I read a lot of advice on time management and am always looking for good ideas for my clients.

Something I’m not a fan of is advice to check email at specified times. Generally the suggestion is to check two or three times a day and discipline yourself to not check in between.

If you’ve read anything by me, you know I’m not big on one size fits all advice, and this one strikes me that way. I agree that many people waste time with email or feel that it controls them. So having a system to address the problem is good. But I think the advice to check a limited number of times a day puts the cart before the horse. First, you have to understand your issue with email and your needs with email.

Do you check email throughout the day as a way to avoid working? Or are you overwhelmed by the sheer amount you receive in a day?

Are you in a fast-paced business where quick response to email is key to your success? Or do you work in an office where up-to-the-minute response is not expected or required?

See my point? Each of the above situations indicate a slightly different response to email. The fast-paced business person who only checks and responds twice a day might miss opportunities.

The person who uses it as a distraction may have an underlying problem that goes beyond email. Like burned out on the job. Restricting access to email won’t address that.

Being in control of email and not letting it control you is important. But first understand the problem. Then work to find a solution.

In case you were wondering, I check email throughout the day. Processing it in short bursts works better for me and fits my personality and my business needs better than two or three marathon sessions each day.

How do you manage your email? Share your ideas and tips in the comments.

I’ve been discovering some things about myself and timing of tasks lately, and I thought I’d share.

I thought it didn’t matter what time of the day I wrote. Turns out I was wrong. I’ve been struggling a bit with the rework of Face to Facebook. I’ve been doing other tasks in the morning and saving work on the book until later in the afternoon. Mistake!

Yesterday, I switched my scheduling and worked on the book in the morning. Wow! What a difference that made. What had been hard in the afternoon was almost effortless in the morning. Lesson learned. No more writing in the afternoon. Well, except for fiction. So far that works any time of day.

Checking social media used to be something I did in the morning. I still do, but less now. It’s a perfect late afternoon task. I can read and absorb blog posts just fine late in the day when I’m not up for creative tasks.

Same with catching up on email. It seems I can focus better on that when I’m feeling less creative. Although yesterday I needed to write a fun and creative email introduction. I made sure to do that earlier in the day.

What about networking? I’m still blessed in that I can be productive at networking meetings any time of day. But I know people who can’t do mornings or are just much better in the evening. If there’s a time of day you’re more effective networking, go for it. Spend more of your time interacting when you’re at your best. There may occasionally be a great event at your less effective time of day, and you’ll probably want to go to it. But try to schedule thing when you’ll be more sharp.

Finally, client and one to one meetings? I’m okay with those morning and afternoon. Much after 4:00, though, and I start to lose focus one on one. Good thing I don’t have many people wanting to meet at those times.

I challenge you to look at your regular tasks and events. Is something giving you trouble? Try it at a different time of day and see if it makes a difference.

Wouldn’t it be great to get more done in the same amount of time? You can if you schedule things appropriately.

Anyone else have a good story to share about switching around the timing of a task?

Having a good task and project management system in place is essential for being an effective networker and making time to network and get work done.

In my post on setting boundaries, I talk about having a system for your tasks will make it easier to say no. If you know what you’ve committed to, how much time it will take and your priorities, you’ll be less likely to take on more than you can handle.

So what does a good task management system look like? I use David Allen’s GTD system (and I reviewed Getting Things Done last year). You don’t have to use his system, but he has some excellent points.

One of the biggest is organizing tasks into projects. Many people write down general things on their to-do list (like Create an Estate Plan). That’s not a task, it’s a project made up of sub-tasks. Something that vague will never get done. It’s too big and intimidating. But breaking it down into sub-tasks (like “find an attorney” and “schedule an appointment”) are less-threatening. They are clear and obvious and more likely to get done.

