Here’s the way I like to roll – work hard, play hard.

When I’m working – I’m working my butt off! My work day is 9am – 3pm and my days are non-stop GO GO GO. And when I’m not working I unplug 100% (oooo yea baby!)

I know I’m not alone in crazy-busy land… didn’t I see you there just a moment ago? 😉

So how can we manage our time effectively and get stuff done when we are crazy-busy? Here are 3 things that help me stay sane and end the day feeling productive.

1) Get it Out of Your Head

Thinking about everything we need to is EXHAUSTING! Carrying all of our to-do’s around fills up our brains and takes up valuable space and energy. Having to constantly stop to think ‘ok, what’s next’ or having that moment of ‘oh no! I forgot this!’ can be more tiring than doing the work itself.

The most important habit for time management is to download everything from your brain into an online task/project management tool (we use & love Teamwork*) or if you aren’t an online person you can use a daily paper planner. You also want to assign specific dates to get the tasks done, and then you can forget about it until that time! Now your brain is fresh and clear to do the work instead of constantly thinking about it.

2) Focus on What is Closest to the Money

If you are anything like me you might have many days where you have SO much stuff on your plate that you simply can’t decide what to do next. When faced with a mountain of tasks ask yourself this simple question:

What is closest to the money?

Pick the top 3 things that are closest to the money and get them done FIRST that day. Then even if the rest of your day goes to hell in a handbasket (as my mom likes to say) you can end the day knowing that you’ve done work that matters. And you might be surprised to find that some things on your to-do list are NOT actually that close to the money – even though they feel really urgent.

3) Be RELENTLESS with delegation

Take a look at your to-do list right now and ask yourself:

“Do I really need to be the person to do this?”

If you are a control freak like me (ahem…) then as a default you will say yes. Because you know you can do it, you can get it done well and who the heck has time to train someone else right?

Believe me I get it – I ran my business solo for 10 years… but there comes a time when that simply isn’t sustainable anymore. There comes a time where doing everything gets in the way of progress – of doing the work that really matters. If you aren’t sure what you should be doing yourself vs. what you should delegate check out this video re: creating your Yes List.

So how do you handle the crazy-busy days? Share your productivity (and sanity) tips below.