Freelance Writer Meredith Morckel on Time Management

I love technology.

I would kiss the internet if it had a cheek, and hug my laptop if it had arms. Don’t ask me how I survived before the iPhone because I don’t remember! Technology has improved everything in my life – everything except for how my time is managed.

I’ve experimented with hundreds of websites, apps, and paper planners that promise to solve all of my time management problems. Ironically, after wasting time trying to save time, I always default back to these three simple tools: an alarm clock, a timer, and one-page daily planner.

If your first reaction to that list is rolling your eyes, keep reading. An old dog can be taught new tricks, and traditional time management tools can be resurrected with a twist.

1. Use an Alarm Clock to Wake Yourself Up – 5 Times a Day.

After my alarm goes off at 7 a.m. (and after I hit the snooze three or four times), I immediately reset it, but not for the same time the next morning. Yesterday I set my alarm for 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 1:40 p.m., 3:17 p.m., and 6:03 p.m..

Today it’s chiming at 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 2:11 p.m., 3:11 p.m., and 4:11 p.m..

I don’t take naps in the middle of the day, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need a “wake-up” call.

How many times a day do you tell yourself that you’re just going to “check” Twitter or Facebook? How often do you go online to research a statistic, and end up watching YouTube videos instead? Have you ever experienced one of those ‘X-Files’ time slips and find yourself saying, “I was only on Pinterest for a minute – I swear!” To prevent these hypnotic states, I schedule “What the hell are you doing?” cues. When my alarm goes off I pause and ask myself, “What the hell are you doing?”

If the answer is something like “writing content for a client” or “submitting a short story to a magazine,” then I pat myself on the back and keep going. But if the answer is “worrying about what I’m going to wear to that wedding,” “is it spelled ‘blond’ or ‘blonde,’” or “oops, I’m looking at those cute pictures of my friend’s baby for the billionth time,” then I take a moment to reevaluate my priorities and get back on track. (I also schedule a special time each month to ask myself bigger questions like “What are you doing with your life?” and “What is the meaning of life?”)

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Stay tuned for the article in its entirety later today on The Official Prose Blog at: blog.theprose.com/blog.