1. Pre plan

Take an hour at the beginning of the week to schedule out what you need to accomplish. Write down a list of things you want to do during the week, estimate how much time you have, then spread them out over the week. Be sure to slightly overestimate so you don’t get bogged down if something runs over its time limit.

2. Eliminate

We all take on too much stuff, and purging our schedules each week forces us to decide what’s really important. Start with one thing a week to eliminate from your work schedule, and you’ll be amazed how much time you suddenly have.

3. Get up early

As a musician that passionately hates mornings, I can hear the groans coming from my readers. I hear ya loud and clear. But literally every successful entrepreneur I’ve ever met gets up early, and since we’re all self employed this should be a high priority. Go to bed a little earlier, get up a little earlier, and take a nap in the middle of the day to recharge.

4. Plan extra time

Just like a diet, you have to give yourself room. I try to schedule at least 4 hours of time each week to catch up on all the things I have to postpone. Giving yourself a little time at the end of the week keeps the stress levels down when things go off schedule.

5. Use a to do list

I mentioned this in step one, but I’d strongly recommend using a to do list to manage tasks. You could write it down on paper, or you could use a handy app like Wunderlist to keep things straight. The tool doesn’t matter as much as the using them consistently.

6. Schedule tasks

Once you’ve made your list, schedule your tasks for specific days (Wunderlist does a great job of this). I try not to schedule more than 4-5 tasks for any given day, but your limit may be different.

7. Give yourself downtime

Don’t push too hard- make sure that you have room in your schedule to hang out with friends and relax. Trying to shove too much into your day is guaranteed to make you burn out.