How Much Of Your Life Are You Losing To Phone Addiction?
Ever checked your weekly screen time report on your iPhone and felt a pang of shock or embarrassment? You’re not alone.
Our devices, including smartphones, offer endless distraction—social media, games, newsfeeds, online shopping and mobile games—and before you know it, you’ve lost countless hours that you’ll never get back.
Many users spend a significant portion of their day on technology, often underestimating just how much time is allocated to these devices.
But exactly how many days, months, or even years are you sacrificing?
To help you visualise this, we’ve created a simple calculator below. Just input your average daily screen time, and discover how much of your life is slipping away behind your screen. There is no specific amount of screen time that defines addiction; rather, it’s the patterns of technology use and the impact on your daily life that matter most.
The Screen Time Wake-Up Call
Pretty eye-opening, right?
Most of us severely underestimate the impact of mindless scrolling or habitual checking. Excessive use and compulsive use of devices can lead to significant loss of time and missed opportunities. Compulsively checking your phone means less time for important activities like sleep, exercise, and real-life connections.
While checking your phone may make you feel good in the short term, it often comes at the expense of your long-term well-being and life satisfaction. The numbers don’t lie—those innocent moments add up, turning minutes into months and hours into years of lost productivity and opportunities for genuine experiences.
The Hidden Cost: Mental Health Implications
While it’s easy to dismiss constant phone use as a harmless habit, the hidden cost of phone addiction is its profound impact on mental health.
Compulsive phone use has been linked to increased anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms, making it much more than just a distraction.
A systematic review of research on smartphone addiction reveals that excessive phone use can lead to sleep disturbances, worsen depressive symptoms, and even contribute to higher suicide rates among young adults.
The American Psychiatric Association now recognizes phone addiction as a behavioral addiction, highlighting the seriousness of its effects. Warning signs like constantly interrupting real-life relationships, feeling irritable or anxious when unable to use your phone, and experiencing withdrawal symptoms are all red flags that your phone use may be negatively impacting your well-being.
By understanding these warning signs and acknowledging the negative effects of smartphone addiction, you can take the first step toward breaking free and protecting your mental health, relationships, and overall quality of life.
Ready to Reclaim Your Time?
Here are three practical steps to cut down on excessive phone usage:
1. Set Clear Boundaries Establish designated “phone-free” times in your daily routine—mealtimes, bedtime, or during focused work blocks. Keep your phone in another room if needed.
2. Delete the Temptations Uninstall the apps you compulsively check or place them out of easy reach on your phone. Small hurdles help break automatic habits.
3. Create more transparency and awareness on how you use your time Using a dedicated tool like ZenDays can dramatically improve your productivity. ZenDays keeps you accountable, helping you clearly allocate your day, week, or month, making you conscious about where your time really goes—away from mindless scrolling and towards tasks and activities that genuinely enrich your life.
Ready to stop wasting time and start spending it on things you truly care about?
Have you ever felt like time is slipping away, no matter how hard you try to stay on top of things? Constantly rushing from one task to another, yet your to-do list never seems to shorten. This feeling of pressure around time is known as time anxiety. To put it simply, it is a persistent worry that there’s never enough time to accomplish everything.
Time anxiety can lead to stress, burnout and reduced productivity. Instead of making progress, you find yourself overwhelmed and stuck in a cycle of racing against the clock. This article will explore what time anxiety is, common symptoms you need to look out for and some useful tips to better manage it. Let’s jump in!
What Is Time Anxiety?
Time anxiety is the persistent feeling of extreme fear that you’re not using your time wisely. This translates to stress, which at the end of the day, leads to inefficiency. It’s different from general stress because it specifically revolves around the feeling that time is running out. All of this makes it difficult to focus on the present moment leaving you feeling overwhelmed and full of anxiety.
Common Signs of Time Anxiety
Constantly rushing through tasks with one eye on the clock as time ticks on might not just be signs of a busy day, but that something more serious is afoot. Here is a quick look at some common time anxiety symptoms:
Feeling like you are always on the clock: You find yourself obsessively checking the time, feeling an urgent need to move faster. This constant pressure of always needing to make every second count can even make the simplest tasks feel stressful.
