Best time management tools?

[Dr.Marie]

With a new baby I have much less time than before and I'm looking for ways to help me structure my tasks that need to get done online. Gone are the bedrest days where I could hang out on forums all day.

Do any of you use any apps or software to help you manage your tasks?

[zico82]

I don't know if it would be classed as a 'task manager'. But I like to use Evernote so I can bookmark stuff during the day and then. Open it up when I have free time and read all the articles I wanted to read during the day, but was otherwise distracted.

I suppose plugins like 20cubed can help to keep you focused for 20 minutes and then you get an alert to move away from your computer to concentrate on something else.

One of the hardest things I suppose is self control, but it is so easy to get stuck into reading/researching before you realise an hour or 2 has gone.

[Test-ok]

I make a doc. for each with all the info I need and keep my notes in there.
Don't need no stinkin app. ;)

[Ann Smarty]

I have tried lots of tools but the most motivational one is my Thunderbird inbox: I don't archive / delete / mark as read an email until the task / request in it is done. Therefore I always ask to email me instead of PMing, Tweeting, skyping, etc. I want to see my inbox emptied so much that I force myself to complete tasks even if I am too tired.

Since I became a new mom shortly after getting into the Internet business, I say, this method is mom-approved

[Dr.Marie]

Thanks guys!

Ann, I'd love to hear more of your journey into internet business at the same time as motherhood. Have you blogged about it at all?

My business is suddenly taking off and I'm super excited but also realizing I need better time management skills! I'm currently typing this with one hand as my baby is nursing.

[SEO_AM]

Throughout my career as a super busy CEO I found one method that kept me on top of things... I prioritized my things to do with #1 being the thing I least like to do, #2 the next least desirable, etc. I find that I move quickly through the top of list instead of putting things off. By the time I get to the things I enjoy doing I am really focused on those activities because I enjoy them... Works for me.

[Ann Smarty]

Ann, I'd love to hear more of your journey into internet business at the same time as motherhood. Have you blogged about it at all?

I haven't: I don't think I have ever had a strategy... My kid was growing so fast, so the way I managed to work beside her was evolving as well:

- First 6 months: working while she is sleeping. Kids sleep a lot. Yay! I was feeling sleepy most of the time because of that. My way was: sleeping with her and feeding her without ever really waking up. Good night sleep (not really happy husband )

- Next 6 months: my kid was starting to crawl. I was working while holding her leg (for her not to fall down from the bed) or working on the floor with her crawling around me. Walking a lot. My way: I bought a tiny laptop and was working outside (kids usually sleep outside, so I had about two hours of outside working)

- From year to two: Working during her day sleep. Working while she is building something. My kid got smart at solving puzzles by the age of 1 She should have been thinking she was working as well.

And that goes and goes forth. It's all those tiny tricks you manage to come up with while she is growing up. So not much strategy but lots of work and little sleep. I was lucky: I got obsessed with my Internet career shortly before I got pregnant. So combining both was easy: I *had* to keep up with both my kid and my work. I had no other choice!

My only way to get organized was getting obsessed with work!

My kid is almost 4 now. She is homeschooling and is pretty much used to seeing her mom working.

[terriwells]

Okay, I am not a mother (now THAT'S a disclaimer I never thought I'd have to write here!), but I'd like to add on to Ann's comments that it's going to depend a lot on your little one's personality -- which is going to be evolving all the time. Some kids are quiet, others are active; some are easy-going and laid back, others are fussy -- I could probably go on, but you get the idea. And yes, your little one already has a personality; I'm half-convinced they start developing it in the womb, if the way I've heard some pregnant ladies talk about how their little ones move around in there is any indication.

So yeah, probably the key thing I wanted to say is keep flexible.

[DeeperStill]

I open up notepad for quick reference things I want to remember to do later. I post into it in list fashion and keep it minimized . At one time I had a post it note program on my desktop but I removed it for some reason.. hmmmmm

but that was nice too

DS

[Ann Smarty]

Two other thoughts. I shared some productivity tips in a post on BrazenCareerist: http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/03/20/the-control-freaks-guide-to-getting-work-done/
(as well as the photos of my actual TO-DO list)

I also use browser bookmarklets to have my tasks in one list (I tag them to make sure which stage they are at: "editing", "ordered content", "client paid", etc)

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...screenshot.jpg

[gazzahk]

Woops... accadently edited my last post rather then posting a new on in response to Egols commett

Sorry about that guys..

Said something like I am hopless and rely on My PA and My wife. That I make lists. So reccomended marie hire a PA.. as I could not recommend she finds a wife...

EGOL agrees: We think you just need a kick in the pants! But... maybe I should get a PA? What does
this person do for you??

Pretty much everything... Controls my schedule... Protects me from my phone calls... Deals with my staff issues... take notes for me at my meetings... Reminds me to do the things I cannot avoid... Takes the blame when I forget something... Best of all... I go to Thailand every second weekend or so for 3 or 4 days and she does my job while I am not there... On top of that she always smiles at me and she is very pretty....

[KernelPanic]

EDIT: crap. I made a wife / task manager joke and then looked up and saw Gaz just did it.

[Dr.Marie]

I suppose I could find a wife...it's legal where I live. But my husband may have issues with this.

[distinctseo]

Of course the simple answer is to give up things that aren't important. A lot of personal blogs take a back seat (assuming they aren't important.....maybe they are, for branding and such.)

[john-e]

With a new baby I have much less time than before and I'm looking for ways to help me structure my tasks that need to get done online. Gone are the bedrest days where I could hang out on forums all day.

Do any of you use any apps or software to help you manage your tasks?

I’m not also a mom but I can share the software we’re using in our company to manage our tasks. If you haven’t tried keeping yourself busy after giving birth I think, before using a software, you should list all the things that you should do every hour so you can’t forget them. Once a task is done, you may put a check mark on it then proceed to the next task. So if you like to have it automated, you may try Time Doctor for time tracking and making yourself productive.