that time. So this isn’t a post about lack of sleep. Not this time.

At 4:15 I put on the coffee pot, checked my email and started on a client project. I crossed a lot of items off my to-do list yesterday because I worked into the night on some of my own outstanding projects, so today I have a clear focus and I won’t have to work this weekend.

As I buckled down this morning and got into this project I realized it’s not exactly a fun project. It’s the type of thing I like to do because it breaks up the monotony of sitting at the computer - this is old school hands on stuff. But…I hadn’t been into it 15 minutes before I got distracted by my blog. I turned off my time tracking software and decided to post in case I don’t get back on here today.

I must admit I am guilty of procrastinating the odd time. Because I do tend to put things off (the odd time), I have found a couple of ways to help me stick to the plan and not veer off too much.

• Make a list - a REAL list on paper written down with a pen. My to-do list is an entity onto itself. It never really gets completed, but it gives me a starting point every day. I do start a new list every day, adding the items I didn’t finish yesterday. I itemize the list by client and add notes about what needs to be done for them. I prioritize items, highlight some things and I add Mann Made Time to that list just as if I were my own client. This helps me see what I really need to be doing and which items can be delegated or put off until tomorrow. My friend, fellow VA Sally Kuhlman wrote a good post on her blog about this very thing. Read it here.
• Change email settings. If I let my email send/receive every few minutes I would never get anything done. I change my settings to check every hour. It really does help.
• Make a schedule. Accounting for your time will make it harder to stray from the task at hand. If you have a schedule to stick to, start sticking to it. Of course there will be interruptions, life happens. However, a schedule will at least give you a plan for the day and you should add all extra-curricular activities to that schedule! Networking, checking online forums, watching TV, etc.

On that note - I better turn my time tracking back on and get back to that project!

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