Racing Thoughts and Restlessness: Your mind constantly jumps from one task to the next, making it hard to focus. Even when you complete something, your brain is already fixated on what’s coming next. This further fosters ongoing feelings of anxiety. This pattern of thinking is a sign of future-time anxiety, where you’re always worried about what’s ahead rather than the present moment.
Guilt over rest: People with time anxiety can feel like taking a break is a luxury they simply can’t afford. Whether that is a short coffee break or even just a weekend off, this guilt makes them feel that they are not productive enough.
Overanalysing your schedule: Another common sign of time anxiety is the constant urge to analyse your schedule. However, what often happens is that people feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of tasks on their plate that they just feel paralysed with everything that needs to get done. This feeling is then just accelerated as time continues to tick away.
Difficulty enjoying accomplishments: Due to the amount of work that is still hanging over your head, any wins are usually short-lived. Instead of celebrating progress, people with time anxiety immediately shift their focus to the next task. This makes it feel like success is always just out of reach, leading to more time anxiety attacks that interfere with your day-to-day life.
Physical symptoms of stress: The thing with time anxiety is that it is not just a mental health issue. It can also manifest physically, such as difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, tension headaches and increased heart rate. If these symptoms continue to persist, it might be helpful to seek guidance from a mental health professional.
The Main Drivers of Time Anxiety
While those are just some of the symptoms of time anxiety, there are still many others such as constantly worrying, difficulty relaxing, procrastination and the urge to compare yourself to others. To help you overcome time anxiety, it is important to understand what can cause it. According to a statistic from the World Health Organisation (WHO), at any given time they predict that 4% of people experience some form of anxiety disorder. As such it is important to identify some of the causing factors. Here is a quick overview of some of the drivers:
1. Underlying Stress or Anxiety Issues
Time anxiety rarely exists in isolation. In many cases, it’s fueled by underlying stress or even other anxiety disorders. If you already struggle with high levels of stress, the added pressure of time slipping away can feel even more intense. Instead of just managing tasks, you’re also battling a constant sense of worry. All of this makes it harder for the person to stay present and in control.
2. Perfectionism and Unrealistic Expectations
Perfectionism and unrealistic expectations are another common cause of time anxiety. A perfectionist believes that every task should be completed flawlessly and to the best of their abilities. However, if you put too much on your plate, the sheer amount of work can often be so daunting that it leads to procrastination. In fact, even if it is a simplistic task that you are undertaking, but your expectations are too high, it can still lead to you feeling anxious and overwhelmed.
3. Fear of Running Out of Time
Many people feel intense pressure to maximise every minute. Instead of enjoying the present, their minds jump to what’s next and what they still need to do. This often comes from societal expectations, personal ambition or a fear of missing out (FOMO). All of this creates a constant sense of urgency and stress that further fuels time anxiety.
4. Overloaded To-Do Lists Without Prioritisation
A never-ending to-do list can feel overwhelming, especially when everything seems equally important. Instead of making progress, you freeze, unsure of where to start. This often leads to procrastination, not because you’re lazy, but because the sheer weight of it all makes it hard to move forward. Meanwhile, the list keeps growing and so does the anxiety.
5. The Chaos of Everyday Life
These days, staying “busy” isn’t just normal, it’s expected. With endless emails, meetings and massive to-do lists, it feels like there’s never enough time to catch up, let alone slow down. The pressure to always be productive turns every moment into a race against the clock, making time anxiety a daily struggle. And when taking a break feels like falling behind, it’s no wonder so many of us feel stuck in a constant state of stress.
6. Fear of Disappointing Others
The constant fear of disappointing people can also be a major driver for time anxiety. Often when people feel responsible for meeting everyone’s expectations, they start to measure their own worth by how much they get done.
This pressure can make you feel overwhelmed and like you never have enough time for anything. Over time, this mindset can lead to overcommitment, burnout and an inability to just slow down.
7. Stress of Not Completing Tasks
Few things feel more unsettling than an unfinished task hanging over your head. It nags at you, pulling your attention away even when you’re trying to relax. Instead of seeing it as an incomplete task and a part of the natural workflow, people with time anxiety take it as a personal failure.
Due to this pressure, you might start rushing through tasks just to get them crossed off the list. Or worse, avoid starting them altogether out of fear you won’t finish in time. Either way, the stress keeps building, making it feel like time is always slipping away faster than you can keep up.
