Time management is something that all business owners need to master to effectively run their company. Without these skills, your business would quickly become disorganised and unprofitable. But not all of us are naturally vigilant time keepers and find it difficult to maximise the time we have. Thankfully, there are a number of ways in which you can develop this skill to benefit your work and your home life. Read through the following suggestions and learn how to make the most out of every second.
ImageCreate lists
To learn how to work smarter rather than harder with good time management, you need to start making lists. List making is a simple but effective way of planning your time and prioritising tasks. Go through your business diaries and calendars to pinpoint important meetings or deadlines in the month ahead. Create a monthly checklist which can then be broken down into weekly and daily lists. These lists should include priority tasks that need to be completed while still giving you sufficient time. In addition to this, you should also add any other daily or weekly tasks you need to complete such as staff meetings and replying to emails. Get into the habit of doing this regularly to stay organise and to keep your business on track.
ImageBe firm with deadlines
It can be easy to get distracted by your phone or social media when you’re meant to be business related tasks. This can often result in some tasks taking twice as long to complete. So as well as making useful checklists, you should also assign deadlines to yourself and to your staff. A time limit can add more urgency and eagerness to get a task completed. Go through your daily task list and set yourself a sensible amount of time to complete each task. For tasks that you struggle to complete, give yourself additional time to ask for help. But reduce the time you give yourself for simple tasks such as sending an invoice. Be vigilant and do your best to stick to the deadline you have assigned. It might take some time to get the timing just right, but you’ll soon find you have far more time to work with to do other things.
ImageStart a routine
Routines are another brilliant way of boosting your time management skills. You need to establish when is the best time for you to complete your tasks, run errands or hold meetings each day. This will prevent you from wasting time by leaving your workplace multiple times throughout the day. You might enjoy having staff meetings at the end of the day and running your errands in the morning. Think about when you are feeling most productive during the day and create a routine around this time. That way you can get your essential daily tasks completed quickly and when you are most alert.
So instead of feeling like you’re always short of time or that there’s not enough hours in the day, start implementing these techniques. You’ll soon find your tasks become more manageable and your business more productive.
