If there is one challenge faced by every small business owner and entrepreneur it is the challenge of time. Not every business owner wants to grow their business but all will agree that there just doesn’t seem to be enough minutes in the day to get everything done that they want to. It all comes down to a matter of organizational awareness. Here are a few hacks that will allow you to spend your time more productively and allow you to see all of the time you have wasted in the past.
- The first thing you must realize is that the concept of multitasking is a delusion. In reality, those that engage in it tend to get far less done and the quality of the work is shoddy. The reason is that your focus is constantly split so that you never quite focus on one task enough to actually complete it with any sense of quality.
- Make a list and attack one task at a time. This way, you are entirely focused on that one task. It will get done rather quickly and the quality of the work tends to be superior to any multitasking effort. Group your tasks into batches according to their similarities. Do such things as managing your social media, sending emails and making phone calls all into one specific time frame. They are similar in nature and you don’t have to be constantly moving around or re-focusing on something that is unrelated.
- There are always those tasks that one dreads because of its perceived difficulty. If you have one of those coming up, do it the very first thing in the morning. Get your coffee, say your hellos, and then just do it. Forget returning phone calls or checking your email, do that dreaded task first. Then it is done and you can get on with our day without it hanging over you because you are putting it off.
- Don’t micromanage people. It is a useless waste of your time. If you feel you have to hover over people and constantly review their efforts to get quality work, then you have a personnel problem not a time problem. Also, don’t forget to take breaks, celebrate those small victories and make that to-do list for tomorrow before you leave for the day.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