The Impact Time Anxiety Has on You
Time anxiety can negatively impact both your mental health as well as your productivity, making simple tasks seem overcomplicated and challenging. It’s like running a race with no clear finish line — you’re always chasing time but never quite catching up to it. Here’s a quick look at the effects time anxiety can have on a person:
Decreased Productivity Due to Constant Stress: Ironically, worrying about time can make you waste more of it. Stress reduces focus and efficiency, making even simple tasks feel difficult.
Procrastination: Feeling like there’s too much to do can lead to avoidance. Instead of starting, you may procrastinate. This leads to even more anxiety as your deadlines continue to approach.
Burnout and Mental Exhaustion: When time anxiety goes untreated, it can result in burnout and reduced motivation. Constantly trying to keep up can leave you feeling emotionally drained, physically exhausted and mentally foggy. All of this translates to you not operating at your best, both in your work and personal life.
Impaired Decision-Making: Time anxiety can cloud your judgment, making even simple decisions feel overwhelming. When you’re constantly racing against the clock, you may second-guess yourself, overthink options or make rushed decisions you wouldn’t normally make — all adding to the stress.
Decreased Self-Worth: The immense feeling of never doing enough can impact your self-esteem. When you’re always rushing, it’s easy to feel like you’re not measuring up. This mindset can erode confidence and contribute to a cycle of self-doubt.
How to Overcome Time Anxiety
Overcoming time anxiety isn’t something that happens overnight, it requires consistent effort and self-compassion. However, with the right strategies, you can regain control and ease the constant stress you feel around time. Here are some tips to help you manage and eventually overcome time anxiety:
1. A Well Organised To-Do List
A structured approach to tasks can make a big difference. If your to-do list is cluttered with endless tasks or you’re trying to keep everything in your head, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Instead, give your brain a break by using a task management system like ZenDays, or at the very least, a simple notepad that allows you to plan out your daily responsibilities.
A reliable tool can help streamline your tasks, set reminders and keep you on track. This small change can help you feel more in control of your time and lessen the feeling of overwhelm.
2. Prioritisation For The Win
While having a well-maintained to-do list is a great place to start, it is only half of the equation solved. Rather than trying to do everything at once, focus on tasks that will make the biggest difference. Consider looking into different productivity systems that will help you prioritise your workload.
For example, you could use the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle). The Pareto principle states that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. Identify what your key tasks are that will have the biggest impact and focus on getting them done first. Here’s a quick look at some other productivity systems that can help you better manage your time:
Eisenhower Matrix: Sort tasks based on urgency and importance. This helps you decide what tasks to do immediately, schedule for later, delegate or simply eliminate.
Time Blocking: Allocate specific time slots to tasks to stay focused and avoid multitasking.
Eat The Frog: Tackle your most challenging — but impactful — task first thing in the morning to build momentum.
The Pomodoro Technique: Work in focused 25-minute bursts, followed by short breaks, to maintain productivity without burnout.
The Two-Minute Rule: If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately instead of adding it to your to-do list.
By finding the right productivity system for you, prioritisation becomes second nature and time anxiety starts to loosen its grip.
3. Focus on Where You Are
A great way to help you battle the stress of your workload is to focus on the road you are on and not the countless turns you still need to take. Often, we look at everything we still need to do and get overwhelmed with it all. In many cases, this leads to procrastination which further leads to getting nothing done.
Instead, focus on the task you are busy with and forget the rest. In other words, be more intentional with how you’re spending time. You will get to the other parts when the time comes. Giving your full attention to one task at a time helps you stay present and actually get things done.
This also works well for breaking huge tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. Each time you complete one, you’ll feel a sense of progress instead of drowning in everything left to do. You don’t need to have it all figured out at once — just focus on the step in front of you and the rest will follow.
4. Practice Mindfulness and Time Awareness
It’s easy to get caught up in future worries or feel guilty about what you didn’t accomplish. But when your mind is constantly jumping between what’s next and what’s already passed, it becomes harder to focus and even harder to relax. That’s where mindfulness comes in. By practising being fully present in the moment, you break free from that cycle of stress.
Take a few minutes each day to slow down with deep breathing or a short meditation. These techniques help ground you and create a sense of control over your time. Even brief moments of stillness, like stepping outside for fresh air or stretching, can reset your mind and ease the pressure.
