How many times have you scheduled a digital task for 1 hour and later noticed that you couldn’t even finish it in 5?
Well, you’re not alone.
Just before now, I scheduled to write this post about 2 hours ago, but guess what? I’ve been binge-learning on Facebook all the while until I realized that I needed to switch back to work mode if I wanted to get this done.
So, you’re never alone as a digital creator if you have these time lapses. However, the good thing is, you can do something about it if you want to start getting more out of your time and start maintaining high productivity and creativity — natural dividends of time management.
If you are a solo creator working without a team, it becomes even more important to create a structure or system that helps you effectively deliver your digital tasks at the right time.
That is why I want to share a few effective time management tips I’ve used and learned about that are effective for navigating the complexities of digital creative work.
Let’s take a look.
Leverage Time Blocking
Have you ever decided to focus on delivering a specific task within a specific time frame?
Maybe to meet up a deadline or solve a particular lingering problem?
Then you just might have used time blocking.
Time blocking is a productivity hack that involves working in time blocks, which gives urgency to tasks and activities.
It works effectively for time management because it eliminates distractions and helps to sustain periods of focus work.
The way I use time blocking is to do single tasks within a short period of time. For example, If I wanted to write an article, I wouldn’t just do a full job on it.
Instead, I would schedule a short time frame for different tasks that help me.complete the article.
I would schedule a block of 1-hour for creating the outline, another block of 2-hours to do a small research on the topic and get my thoughts on it, then I might take some break to do other things offline.
Later on, I would schedule a block of 30-minutes to write the article intro and flesh-up parts of the article, etc.
You can see that this helps me to make progress on the tasks and stay productive. That means less wasted time on the desk and more work done.
This approach has proven to yield results for solo entrepreneurs, especially those who multitask and would like to achieve a balanced work routine.
Right now, my block of 1-hour is about to elapse and I’ve been able to achieve my target of completing the intro and first sub-heading of this article.
So, it’s probably time to go do something else.
Use the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro technique is a type of time blocking that utilizes short focused intervals with a break in-between. The time blocks are repeated and a longer break is taken after about 4 to 5 cycles.
In practice, it employs 25-minute time blocks with a 5-minute break, then a 20 to 25 minutes break after 4 to 5 cycles.
This technique is useful for digital creators who want to stay focused for a long period without experiencing burnout.
This can be applied to tasks such as video editing or white board animation.
Automate Routine or Repetitive Tasks
Automation is one of the most effective time management hacks you can employ as a digital creator.
Not only can you save time for other more essential tasks, you will make sure that repetitive tasks are always completed.
For example, you can schedule posts on social media using a regular pattern with platforms like Hootsuite or Buffer. This way, you can plan content weeks ahead and free up time for other tasks.
One way I automate routine is to schedule sharing of my blog posts to several social media platforms at once.
Instead of logging on to each platform and sharing my new blog posts, I simply use plugins like Jetpack Social or Blog2Social to handle that task automatically.
This frees up time for me to do other tasks such as planning content ideas or designing an image for a blog post.
Batch Creation
Back in school, I used to argue in favor of the unit process of production rather than the batch process.
However, since becoming a digital creator, I now see the immense time-saving benefit of leveraging the batch process.
This process involves finishing multiple tasks at once, to be used at a later date. This is especially useful in content creation where you can create multiple contents at a go and then schedule them for publication.
This way, you can pull resources and time for bulk tasks while freeing up time that would have been spent transitioning from task to task.
As a procrastinator, this technique helps me consistently create content, as I could schedule a particular time to create bulk content without committing to regular content endeavors.
Delegate As Much As Possible
As a solo creator, it is tempting to want to do everything by yourself. I know that I’m guilty of this, and this can mean spending a significant amount of time even on tasks that I’m not so skilled at.
A great hack to solve this and boost productivity is by choosing to delegate as much as possible, if you can afford to.
You can find freelancers on social media, online forums, and freelancing platforms who you can delegate tasks to for a small fee, especially for tasks that you struggle with.
Before I learned to delegate, I handled all my design tasks myself. However, since learning about the time-saving benefits of delegating my design jobs, I’ve always hired an expert designer for it.
Now, I don’t just free up time for other tasks I’m more skilled at, my design jobs are now way better in quality.
Cases in Point
Case 1
Dora is a solo digital creator based in Ghana. She runs a YouTube channel from home as a side business, but struggled with filming, editing and promoting her videos. Despite dedicating weekends for YouTube production tasks, she still struggles with time management.
However, since employing the time blocking technique, she was able to schedule filming during the day while focusing on editing her productions at night. This helped her improve the quality of her videos and consistently published new productions.
Case 2
Frank is a married freelance designer based in Nigeria. He works from home and doubles as a caregiver for his 2 kids.
While his freelance business was thriving, he often struggled with managing jobs, client communications, and marketing his services.
However, since he employed the Pomodoro Technique, he’s been able to focus on quickly completing design jobs while leveraging automation tools to schedule sharing of work samples on social media.
Since he wasn’t too skilled in client communications, he hired a virtual assistant to handle that as well as other administrative tasks. This helps to focus on delivering high-quality jobs for his clients while affording time to spend with his kids.
FAQs on Time Management for Solo Creators
What tools can assist in automating tasks?
Depends on what task you are engaged in. I mentioned using Buffer and Hootsuite to schedule social media posts. You can also use Jetpack Social to automate sharing posts to multiple social media posts in one go.
How do I determine my most productive times?
To determine your most productive times, try out different work schedules and measure performance.
The periods where you are most focused and energized for work should be assigned for your most demanding tasks.
I’m usually more focused and energized for work after noon, so I schedule my most demanding work for these productive periods.
Is it necessary to delegate tasks?
It might not be mandatory, but it is very necessary if you want to continuously create high-quality outputs. This is because delegating helps in distributing work to the most efficient channels, which means faster timelines and higher quality.
How can I maintain consistency in content creation?
In my experience, the best way I’ve been able to maintain consistency in content creation is through batch creation.
I often procrastinate, so this helps me create bulk content at peak productivity periods when I am up for it. This means that I enjoy a lot of down times and don’t have the pressure to create content on a regular basis.
