How To Get Shit Done When You Have No Time.

I feel like I’ve been a little turd of a blogger (and friend) lately thanks to the GMAT. Guys, I’m legit counting down the days until the test is over and I can say bye to these post-work study sessions. It’s hard! I’m sure others of you out there can relate whether you’re studying for the GMAT, GRE, MCAT, personal training exams and whatnot on top of a full time job. It sucks.

I’m in the homestretch and soon enough I’ll be soaking up the sun in Los Angeles as my post-GMAT gift to myself and I’ll also start being a far more fun blogger. Promise.

That brings me to this post. Sometimes I write posts because I feel like an expert on the topic and I’m practicing what I preach. Today’s post, however, is about something I’m still working out– getting shit done when you have no time. I’m not the poster child for productivity, uh I’m literally procrastinating studying by writing the post, but I’ve learned a few things about time management and making time when it feels like you couldn’t possibly add more to your plate.

Know your prime hours. I’m not a morning person and therefore CANNOT study in the morning. In theory, I’d love to wake up early on work days to get some extra studying in, but that’s not realistic for me. The only reason I can motivate myself to get up at the crack of dawn to workout is because I schedule my classes in advanced on Fitreserve and hate losing money.

I’ve always been really good at staying up late, especially when there’s copious amounts of caffeine involved. For me, I’m better off staying up a little bit later since that’s when I’m more productive. That might not be true for you in which case, wake up earlier and take advantage of your prime hours.

With that being said… I’ve gotten really strict with myself about going to bed if I’m not being productive. If it’s 10:00PM and I’m procrastinating on Facebook and therefore not being productive on the GMAT or blog front, I call it quits and start getting ready for bed.

PUT THE PHONE AWAY. I put this in all caps because I suck at doing this. I would get WAY more work done with what little free time I do have if I put my phone away and left it on the other side of the room. Do you know how much time I waste scrolling through instagram and refreshing snapchat? A LOT. Also doesn’t help that text is how my semi-long distance boyfriend and I communicate. It goes without saying that I waste less time and get a lot more work done when I put the phone away.

Respect dinner time. I mentioned this before, but dinner time is a no-work zone. You might think it’s efficient to work and eat at the same time. It’s not. I use dinner time as “me” time before hitting the books again. Those 30 minutes of mindless television or reading blogs feels like the mini break that I need and it’s glorious.

Sneak it in when you can. Even before I started studying for the GMAT, I’ve been asked by friends when I have time to write. It varies, sometimes I sit down and bang out a blog post in one shot, other times I write them in little 10 minute increments or type out some ideas on my phone when I’m on the go.

The same goes for studying, 10 minutes reviewing flash cards is better than nothing.

Set smaller, more attainable goals. I’ve been following a syllabus + a GMAT course for the past 9 weeks. Staring at the homework  assignments for the week, can be really daunting. SO MUCH TO DO, so little time. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything I need to do, I break it down into smaller goals such as “tonight I’m going to finish this one verbal section AND answer all my blog emails.” Way more manageable when I have an end goal in sight.

Schedule it in. One of my go to workout tips is schedule it in. The same goes for studying, knowing when it’s going to happen plus what I’m going to accomplish (hi, small, attainable goals) means I’m more likely to sit down and do the work… even though I don’t really want to.

Your turn– how do you get shit done… even when you have no time?