By practising mindfulness, you’re training yourself to focus only on what you can control right now. It helps reduce the overwhelming feeling of “I have too much to do” and allows you to approach tasks with a calm mind. It’s less about being perfect and more about being present with what’s in front of you. And the more you practice, the easier it gets to turn that anxiety into a sense of peace and productivity.
5. Find Your Triggers and Embrace Imperfection
Time anxiety doesn’t come from nowhere, specific habits or scenarios activate it. Identifying what sparks your anxiety is the first step to managing it. Once you know your triggers, you can start making small changes to help you manage it. For example, if planning your day overwhelms you, try simplifying the process.
Tools such as ZenDays let you create a weekly template, so you’re not starting from scratch every day. Having a basic structure in place can help reduce decision fatigue and make your workload feel more manageable. Most importantly, let go of the idea that everything needs to be perfect.
Perfectionism is one of the biggest drivers of time anxiety. Perfection keeps you stuck where you are second-guessing and reworking things that are already good enough. The truth is that progress matters more than perfection. Some tasks will not be perfect, but that is okay. The goal isn’t to do everything flawlessly but to get it to a point where it is more than good enough so that you can move on
Taking Control of Your Time
Time anxiety is a serious issue, but it doesn’t have to control your life. By understanding what it is and what activates it, you can implement practical steps to help you manage it. With the help of time management strategies such as techniques for prioritising tasks, a task management system and a mindset where you embrace imperfection, you can reduce your stress and boost your productivity.
Struggling to make the most of your day? Try ZenDays. It helps you organise tasks, set priorities and stay on track without the overwhelm. Take control of your time and get more done with less stress!
In today’s world, where nearly every aspect of our lives has been migrated to the digital realm, it’s no surprise that more and more people are making the switch from paper planners to digital planning apps.
It just makes sense! There’s much more flexibility when it comes to digital planners, not to mention the convenience of being able to access your synced planner on any device, at any time.
That being said, there are countless digital weekly planner apps out there, so how do you find the right one? I think the important thing to note is that you need to find a planner that works for you, your needs, and your lifestyle. One planner might be perfect for someone and a nightmare for another. I’ve put together a few things that I hope will guide you in this decision.
1. assess your needs
As mentioned, your planner needs to fit your life, not the other way around. So, figure out what you need from a planner. Do you want it for work? Personal life? An all-encompassing planner that includes everything you could ever need, from meetings to meal planning and more?
There are basic planners to complex ones, ones that do a lot of the work for you, and ones that allow complete customisation. Figuring out what you need will help you to eliminate any planners that don’t fit those parameters. From task management to something that helps you manage projects and track time spent, there’s certainly a planning app that has it all.
2. think of specific requirements
You also need to think about any additional features you may want from your planning app, and whether they are must-haves or whether you are willing to compromise on them. Maybe you want reminders, or the ability to sync your app with your Google calendar. If any of these things are a necessity in your life, be sure to look for a weekly or daily planner app that has them.
3. research
Don’t just choose the first planning app that you find, but rather do your research. Read reviews, talk to friends, and try to gather a few possible options. While researching, make sure that you add apps that are compatible with your devices, and also be sure to check if the app is paid or not.
4. test drive some apps
Also don’t feel like you need to confine yourself to one app from the get-go! Try different apps for a few weeks to see which ones you prefer. Remember that many apps have both a free version and a paid version, so that’s another factor to keep in mind.
Take note of the pros and cons of each, and even consider using different apps for different purposes if you can’t find one that ticks all your boxes. Even if you’ve found an app that you like, there’s no reason why you can’t try other apps to manage your upcoming tasks.
5. look for cross-platform compatibility
As stated earlier, one of the biggest benefits of a weekly planning app is the fact that many apps can sync across multiple devices, so you can use it on your laptop while at work, or on your phone while out and about.
Some people even like to share their planners with coworkers or spouses for better communication. If this is something that’s important to you, be sure to select apps that can sync.
6. consider integration with other tools
You may also want to sync your planner with your calendar or other tool so that you don’t need to constantly keep manually adding appointments, reminders, and meetings to your planner. You may want to sync Google Calendar events so that your monthly planner and weekly planner are integrated, or have it access your note-taking apps to help you manage various to-do lists.
7. think about the user experience
You also want an app that is intuitive to use, that doesn’t have a million ads, and that doesn’t keep crashing, so user experience is another factor to keep in mind when it comes to selecting a planning app. You need to be able to use it without constantly trying to figure out where things go or how to use certain features.
