Some of you might know that running Auricle isn't my only commitment. I am doing a PhD in Neuroendocrinology as well. I also run a sci-com blog, create and sell a local charity calendar of all the dogs of our local park, and am currently planning my wedding. Yikes.
Most people starting a small business keep their day jobs until the business takes off. I have no plans of relinquishing my scientific career however - I just love science so much! So learning how to use my time efficiently is crucial.
Toggl is my best friend these days. I track the time that I spend on each project so I can adjust as needed. I generally spend about 18 - 20 hours a week on Auricle. Those are evenings and weekends. I try very hard to maintain a healthy work-life balance, and try not do any PhD work on the weekends. Of course, that doesn't always happen because either I am running an experiment that requires me go into the lab on a weekend, or I have become so immersed in something I just want to get it done.
90% of the time I spend on Auricle is social media and marketing. So scrolling through Instagram doesn't really feel like work and I can easily do it while re-watching Lord of the Rings for the nth time. This is also where my next favourite app comes into play.
Later is a post scheduling app that meets all my requirements. I briefly left if to try something else but quickly went running back. I can schedule content on different platforms to be posted automatically at specific times. I can save captions and hashtags. Sure, there are a few chinks in the Later armour - for example I have to go back after a post has been published to tag a product. But overall, Later is saving me so much time!
Finally, I use Todoist for ALL my to-dos. From personal, to PhD, to Auricle, to wedding planning. The different categories really make it so much easier to keep track of what I want to do and when. I know there are so many options out there, and believe me when I tell you: I have tried them all, but I still keep coming back to Todoist.
How do you manage your time? What are your favourite tools?