6 Tips For Better Time Management In Your Business

Managing a business is a stressful task to begin with. Between managing employees, administration, marketing, finding new clients; it's a full time job. Now add in your core business function and you are overloaded with tasks as a business owner. You may not be able to change the fact that you are constantly busy, but you can better manage your time. The key is to plan ahead to make your days more productive. Here are 6 time management tips we use here at Clarity Business Coaching that we think every business owner should know.

Don’t Improvise- Create a Schedule and Stick to It

If you are not showing up at your office with a clearly defined schedule for the day you are already setting yourself behind. Being disorganized leads to inefficiency and wasting more time. Your time can easily be prioritized based on your current priorities. It can be as simple as creating a bulleted list, or you can  schedule down to the hour what you should be doing. 

You also can create certain days to do certain tasks. For example, Mondays could be for inventory, Tuesdays for calls, etc. You also can try and dedicate your mornings to emails, or your afternoons to strategizing, it’s really up to you and what works best.

>> Schedule Templates <<

 Don’t Multitask

Multitasking may always seem like a good idea, but in the long run it is likely doing more harm than good. Focusing on a single task at a time increases your productivity, and your overall performance. Trying to take care of a task while answering every email you receive, responding to all text messages, and micromanaging everything going on around you makes it hard for you to devote enough attention to your original task’s needs. This can cause you to have to go back and redo the task, wasting more time in the long run. 

Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate

You need to make sure you are hiring people that you trust so you are able to pass on the work you don’t have time for. This gives you time to focus on the tasks you are best at and the ones that mean the most to you. 

Include Rest Time

If you aren’t setting aside time for yourself then you are going to get burnt out very quickly. By having scheduled breaks it will force you to slow down, and then you will be more productive during the times you have scheduled to work. 

 Organize Your Space

A cluttered desk or office makes it more difficult to work effectively, which leads to more time being wasted. When the space around you is organized, it leads to your mental space being more organized and you will be more productive. 

>> Desk Organizer <<

Identify and Eliminate Your Time Wasters

We all have something we catch ourselves doing in order to procrastinate, whether we are aware of it or not. By identifying these time wasters you are then able to catch yourself in the act, and work to eliminate them completely. Often, it can help to keep a journal of what you are doing to waste time, and write in it whenever you are not feeling productive. 

Your time is very valuable as a business owner, and we understand that you need to make the best use of it whenever possible. Hopefully these tips set you on the right track. As always, if you feel like you need more guidance we would love to help you here at Clarity Business Coaching.