Of course, there will always be a learning curve, but in the end, a planner should make your life easier, not harder.
8. don't feel stuck
You may find a planning app that works perfectly well for you, but that doesn’t mean that it always will.
Life is always changing, so you need to allow yourself the grace to find a new planning app if needed. It’s easy to feel like you’re stuck with one app, but that doesn’t need to be the case! If something doesn’t work for you anymore, try something new!
bonus: my favourite weekly planning app
Allow me to quickly shout out my favourite tool: ZenDays. This is a weekly planner that I believe has it all. It has emojis to allow you to mark similar tasks. It has templates you can use so that you don’t need to set your week up from scratch, and it also syncs with your calendar.
You can move tasks around, use various shortcuts to mark them as done or partially done and have task lists to help you focus on what your next priorities are. If this sounds good and you want to give it a try, click here to sign up for ZenDays.
final words
If you are considering switching to an app to do your weekly planning but feel overwhelmed by the choices, I hope that this post made it easier for you to select one that works for you!
If you’ve read some blog posts of mine or watched any of my YouTube videos, you will know that I am a big fan of goal setting, time management, and all the good things that come along with that. I believe in setting attainable goals, and then figuring out systems that help with achieving goals.
Setting goals helps give you direction and structure and helps you avoid floating through life with no aim. I’ve spent hours on goal setting, so I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert in this field, and today, I want to share some tips to help you not only set goals but actually achieve them. These tips can help you achieve goals in all areas of your life – whether they be personal or professional goals.
The common misconception
Let’s address the elephant in the room: you can’t just write a dream down on a piece of paper and hope for the best. That’s wishful thinking, not goal setting.
Instead, if you plan on setting goals, you need to have a roadmap that gives you tangible steps that you can take to reach your end goal. We all know about the frantic rush to come up with some New Year’s resolutions only to have them fly out of the window by February. That’s because an idea is not a goal.
SMART goals
You’ve probably heard about SMART goals. These are the things that have been said to make a goal “good”. A SMART goal is:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-based
. . . Or smartER goals?
But why stop there?! Sure, having things like measurable goals will give you a starting point for your goals, but I like to add my own two things in my goal-setting process that take goals from being SMART to SMARTER. Those are:
Emotion
Reviews
Emotion
Your goals need to make you feel something. We’re all more likely to actually feel moved to do something if there’s some type of emotional attachment. If you want to be making progress in your personal and professional development, you need to set achievable goals that also ignite your emotions. Let’s take one of my past goals.
If I wanted to write the goal, it would look something like this: lose weight. Sure, that’s a goal. But after careful consideration, I realised that it wasn’t a goal that I cared about. And it’s hard to complete goals when you don’t care about them.
But do you know what’s a better goal? I want to be sculpted like a Greek god. I want a six-pack that turns heads. See the difference? Injecting some emotion makes me feel excited about the goal.
Review
Hopefully, you now know how to accurately set goals. But that’s only the start. The other thing that you need to do is to regularly review and reassess your goals. In my experience, this is the area where a lot of people fall short.
You need to stay accountable. You need to make sure that your goals are still serving you. Think of your goals as living, breathing entities that require attention and nurturing. You need to keep track of your current goals to help you with your future goals.
Let's talk structure
I think a big reason why people fail at their goals is that they get overwhelmed. If you’ve never run a day in your life, the idea of running a 10k is probably enough to make you curl up in a ball and cry.
You know what they say about eating an elephant: you go one bite at a time. Your goals are the same. Split them into easily digestible, bite-sized chunks!
I advocate for structuring your goals like this:
Yearly
Quarterly
Monthly
Weekly
This hierarchical structure helps you focus on short-term wins while still keeping sight of the bigger picture. It breaks your goals down into actionable steps that you can accomplish. Plus, it’s time-bound, which helps with motivation.
Track your goals
The human mind is great, but it does have a limited capacity for memory. Sure, you may think that you’re going to remember your goals, but that valuable memory real estate will soon be taken over by thoughts of work, your newest obsession on Netflix, and when you can go on holiday again. Balancing career goals, personal goals, and other goals can be a lot.
