Keeping Up With Time Management
Deadlines come with the territory when you're a marketing professional, and they're rarely where we would like them to be. I joked with my marketing team that I was going to make shirts that said "Marketing Fire Department. You light 'em, we fight 'em." Opportunities drop-in unexpectedly, new campaigns are created on the fly, a new technology arises that precipitates a redesign. It's the nature of what we do, and when you're a consultant, it's amplified by multiple clients and overlapping deliverables. Over the years, I've found many tools, tips and practices that have helped keep my production schedule in check. I've listed some of the most effective below.
1. Key into how long projects take.
This gets easier with experience, but I've found it helpful to use a timing program, even if you don't charge per hour. I use Billings Pro since it's also a great client management and billing tool. Knowing how long projects take is invaluable when managing production schedules.
2. Manage distractions.
There's a huge temptation to immediately answer every bing, click and ring from our phones, email and IM's. Fast Company posted a study that found it takes an average of 23.25 minutes to get back on track after being distracted. If I'm working on a project, I go about one to two hours between checking messages to align with natural breaks in my process. If the notifications themselves are disruptive, most email clients allow you to set what times a day you receive messages. That way, you can manage all your disruptions at once with minimum affect on productivity.
3. Get organized.
There are thousands task managers available and my only advice would be to pick something that you'll actually use. Whether it's Trello, Teamworks, Google Groups, or you own concoction of email client folders and task notifications – find something that works for you. This will not only keep things from falling trough the cracks, it will also save you countless hours of searching for the most recent email with the change you forgot to implement, or that client approval that you need before moving to the next step.
4. Be honest with clients.
It's difficult to look a prospective client in the eye and tell them that there timeline is not achievable – especially if you're hungry for work – but not doing so could result in a bad experience for everyone. The best time to identify unreachable deadlines is at the beginning of a project. That gives both client and consultant a chance to adjust goals. When a client gives a deadline that I cannot deliver, I start by asking questions. It could be that only a portion needs to be finished by that date and the project can be completed in phases. The objective is to set realistic deliverables to reach client goals.
5. Take a break.
I'm probably the worst at practicing this, but taking breaks can actually boost creativity, productivity and energy levels (Here's an interesting supporting article from the Huffington Post). I use this the most when I have creative block, and I turn to something that inspires me. Even if I don't find insight for the project I'm working on, I feel energized and ready to see things from a new perspective.