October 18th, 2018 by Admin
As your business grows, your time seems to shrink. Here are some tips that can help you manage your time better.
Create a Plan
Creating a plan will always lead to a successful day. Organization will allow you to have a much more balanced day and better quality of life while running your business. Be sure to write down all the tasks you need to get done. Having them written down will give you a better idea of how much you have to do and what needs to get done.
Have a Calendar
Along with a list of all of your tasks, a calendar will help you figure out what else is happening throughout the day. Do you have meetings to go to, people to talk? A calendar will be your best friend for better time management. It will also help you block out time to get your to-do list done.
Prioritize
Now that you have your list and your list, it is time you prioritize and figure out what needs to get done first. A common mistake is to go down your to-do list as you wrote it and that is not efficient. Figure out your “Must’s”; “Should’s” and “can wait’s” so you can get the best out of your day. You will realize that many tasks are not as important for your productivity as you might think.
Delegate
Now that you see what you must do first, do you need to do it yourself? Perhaps some tasks do not require all of your attention. That is when delegating will be your greatest ally for time management. That run to the store for supplies can be done by your employee or family (if you run your business from home).
Learn to say no
Along with running and managing a business, there will be things that, while you would love to do, are not necessary for you to do. Learn to say no in a polite way and you will find yourself more organized and meeting deadlines faster. Sure, you might have a few disappointed people at first, but they will realize that you are working on being efficient for them and you and it will add value to your service.
Track your time spent
Do you feel you are spending way too much time on a task or job? Perhaps it is time you start tracking your time. This is an excellent tool for freelancers who find themselves working day and night. Tools like TopTracker can keep you accountable and give you perspective on how much time you are truly working. It will help you learn and adjust if necessary.
Eliminate Time Wasters
There are plenty of time wasters at the office! That e-mail didn’t need to be checked so many times, and that note could have waited for later. No, you do not need to check Facebook before work. Setting boundaries will allow you to become much more productive and have more time to do tasks like this after you have completed your list.
Always plan to be early
When it comes to meetings, calls or events, always plan to arrive early, this will help you prepare for unseen events like traffic jams or car problems. Practicing this habit will help you be on time and have less stress.
Take Small Breaks
To get all of your tasks done, you must take breaks. Taking breaks will allow your mind to rest for a few minutes and can help you become a lot more productive. Be sure to use your calendar so you can schedule some break time every day.
Focus
Lastly, focus. Know that the tasks needed need to get done in a timely matter. Be sure you focus and avoid any distractions while getting it all done. Focusing will help you be done with all tasks sooner than you think.
We hope these steps can help you get more out of your day and you can be in control of your time better.
Posted in Small Business Improvement Tagged with: business, business goals, calendar, data, delegate, efficiency, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, freelancer, leaderhip, manage, plan, planner, planning, professionalism, smartphone, technique, time management, tools, track time