Therefore, you need an external system to track your goals. While good old pen and paper will do the trick, there’s no denying that technology has changed the game. I personally use ZenDays to keep track of my goals. It has an intuitive organisational and tracking experience across different platforms.
It has automated reminders, progress trackers, and more. It’s essentially your personal goal-setting assistant.
In conclusion
Goal setting can truly transform your life. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. The big thing is simply to realise how to set goals that align with the life you want, and that you can actually achieve.
It’s not just about ticking the goal off, but also about the journey. Okay, I’m done with the cliches now. I’m logging off to set some goals, and I hope you do the same!
Time management is one of my favourite topics to dive into. Whether we’re talking about to-do lists or productivity, I’m always looking for ways to up my game, and today, I want to dive into a time management tool that’s changed my life.
Because let’s face it: if time were a currency, we’d all be broke. We’re all scrambling to find an extra hour to finish the latest Netflix show, to sleep in a bit, or to simply stare at the ceiling and contemplate the meaning of life.
Not to brag – but I think I’ve cracked the code to time management. So, if you (like me), used what felt like a million different project management and time management tools but you haven’t found something that works for you, I might just be able to help.
Also, I get that blog posts aren’t for everyone, so if you’d rather skip the reading, give this video a watch instead!
my search for productivity
To give you a bit of history, my story is pretty standard: once upon a time, I lived a life of uselessness. And then I learned about to-do lists, and time management tools, and all these other ways of getting my shit in order. Now, I successfully run my own paid ads agency.
And I didn’t do anything fancy! I didn’t use time turners or a million different apps and time management tools. I didn’t use time tracking software or any fancy project management features . . . I just realised what worked for me, and found a way to implement that in my day.
what makes a good time management tool?
I’ve been going on and on about finding a good time management tool, but what exactly does that mean?
Here’s the Fantastic Four of the best time management tools (just with fewer capes):
Simplicity: I know it’s in our DNA to overcomplicate things, but when it comes to your time management, you need to keep it as simple and friction-free as possible. Effective time management techniques really don’t need to take up a lot of brain space.
Focus: having a time management tool in place is great, but you need to actually know what you want to use it for, otherwise it will be useless. You need to know what you want to achieve and which focuses will help you to do that. A massive part of task management is learning to prioritise.
Second brain storage: This isn’t as creepy as it seems. Basically, what I’m referring to is a place for you to store all those thoughts and ideas taking up real estate in your head. Jot it down on your Google calendar, write it in the notes app of your phone – it doesn’t matter, as long as you have somewhere to store it.
Feedback: If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, you’re never going to improve. So, make sure to take some time each week to look over your past week. See where you went wrong, and think about ways that you can improve your next week. Time spent reflecting is time well spent.
Here’s the thing. If you want to be more productive than a squirrel on espresso, you can’t just breeze through life. You need to have a plan in place, and you need to have tools to help you execute that plan.
That’s where ZenDays comes in. It is, in my not-so-humble opinion, the crème de la crème of time management. It’s not just a to-do list; it’s a hub where you can plan your life goals, business goals, and more. You can boost productivity, manage tasks, and improve your time management skills . . . all in one place. Think of it as your digital project manager.
Whether you want to plan your meals for the week or you want to make sure you’re scheduling your daily walks, this is the place to do it.
You can set your goals for the week, quarter, and year. You can set up templates for each week and just duplicate them – I cannot begin to tell you how this will help you save time (plus, you won’t end up forgetting recurring tasks!)
There are emojis. Motivational quotes. Dashboards. Questions to help you figure out why you didn’t complete certain tasks. . . As far as project management tools go, it’s pretty decent.
I know you’re wondering what the catch is. So here’s the plot twist: I created ZenDays. Naturally, I’m a bit biased towards it. But the truth is that I tried what felt like every time management tool out there, and nothing worked for me. So I decided to build my own.
final words
As you can guess, my favourite time management tool is ZenDays, and I’m hoping that this can be the thing that takes you to productivity paradise as well. And if not, well, I shared some things to look for, so hopefully you can find the best time management tools to suit your life!
At this point, ZenDays is not even properly launched yet, but you can sign up to test it – and this includes having a one-on-one consultation with me!
Now, I’ll leave you to your day – because time really is of the essence.
Ideas are the backbone of any business. Anyone can have a good idea, but that’s not enough. You need to come up with an effective way of storing those ideas rather than letting them slip through your fingers.
