Take control of your time, and your business
When running a business, it’s easy to run out of adequate time. Between juggling family, work and keeping on top of your business responsibilities, it can seem impossible to catch a break.
Why is it so hard to keep up with life and everything happening in between while being a business owner? How did we let everything spiral out of control? Is there a way to get control over the situation?
Yes!
There is a way to bring balance and control into your life. When it comes to juggling work, family, and life in general, we hope that this post will help. It’s time to take the reins and focus on better time management.
Time management tips to help you take back control
These tips are good for small and medium business owners, but truthfully you could use them even if you run a bigger corporation. You can also implement these suggestions in your personal life because efficiency in this area will have positive benefits for your business as well.
-
Plan your weeks
With a planned workweek schedule, it’s easier to follow day-to-day tasks.
With no structure, it easily creates the breeding grounds for a mad “rat race” and scramble to catch up on everything.
If you’re struggling to keep up with content creation, for instance, there are ways to do this more effectively.
You can repurpose content and also create a content calendar to keep you ahead of schedule.
Work according to the schedule of your week and see how much better your time management goes.
-
Go for themes to help create more structure
So planning your week is one thing, but you can add even more structure with specific themes. Themes can note certain events such as meetings, follow-ups, calls, webinars, training, and the list go on.
Your themes can help you to plot which tasks are more important and need more attention. In this way, you can tackle the important ones first and then move on to the simpler ones (where appointments allow for it). In other words, you cannot simply plan over meetings that are already appointed to a specific time and date, however, you can plan around those.
On days that you need to tackle hard tasks, may not be the same days that you’d want to schedule meetings with clients and staff.
-
Take time for yourself
You’re human and you need time to relax and recuperate. Yes R&R is essential to everyone to avoid burnout and other nasty health concerns.
You should schedule time for yourself with the same importance as you would meeting a prospective client, or not missing a deadline. Mark your downtime on your schedule in a different colour or theme so that it stands out from the rest.
It’s also essential to prioritize health and exercise, because if you’re not functioning at your best, then how can you give your all to your business?
-
Narrow down your tasks to tackle 3 essential ones
Every week, you could also manage your time by tackling 3 major tasks. This can help you get closer to completing your major tasks for the month and help you to get more hours.
Progress takes time, however, if you don’t schedule your major tasks the chances of completing them is very slim.
This is because you’re likely to be distracted by smaller tasks that eat up your time.
Remember, there’s a difference between being busy and being truly productive.
-
Never multitask
This one is easy to misconstrue because the general thought would be that multitasking takes care of multiple things at the same time. However, the truth is that multitasking leaves room for more errors and more time spent on working towards fixing them.
Working this way fractures your thinking and prevents you from diving deep into one topic. This leads to doing “half a job” and not being able to give projects your full attention.
Instead, tackle tasks as you’ve planned them on your schedule and give each one the necessary attention and focus that it deserves. In this way, you’ll be able to do a lot better and produce quality results.
-
All hands on deck – ask for help
As a business owner, you may not have the time to tackle everything in your business; this is where extra hands are your advantage. Getting people to help you complete tasks will go a long way to helping you free up more time.
Some people have better skills when it comes to certain tasks and if you hire well, your business will reap the benefits.
Usually, entrepreneurs start out doing everything themselves. They wear all the hats: sales, customer service, marketing, management, the works.
But as your company grows, you need to start delegating tasks to other people. Most likely you’ll need to outsource your marketing to professionals who are not only excellent at what they do, but they actually love the field itself.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with marketing, consider asking professionals to take this time-consuming task off your hands. So you can focus on getting more customers and sales.
-
Organise your office and work stations
There’s nothing more disorganised and confusing than having an untidy work station or office. If you create some order by clearing up clutter, you’ll be able to work more productively.
While cleaning your desk might be a psychological thing, however, it sets the tone for structure and better management of time and everything that flows from there. You’ll also be able to find the things you need without having to rummage through heaps of other stuff.
-
Cut out time-wasting staff and tasks
If you have hired help, some may not be as dedicated and focused on the business as you are. Some staff may waste time because they don’t share the same values. It’s very important to identify these persons and to get rid of them sooner than later. And if this isn’t an option, then at the very least set boundaries in place so that they don’t impact your workflow and productivity.
Creating a productive work environment means that everyone is on the same page and have the same vision for the business.
However, time-wasting tasks apply to you as well.
If checking your social media takes too much time then leave it for out of office hours. Switch off all your notification bells, whistles and tempting flashing lights.
The same applies to other tasks that promote distraction. For instance, if you struggle every morning to decide what to wear, get into the habit of planning your outfit the night before.
If packing lunch takes too much time or requires you to drive far, use Sunday afternoons for meal prep and planning.
Simplify as much of the mundane, time-hungry tasks in your life as possible.
-
Delegate specific time to tasks “Pomodoro technique”
Similar to the “Pomodoro technique” or tomato timer, continue your work by setting aside a few hours in your schedule to undertake a task and once the time lapses move on to the next.
Break between each task to make sure that you have that gap in the change of focus and then prep yourself for the next task. In this way, every task will get the time and attention required and none will overlap and take up extra time. Use a timer and time yourself.
-
Use software to your advantage
These days you can use great tools and software to help make things simpler. Automated tasks help to free up more time once set and scheduled accordingly.
Time trackers also help people to track how many hours they spend on certain projects and this can help as well. Automated messages sent to clients, or newsletters posted, and even billing systems are also available as automated tasks.
Retailers can benefit from apps like Vend and Yoco for customer payments.
What are the benefits of using time management tips to your advantage?
As a small business owner, you cannot afford to waste precious time as this could cost you money. The energy and effort you put into one division of your line of work may not be worth all that time and effort. It could, however, be costing you more.
Consider the opportunity cost of you performing less important tasks over the ones that will directly affect the revenue stream of the business.
Be able to produce better quality work and services
When you manage your time properly, you’ll have extra time and energy to give every task all your attention. This may include excellent customer service delivery and quality workmanship. If you’re not rushing for time, you’ll naturally do a better job.
You won’t miss your deadlines
With better time management, it’s clear that you’ll be able to meet your deadline constantly that’s irrespective of the niche or market a business is in. Deadlines met with quality service cannot easily be forgotten. Instead, it builds on your reputation and a good one that will be.
Solve problems without delaying the day’s schedule
When you practice good time management tips you’ll be able to effectively solve problems in the business without cutting into the day’s schedule. With adequate time, you’ll be able to simply do more.
The takeaway on time management tips
Finding a work-life balance is one of the most important things in business. You need to stay on top of your game and stay focused on your business goals and long-term plans.
If you manage your time more effectively, you take control of your workday.
Instead of randomly reacting to events, you’ll proactively manage your day from start to finish.
This will lead to more time to make strategic decisions for your business.
Are you struggling to cope? A skilled professional digital marketing team can help you market your business while helping you to free up valuable time.
You might also enjoy:
- 20 Small Business Ideas
- Should you Post on All the Social Media Platforms?
- How to get on “Google My Business” for better SEO
Want some FREE digital marketing training?
Follow us on social media for digital marketing advice and free training to help your business grow.
