Small business time management really is within your reach, balancing a business and those life moments that happen in the meantime. With this post, I will show you how.
There are only 24 hours in a day, and you can’t change that, no matter what you do. But you CAN change what you do, and as such, achieve more in every day, by:
- Assessing what you’re doing that wastes time
- Create and implement a time management plan
- Establish and follow consistent routines
- Work diligently to complete tasks previously scheduled
- Automating and organizing your systems
- Use your waiting time productively to get ahead on other tasks
- Blocking out distractions
Think about your day, honestly. If you keep track and journal your time, review it at the end of the day (or week) and it will become clear where your time can be better utilized.
Set some time limits:
- During the busiest parts of your day, don’t answer the door, phone, close your email, and stay off of social media
- Separate business and home, even if you have to physically close the door when you’re in the office, or if you have to set up an office in an outside room.
Small Business Time Management Tips
Since I started working for myself, I have learned a lot – let’s face it, it’s a daily learning curve and I would not have it any other way. The pay-offs of being my own boss, working my own hours, and living life unbound are worth every lesson.
These 3 tips are the most valuable tips I have learned:
Time Management Tip #3: Organize
Do you know just how much time you spend waiting, looking for things and re-arranging things every day?
If you have a virtual office, it is easy to get your files organized in the correct places in your inbox and on your hard drive, and it is well worth the time. Organize your files as if you weren’t around and someone else would need to locate the files.
Time Management Tip #2: Outsource
Outsourcing has been a savings grace for me on many occasions. Sometimes, you just don’t have enough time in a day, no matter how well you plan.
Instead of appointing a full-time person, hire a freelancer when:
- you don’t have time to do it.
- when it’s something you don’t enjoy doing.
- when it’s best left in expert hands.
When you hire a freelancer, you only spend a fixed amount, or an agreed-upon hourly rate for time spent working. You are not bound by monthly salaries and you don’t have to rent premises or supply office equipment.
Time Management Tip#1: Automate
Wherever possible, automate. It saves time and make you look more professional.
Instead of wasting time posting the same content on each social media platform, one at a time, use automated tools such as HootSuite to share to all the platforms simultaneously.
No time to thank each person for following you? No time to back up all your blog posts? Check out IFTTT. This fantastic little tool allows you to set up “recipes” on an “If This (happens), then (do) that” basis. In other words, if someone connects with me on LinkedIn, the system will invite them to follow you on Twitter, too. Or, if you post a new blog post, it will back it up to Dropbox. Zapier is another option for triggering events to help you streamline your processes.
The most important time saving tip I could give any business to help automate is to invest in a website. Not because I design sites, but because it really does save a lot of time:
1. Instead of sending out individual emails with more information, it’s all there for the global audience to see.
2. Save money, since you don’t have to make phone calls explaining your services.
With the right functionalities, your website can be created to cater to (almost) any business need, freeing you up to do what’s really important: Living Life Unbound. Free from time constraints and unchained from your desk. Let me show you how I can even let your website automatically distribute your new posts to your social media accounts without you ever lifting a finger. Contact me today!
No lifestyle business is complete without a website that makes your time management seamless and magical.