Otherwise known as… how to knock the competition bandy whilst having more free time to have fun and spend with your family and friends. The primary aim for any small business owner is to make more profits. In order to be successful in business, time management techniques are critical.
Follow these seven essential steps:
1. Goals
What do you want? Why do you want it? If what you’re working on isn’t taking you where you want to go… you’re ultimately wasting your time. I consistently see people talking about time management habits without ever mentioning this first important step.
2. Break big projects into smaller tasks
This makes getting things done more manageable. It will reduce the risk of you becoming overwhelmed by your workload. Use project management software such as Mindmanager. This gives you an excellent visual overview of the tasks that need to be successfully completed. You can also see: In what order they logically need to be done. Who has been given responsibility for each of them. When they need to be completed. And how you will measure successful completion.
3. Prioritisation.
Prioritize the importance of the tasks. This depends on not only what will create the most profit for your company. But also what tasks need to be completed before others can even begin.
4. Outsourcing/delegation
Outsource or delegate all non-critical, time-consuming tasks. The only tasks you should be doing are the ones that create the most profit and value for your company. Do the tasks that you are best at and most enjoy… and offload the rest.
5. Systematization.
This applies to any task or activity which needs to be repeated within your business. Document step-by-step, the most efficient way to carry out the task. Make this documentation available to all your employees. As more efficient and effective ways are discovered to complete this task…update your documentation. The ultimate goal is that every task is carried out in the same efficient way every single time.
6. Time planners.
Have one for every working day, week, month, and the forthcoming year. Put the tasks that need to be completed into your planers based on your previous prioritisation. Stick rigidly to these planners. Make sure you that you successfully complete each day’s tasks. There will always be times when this is not possible. Update your planners appropriately. Cross off each task is its completed. Move on to the next task straightaway.
7. Set a time limit for each task
Your accuracy of judging the required times will get better with practice. Unfortunately, the human mind as a habit of filling the allocated time you set for any activity. Tell yourself you need an hour to complete it. An hour it will take. Tell yourself you need all morning, and surprise surprise, all morning it takes. Use an egg timer. Find out what the most efficient working period of time for you is. For most people it is between 40-90 minutes. When you complete each time period, get up and walk around for five minutes. Get the blood flowing. Move on to the next allotted time period.
These may sound like relatively simple time management techniques. The fact is they are incredibly powerful. You don’t need to over complicate things.
Sit down next Sunday and plan your working week using these seven steps. The following Saturday review how much you have achieved. I think you’ll be shocked and pleased at how much you’ve achieved in your business.