Time Management

Are you pressed for time?  These days it seems at times that the clock is running faster and faster.  Picking it up and shaking it doesn’t help.  The older we get, the faster is seems to move.  At the end of the day we are often left wondering where the time went as nothing seems to have been accomplished.  This is particularly true for people who are trying to build a business in addition to their regular jobs.

Often though, it is just a matter of setting priorities.

Set up a time management strategy to help keep you on track. The best way to do this is to itemize tasks, which you feel need to be accomplished the night before.  Then list those items in the order of their importance. The morning doesn’t seem to work as well for doing this.

With a list of tasks at hand to begin the day, it is easy to begin one and follow it through to completion.  A sense of satisfaction is gained when each item is crossed off as completed and if something is left undone, you know those items of the most importance were completed.

We might need to map out a schedule to follow.  A simple spreadsheet can be used to accomplish this or a daily planner.  Ongoing or daily tasks can then be assigned a time frame to be worked on.  When the time is up, you move on to the next task.  People overall tend to work more efficiently on a set schedule.

Be on the lookout for time thieves.  Sometimes we are diverted from what needs to be done by things that just take up time.  Like that phone call from the friend who seems to have all day to chat.  Make a time slot available to go out for coffee with that friend instead.  More can be covered in person and you’ll have a happy friend who feels valued as well.

Email is another item, which seems to steal time.  Use time in between tasks to spend a few minutes sorting through email.  Strictly monitor that time.  Sometimes, we just have to close our eyes and hit the delete button.  While inspiring curiosity, there are emails we come to know of as time stealers.  We read them even though we know we won’t benefit from them or act on their content.  I’ve been guilty of that myself far too often.

As you grow in your business, you will find areas that you seem to be able to do better than others.  As part of your time management strategy, and if financing permits, this would then be a good time to look at outsourcing or delegating some of the areas that you are not a good fit for.

Schedule in family time.  Too often it is easy to get caught up in the building of a business and forget about why and for whom we are doing it.  You will find the people who share your life to be much more supportive of the time you take to work, if they know that there is also time in your schedule where they are made the top priority.

Setup a system to keep track.  How much time do you spend looking for information on what you’ve signed up for or looking around your hard drive for where you put a file.  Simple spreadsheets that keep a list of memberships and files related to your business will save you a lot of time.  A spreadsheet tracking expenses for the month will save you additional time when it comes time to match those vague charges on a bank statement to your memory of what it was for.  I find printing off a copy of the receipt and putting it in a monthly folder is also helpful.

Realize when you’ve taken on too much. As part of your time management strategy, give yourself permission to say no.  There are many courses, lessons and opportunities available to a new entrepreneur.  But, realistically, how much of it are you able to accomplish in a given stretch.  Too often you end up buying into one thing, and then that is left uncompleted as the next comes along.  You tend to never get back to the one first started.  This is a waste of both time and money.  Learn to say no.  Even if it is the latest, greatest, never to be repeated, once in a lifetime opportunity.

Reward yourself.  When you meet a deadline, accomplish a difficult task, or make your first sale, set aside some time aside to reward yourself.  Yes that is allowed.  This practice will help you in the long run.  If you’ve a reward to look forward to, you will be less likely to procrastinate about doing what needs to be done, and you will recognize that your time management strategies are paying off.

To Your Success,

SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com