But more important than organizing your tasks is having them with you at all times. I highly recommend that your task management system be portable. Task managers on your computer are fine, but unless you carry your computer with you everywhere, there will be times you don’t have it with you. You need to be able to capture ideas and tasks immediately. Little pieces of paper are one way to do it, but then you have to enter them later in your system. And little pieces of paper tend to get get lost. Using a service like Jott can work well. You can speak your ideas, have them transcribed and then emailed. When you’re back to your computer, you can enter them into your computer system.

It won’t come as a surprise, though, that I recommend using your smart phone as a way to capture tasks. My phone is always with me, so I can enter things as soon as I think of them.

I could write an entire post on handling email, but right now I’ll just say that a number of your tasks probably come in through email. Your Inbox is not a task management system. Capture tasks from email and then file the email as a reference.

Once you’ve got your tasks written down, don’t overbook yourself on a particular day. If you think you have 4 hours to work, schedule yourself 2 1/2 hours worth of tasks. That gives you extra time in case you are interrupted or something takes longer than you anticipated.

Looking at your tasks this way will keep you focused. You won’t get stuck scrambling at the last minute to do something you forgot until something reminded you. If you are in control of your tasks, you’ll know how much time and when you can network.

Finally, use your tasks as the reason to keep your boundaries firm. Now that you know everything you need to do and how long it will take, when someone calls to ask you to do something, don’t automatically say “yes.” Look at your tasks. Look at your time. Make a reasonable decision about taking on one more task.

And use any extra time to go out and meet more people!

The good part of networking is that you meet a lot of new people.

The bad part of networking is that you meet a lot of new people.

The more people you know, the more people you have to contact you, interrupt you, ask for favors, etc. And it’s quite possible to spend your entire day dealing with people and getting nothing done for your own business.

While giving is a vital part of networking, being able to say “no” is an excellent skill to learn. Obviously, there is a balance here. Many people fall too far on one side or another, either too giving or not giving enough.

So how do you decide on a balance and set reasonable boundaries? Having clear ideas of what you need to accomplish is a first step. I’ll talk in another post about creating a good project and task management system. When you know you have tasks and solid commitments, it’s a lot easier to say “no” or “yes, but not now” when someone calls or emails you.

Decide on your preferred method of contact and communicate it to everyone in your network. I set the expectation with someone at the beginning of a relationship by saying email is the best way to get in contact with me. Will I take phone calls? Of course, but most people try email (or a quick text) first. That allows me to look at what I’m doing now and decide if I can respond right away or need to set a future time.

Some people can turn a simple request/question into an hour long conversation. With those people, set the expectation up front. “I have only a few minutes right now” or “I can meet you for 45 minutes, but then I’ll have to leave.” Most people will respect those boundaries and get to the point a lot quicker. If someone regularly tramples those requests, you might want to consider easing that person out of your life or business.

Don’t be too easy to get in contact with. That may sound counter to everything I teach about networking, but I say it for a reason. Busy people are usually busy for a reason, often because they are successful. And they are often a bit hard to get in contact with. Act like a busy person, even if you aren’t yet. Set the pattern now so your network isn’t surprised and offended when you really do make it.

What do I mean by being a bit hard to get?

Turn off your phone for an hour or so each day. It will give you an uninterrupted period of time to be productive. (My phone is off right now, as I write this.) If you don’t pick up the phone every time it rings, people won’t expect you to be available 24/7.

Mobile email is a great productivity tool. And a fantastic way to get in trouble. I have a client who is looking forward to getting his first smart phone. He told me he wanted to be able to impress his clients by how fast he could respond to emails. I cautioned him to think about the expectation he’ll be setting. If he’s not careful, he’ll become a slave to his email. So don’t always respond immediately.

Those are just a few examples of boundaries. They are a vital time management tool. Develop them and enforce them. Ease away from people who routinely trample them.

You’ll have more time for networking and your business. And you’ll have more time and energy to help if you aren’t burned out by constant interruptions.

Anyone else have a good boundary you’ve set and how it worked for you?