10 Time Management Tips That EVERY Small Business Owners NEEDS To Know About

Let’s face the fact that running a small business is hard.  If it were easy, then everyone would be doing it.  Between administration, marketing, chasing leads, taking care of clients, managing your social media, and thousands of other activities that demand your time, there is hardly any time left to actually do whatever it is you started your business to do!

A Must For Every Small Business – 10 Time Management Tips

Let’s face the fact that running a small business is hard.  If it were easy, then everyone would be doing it.  Between administration, marketing, chasing leads, taking care of clients, managing your social media, and thousands of other activities that demand your time, there is hardly any time left to actually do whatever it is you started your business to do! That is where today’s video comes in. I will be discussing time management for small business owners.

Your schedule as a small business owner is always going to be busy.  The best that you can do is to make sure your time is well-managed, so you can pack as much productivity into the time you have as possible.

Here are a few of my favorite time management tips for small business owners.

Have a Set Schedule and Stick To it. Tip 1

The worst thing you can do is to come into the office without a clearly defined set of goals and tasks to be accomplished that day.  This disorganization leads to inefficiency and wasted time.  It would be best if you organized your time based on your current priorities.  It does not matter if you have to break down your schedule by the hour or use a bullet list.  You need to have your priorities outlined for the day.

Outline your days based upon when you are most productive.  I have found that I am most productive in the mornings.  So, I schedule the heavy lifting in the mornings and the less taxing items for the afternoon.  I also have discovered the Mondays are my most productive day of the week.  I tend to get more accomplished on Mondays than other days of the week.  Use this information about yourself to your advantage.

No Multitasking Tip 2

Multitasking seems like a smart way to save time; however, it is more likely doing more harm than good.  Focusing on one task at a time increases productivity and performance.  After all, you cannot respond to that new email while at the same time, develop your yearly budget.  So, please don’t do it!!  Remember that your mind needs time to focus on the task at hand, truly.  Every time you switch tasks, it takes your mind time to get into that task’s new groove.

Delegate Tip 3

Hire people that you can trust and give them the work that. You do not have time to do it.  This allows you to focus your time on tasks you are better at and those that mean the most to you.  If you are a one person show, consider offering college credits to interns or outsourcing to freelance contractors.

 Rest Time – Tip 4

Your mind needs time to decompress.  Taking a break can actually save you time and results in greater productivity without taking a break. You are guaranteeing yourself exhaustion and ultimately get less accomplished.  This is extremely useful when you are stuck and do not seem to be making any progress.  By taking a break, the solution to your problem may pop into your head!

Organize Your Space – Tip 5

A cluttered office or desk makes it more difficult to work effectively, which makes for wasted time.  When your physical space is organized, it leads to an organized mental space.  Color code folders designating incoming and outgoing piles and similar tactics to help you find what you need when you need it.  Keeping your desk free of trash and clutter also helps maintain a balanced head-space to enhance your productivity.

Identify & Eliminate Things You Spend Wasting Time On.

Let’s face the fact that everyone has something or somethings that takes you away from doing more productive things.  This could be browsing social media, watching YouTube videos, or surfing the Internet.  Whatever it is, you need to identify them and try to cut them out of your day.  Consider keeping a diary every time you do something; you write it down to help you see where you go astray. 

The 80/20 Rule

In the 80-20 rule, you prioritize the 20% of factors that will produce the best results. The 80-20 rule principle is to identify an entity’s best assets and use them efficiently to create maximum value.  Why do I bring this up?  At some point, you need to determine what is actually important and what requires your attention.  You want to spend most of your time on that critical 20% and less on the rest, even if it does seem urgent.

 Set a Timer

I have found that if I set a timer for a specific period of time, say 25 minutes, and then focus on a single task until the alarm goes off.  Then, I set the timer for 5 minutes and take a short break before devoting 25 minutes to another task.  This method is beneficial to those who have trouble focusing, structuring their time, or making sure you are devoting a certain amount of time to a single task.

Balance Your Time Tip 9

If you are dissatisfied with your time management skills, you may have a problem called “lack of balance.”  You spend too much time online, networking, putting out fires, or actively managing your employees.  Yes, these tasks are necessary, but too much focus on any one means the other will fall by the wayside, and as a result, your time management suffers.

Automate Tip 10 Time Management

The more that you can automate, the more time you will have for other things.  For instance, handling your bill and accounts receivable is one of the most important jobs in your schedule, but it’s also tedious and hardly quick.  But by automating your billing with a subscription service, you can free up time for other things like marketing, strategizing, product development, or maybe taking a vacation.

Summary of Time Management

If you are just getting started on your time management journey, you may want to consider the 10 tips discussed above. But remember that we still only have 24 hours in a day and there are more important things in life than work.  It would help if you found a balance.  Too many small businesses believe that they must work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  That is not the case if you can find ways to manage your time better.  Time management aims not to create more time for work but to manage the tasks that absolutely must get done today and still allow us to spend quality time with the family. Whatever your time management outcome is, give one of these 10 tips a try and let me know how well it worked for you?

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