Small business owners have so much to do every day – the business of your business (or what you’re actually paid to do), marketing, administration (emails, voicemails, etc.), bookkeeping.
The list goes on and on…
And that’s only one part of your life!
In order to have a balanced life, you need to manage your time correctly otherwise you’ll be stressed out, burnt out and frazzled!
Here are the top 3 things I do to make sure my small business runs smoothly:
1. Eat your frogs every day
Every day decide on a maximum of 6 things to do. Before you even put them on your list, ask yourself if they bring you closer to your business goals or not.
Then do the most important task first. It often seems like that one is also the most difficult task. Once that is out of the way, your day gets better, your energy increases and the rest of the day is a breeze.
This way, even if you don’t finish your 6 items, the most important tasks will always be done. I use this method for responding to emails too.
2. Remember Parkinson’s Law
Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
Many times we don’t know how long something will take so we allow hours and hours for simple tasks. If you genuinely don’t know, then start keeping a time log for tasks you do routinely, like writing a weekly Ezine, daily blogging or posting to forums.
Once you have an idea of how long regular tasks take, set a timer when you do them in the future and aim to complete in that set time, every time.
I recently posted on Facebook that I was allowing myself 30 minutes for my monthly pile of filing. Yes, I missed the deadline by 7 minutes but if I’d allowed 2 hours, I’m 100% positive that it would have taken the full 2 hours too.
Do you know how long your standard tasks take to get done?
3. Have monthly, weekly and daily checklists
For anything you do more than once (or plan to delegate to a virtual assistant), make a list as you go along.
My monthly checklists have accounting and computer back-up, my weekly checklists have article submission and blog planning, and my daily checklists have email and so forth.
This is so that you don’t waste time having to rethink your steps of action every day, week or month, or worse still, you forget to do something important. I have a whole system for automating your business (Business Control Journal) as part of my Organise your Business system.
I suggest that you have some self-care items on your lists too. I read every day for pleasure and aside from a 20-minute planning session for the week ahead, I take the weekends off.
If you start implementing these 3 tips on a consistent basis, I guarantee that you’ll free up at least two hours a day.
I’d rather spend an extra two hours with my family; wouldn’t you?
Marcia Francois is a speaker and time management coach who helps small business owners break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and get important projects done. Visit http://www.takechargesolutions.org for your free Organising Success Pack.
