Being a business owner takes up an incredible amount of time and energy. Making sure everything is running as it should be while having to wear countless hats isn’t for the faint of heart. But not strategically managing your time can leave you feeling frazzled, which means you’ll be much less effective at keeping all those balls in the air. The following time management tips should help you master your daily schedule, maximize productivity and bring your business to the next level.
Assess your current time allocation.
You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge, so the first step in getting on track is to figure out how you’re currently spending your time. Are there any activities that may be draining your productivity, such as surfing the web or reading email? To assess this, keep track your daily activities and how much time you spend on each of them for a week. The results may be quite eye-opening.
Create goals.
You can’t add more hours to the day, so your only option is to commit to changing your behaviors. A great place to start is to set goals that will help you eliminate the activities that are time wasters. For instance, you might set a goal to stop taking personal phone calls or responding to non-work-related messages while you’re working.
Start strategizing.
For the tasks you cannot eliminate, such as reading and replying to email, setting aside specific blocks on your schedule to complete them can help you avoid wasting too much time. For example, you might set a goal of spending only one hour per day, first thing in the morning, on email. Likewise, you might block out 45 minutes after lunch to check and respond to voicemails. Being strategic about your tasks, when you perform them and exactly how much time you’ll devote to them each day is the key.
Prioritize.
You can’t expect to get everything on your to-do list done every day, so don’t bog yourself down with unnecessary stress. Instead, make a point to prioritize all of your tasks in order of importance, blocking and mapping out time in your schedule for each of them. If there’s anything you haven’t completed at the end of the day, either move it to the next day or get help completing it, which brings us to our next point.
Delegate and outsource.
If there are things on your task list that can be handled by someone else on your team who is available, divvying up some of your workload will help free you up to focus on the tasks and projects you can’t hand off. Delegating and outsourcing lets you optimize your time for the benefit of your business. For instance, have your assistant handle the filing so you can work on your pitch to land that big client you’ve been eyeing.
Utilize tools and technology.
Whether it’s a basic daytimer, a scheduling app for your smartphone or a time management software program, using the various tools and technologies that are available to you is a step in the right direction. An online calendar program, for instance, can help you schedule and manage your time more effectively and keep you on track so you don’t spiral back out of control. Try a few out to see which ones you prefer, and then put them to use in your day-to-day life. Another way to skyrocket productivity is to implement a CRM and marketing software to help you stay organized and automate those non-revenue producing activities.
Running a successful business can be chaotic to say the least. Taking charge of your time and putting that time to optimal use will help you keep your head above water and let you stay a step ahead of the competition.