Last Updated on August 17, 2017 by Tim
If you are about to start your own business, then the one issue that you’ll surely struggle with time management. For an entrepreneur, the ‘To-Do’ list is never-ending. There are indeed too many priorities in your radar ranging from emails to phone calls to the last minute changes in execution plans. All these add up to a jammed packed days where you may end up feeling like you are running in low productivity loops, with not much accomplished.
To help you take control of your time and assist you in getting more done in an efficient manner, we’ve got 5 time management hacks especially for entrepreneurs.
Delegate and outsource to accelerate growth
Wearing many hats and indulging into multi-tasking is great when things have just kick-started, funds aren’t flowing in and consequently you are low on staff, consultants and vendors. Unfortunately, when your startup begins to grow, jumping from one role to another not just wastes your time but hampers your productivity as well.
Just because you’re there at the helm of your ship, doesn’t necessarily imply that you are equipped to get every job done that needs to be done. The point behind you hiring people is that they are better and smarter than you in their respective areas of expertise. So go ahead and delegate tasks to them. This leaves you with more time to focus on things leadership, pitching, negotiating, sales and planning.
Get your hands off the time-wasters
Catching up with your gang on social media, constantly checking your mail inbox, grabbing a coffee break more often than required, checking the fantasy league stats and scores and monitoring everyone’s progress are all instances of the common time-wasters you need to do away with. As an entrepreneur, it’s important for you to set personal policies for yourself that helping you in keeping away the unproductive habits so that you can make better use of your time.
Here are some ways you can deal with these.
Check your email only thrice a day in office. Get your hands on a bigger coffee mug or water bottle for periodic refreshment while at work. Devote no more than 20 minutes on social media during the work hours. Trust your staff to come to you if your intervention is needed or check up on them via email.
Say ‘No’ more often
While agreeing to do every additional task for others can be well received in both professional and personal settings, but at the end it’s the more crucial tasks of yours that are going to suffer.
Over committing ourselves to social outings and investor meets can easily lead to our real priorities falling by the wayside. So say ‘No’ to others politely until you are done with all the high priority tasks from your end and then do favors for others.
Saying ‘No’ also helps you in dealing with stress related to overworking. Studies have shown that refusing to overwork also helps in boosting your confidence, productivity, and peace of mind.
Put life on Autopilot
It is true that knowledge, creativity, and talent and hard work are essential ingredients to be a success in life, but the savvy modern entrepreneur knows how to tap the power of technology to take care of little tasks that can swallow up a major chunk of your time.
These include automating your banking routines with recurring payments and balance transfers, automating content scheduling on social media and using a weekly planner to manage your task and prioritize them according to urgency, size, collaboration level etc. By using mobile reminders to remind you when you have an appointment with your doctor or when you have to adjust your home utilities are some hacks to acing your daily productivity levels and attention spans.
Profit from your lunch and travel time
Many entrepreneurs, especially the introvert ones, prefer to break their bread at their desk or slip away for a solitary bite. There are others who travel to and from home alone. This is a missed opportunity for a startup owner.
Lunch and travel is a time when you can learn and deepen relationships with people not necessarily with your team members, but investors, customers, and suppliers as well. If you are struggling for spending time with loved ones, use this opportunity to connect them better. This will help you in keeping both your business and personal relationships healthy.
The bottom line is that every successful business owner is an excellent time manager who follows a process that aids them in achieving their goals as efficiently as possible. Entrepreneurship is roller coaster ride and if you aspire to enjoy this ride go ahead and take control of your time by delegating, staying away from time wasters, saying ‘No’, putting life on autopilot and tapping your lunch/travel hours.
Author Bio: Chris Jordan is the Marketing Manager at Weekplan, a weekly planner web application, used by over 300K users. Read more about Weekplan here.
Also read: 10 Tips For Securing A Small Business Loan
