Soul Proprietor - Time Savers

If you’re running your own metaphysical ship, you know how easy it is to get absorbed with tons o’ time sucking tasks. Paperwork, emails, phone calls, tech crap – it all adds up to long days at the office or shop. Unless you’re that guy who wrote the “Four Hour Work Week.” In that case, you’re outsourcing your dirty work to some country far away (and paying them peanuts) while you are chilling in a hammock.

For most of us, that hammock is nothing more than a fantasy. We’re here day after day, tending to the many irons and balls (or tarot cards and other such tools) that we must juggle.

But even with a full load of clients and duties, you still can find a way to create a little extra breathing room in your action-packed schedule.

Here’s some of my favorite time savers and tools to trim the time fat and find some space:

Tame your social media time: preschedule tweets and announcements with a platform such as Hootsuite or Buffer. Load up a bunch of announcements and links, pick the days and times you want to send them, press schedule – and shazam – you’re on to other stuff!

Get your mind on your work by turning off all apps, etc. with an app like Concentrate. This will give you time to work in spurts with zero distractions. You’ll be shocked at how much stuff you get done when the constant chatter of Facebook and the lure of Amazon are no longer in front of your face.

For some tasks such as scheduling meetings, research, managing travel itineraries and more, hire a person to get it out of your hair. Fancy Hands is a great service with virtual assistants available for random tasks. A monthly fee allows you to have anywhere from five to twenty five monthly requests. (PS they are based in the US so you’re keeping your dollars here.)

Any.do is my fave to-do list app. It’s easy to use and fun – plus it keeps me uber organized for all my projects, no matter where I am!

Set up email filters. Most email programs have filtering features. Learn to use them and filer the heck out of your emails. Declutter your inbox and get the non-essentials (ex: newsletters, ads, PayPal notifications) out of your way. This will keep you mega organized and make you faster at responding to the important ones.

Check out the 30/30 app. This smarty pants task manager allows you to create a to-do list with a length of time for each. Start the timer and it will let you know when it’s time to move on to the next thang. Fun and smart. (PS it’s great for housecleaning too!)

Got a phone call to make but no time to wait on hold? Get Lucy Phone. This clever app connects you to the company but will hold your spot in the caller queue until your call reaches an agent – it will then call you. You’re free to get some other stuff done while this app gets the honors of listening to the muzak.

What about you? How do you shave some time here and there from your day? Tweet me your best time saving tips and apps @thetarotlady!

Blessings,

Theresa

Get these tips for your mystical biz delivered right to your inbox bright ‘n early every Monday: