Running your own business is not an easy task. And while it is dream for many, not everyone can handle it.
Many small business owners report feeling they have to be on the call 24/7, even during vacations. Overload and stress-related issues are not only damaging for physical and mental well-being, but also decrease the levels of productivity and effectiveness.
There are several great tips which can help you deal with time management issues.
1. Important Tasks First
It may sound trivial, but is definitely worth doing. Always tackle your most significant tasks in the morning, when your energy and concentration level is at its highest. This would give you a feeling you have completed the hardest tasks and make the rest of your day less stressful.
2. Know Your Focus
As an entrepreneur, you have a wide variety of responsibilities – from CEO to Marketing expert, which often requires you to switch between tasks. Estimating your monthly budget, for example, requires a different mindset than the creative work of marketing and advertising.
For this purpose, try to focus on one major area at a time, starting with the most important tasks. Thus, you would not lose your focus while trying to concentrate on several different projects.
3. Pay Attention to your Organization
One of the key factors for successful time management is organization at the workplace. If you have long list of tasks waiting to be done, but you do not have a proper action plan for the day, it is unlikely you will be able to tackle them.
If you are not organized, you are in danger of losing valuable time while trying to find an important document, business card or another vital piece of information.
If you do not have your own organizational solution, there are plenty of tools and software programs which can help you to better organize your projects, tasks and documentation.
4. Track Your Time
If you can’t figure out where your time is going, it’s time to take a closer look at it. Try to track your time hour by hour, from the time you get up in the morning until you go to bed. This will help you to see where most of your time is spent, what are the inefficiencies are how they can be improved.
5. Planning is Key
To further manage time and increase your productivity at work, always plan your activities in advance. This will help you to better manage all deadlines, follow your most critical tasks move your goals forward. Allow yourself some time to take a little break and set your mind free. No matter how busy you are, a 10 minute break will give you new energy, fresh ideas and more motivation to continue with the work tasks, so it’s time well spent.
6. Automate
In the technology driven world that we live in, it is surprising that many of us still stick to old fashioned methods which consume a lot of our time and efforts when there are many alternatives available. Time tracking, payroll, email responses and many other repetitive business tasks can be automated not only to save you time, but also to avoid costs for hiring additional workers.