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In episode 14 of “The JoyPowered™ Workspace Podcast,” JoDee and Susan discuss several strategies for successfully managing your time. Suggestions include the Pomodoro Technique, calendar reminders, and meeting-free days. Listeners ask about when to bring up a scheduled vacation during a job search and keeping sick employees out of the office.

There’s no perfect way to manage your time, but we can try strategies to be better than we were. It doesn’t really matter how many things you can check off your list, though, if you don’t step back and think about whether you’re checking things off that are helping you achieve your overall goals. These are some suggested strategies for managing your time:

• Create a list and associate time periods with it. Try to include which items are priorities.
• Put reminders on your calendar so you know what’s coming and don’t miss deadlines.
• Think before you schedule a meeting; does it need to be a meeting or can you communicate better in a different way?
• Take advantage of odd lot time; take projects with you so you can work on them when you have the opportunity.
• Use the Pomodoro Technique to break down your time.
• Schedule what you’re going to do in the four hours you’re most focused each day.
• Try scheduling “theme” days, like meeting-free days, or days you’ll do all your meetings.
• Break projects down into shorter segments.
• Start your day with the worst thing you have to do, or you’ll waste time worrying about it all day.

Anything you can do to create a system for yourself that holds you accountable and you can create habits around will help, but every so often, you should change things up. If you keep using the same rules in the same way, you’ll get the same results. And don’t try doing every tactic at once, otherwise you’ll get frustrated and won’t make anything work.

In this episode’s listener mail, Sharon asks when to disclose an upcoming vacation during the interview process, and Beth needs some ideas for keeping sick employees away from the office. JoDee and Susan discuss a study showing that average salaries for 2017 college graduates are at an all-time high of $49,785, 3% higher than a year ago.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Purple Ink, the HR consulting firm JoDee owns
• Susan Tinder White Consulting, the HR consulting firm Susan owns
• JoyPowered, JoDee’s book
• No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, a book about time management that resonated with Susan
• Take Back Your Life!, a book that says there’s a 75% greater chance an action will be completed if it’s scheduled on your calendar
• The Pomodoro Technique, which uses a timer to break down your time
• Chris Hoyt of Apprenace, who was recently on the podcast and gave some suggestions for time management
• Eat That Frog!, a book that encourages you to do the worst thing you have to do first thing in the morning
• “Great Expectations: Salaries for 2017 College Grads Hit All-Time High, Korn Ferry Analysis Shows”, a study done by the Hay Group, a division of Korn Ferry