My goal with this blog post is to help you find the perfect storage space for all your ideas. I want to share some practical tips that I’ve found work really well. In particular, I want to share the bucket method. It’s something that I know firsthand works, because I’ve implemented it in both of my startups; my tour operation business, and my current company, Snowball Creations, which is a paid ads agency.
And if you’re asking yourself “WTF is the bucket method?!” then don’t worry, we’ll get there. Or, if you don’t want to wait, just watch this video.
Grab a bucket
Okay, you’re probably chomping at the bit for some context. Now we’re about to chat about something that holds a very special place in my heart: buckets.
You have these ideas, but then what? Having an idea is only the first step. You need to then make sure that you don’t forget it. And of course, you need to execute on it.
Humans have the amazing ability to have a never ending flow of great ideas. That’s the pro. But every pro has its con, and in this case, the con is that most of the time, the best ideas don’t come to use when we need them.
They don’t come to us in the boardroom, or the office, where we’re ready to design mind maps and start note-taking. Instead, inspiration strikes in the shower, in the back of an Uber, in a conversation in the middle of a club.
This makes sense because when we give our unconscious a bit of a break while our conscious is focused on other things, our unconscious gets the freedom to get creative and come up with clever ideas.
Unfortunately, if you don’t capitalise on that idea and save it, you’re going to forget it. I know you think you won’t, but you will. So that’s where the bucket comes from. You need buckets to store your different ideas.
A real-life example
If you’re wondering what the hell I’m on about, let’s take a trip down memory lane. When I worked in sales, I would need to manage leads from the point where they were a cold call, all the way to a closed deal. Therefore, organising ideas was essential.
So you can imagine that losing a lead or not logging it correctly was a deadly sin. The same went for missing an email. Hence the buckets.
In my head, I would imagine these things as different buckets. Every time I had an idea, I needed a place to capture it, so it would go into the bucket.
If you haven’t figured it out by now: a bucket is my way of storing ideas.
Make buckets your own
One of the key things you need to realise is that there isn’t just one way to store ideas. The important thing isn’t how you store them – it’s that you store them in the first place.
For me, that’s buckets. For you, that could be using a CRM system, or another system that works for you. You need to find a bucket and make sure that your ideas are being captured in that bucket, whatever that looks like for you. Find apps and tools to help you develop your ideas further.
You need to aim to keep it tight. Get the idea from your brain into your bucket without spilling a single drop.
Fun fact: your memory sucks
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: don’t rely on your memory to remember ideas!
When you’re out for drinks and your friend mentions something cool about a particular topic, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’ll remember it tomorrow once you’ve sobered up. Instead, send yourself an email right then and there, so that when the hangover has worn off, you can look at your idea with a clearer mind. Make sure that you have easy access to your idea across all your devices.
If you go to a course, or you’re in a meeting, take notes. Just because it seems straightforward now, doesn’t mean you’re going to remember the important stuff in a few days. If someone is giving away knowledge, take advantage of that. Write ideas down on a page, and then later go home and find an effective way of storing those ideas.
be the lone wolf
If you want to stand out from the thousands of other people in your business niche, you can’t be doing the same thing that everyone else is doing. You need to think of new ways to come up with things.
Be a doer. Don’t just have a great idea, but turn it into a reality by capturing it as soon as you can. Jot stuff down in notebooks. Add them to mind maps. Use an app. Make voice notes for yourself. Whatever. The method doesn’t matter; the action does.
Be consistent
Another thing that applies to nearly everything is that you need to be consistent. So, yes, it doesn’t really matter how you capture your amazing new ideas. But if you keep capturing them in different places or different ways, something will go missing. It will become a mess.
Try to find a fun way of organizing your ideas. Make a mind map, create lists of to-dos, and use tools that help you create and keep track of your business projects. Find something that works, and stick to it.
I’m going to take this chance to mention that I’ve been working on my own little version of this, called ZenDays. It’s still in its baby phase, but the idea is that this will be a place where you can turn your ideas into reality. It’s an all-in-one tool that you can use for note-taking, storage, inspiration, and projects.
final thoughts
That’s the bucket method! I’ve learned a lot through my time as a business owner, and one of the key things I’ve seen time and time again is the importance of keeping track of your ideas. I hope that this post has inspired you to do the same.
