Tips for Managing Your Time Better as a Small Business Owner
Even though we all have 24 hours in the day, it often seems as though the time of a small business owner is limited to about half of that. The hours seem to fly by and the sun has set before you have been able to complete half of the things that you need to do. Unfortunately, this is because so many people have trouble managing their time properly. They are wasting a substantial amount of time each day without actually realizing it. You can get a better handle on your time though.
Plan Each Day
Before you start the day, take about 15 minutes to half an hour to come up with your daily schedule of the things that you need to get done. This puts them at the forefront of your mind.
Write Down What You Do
Record what you are doing through each day and how much time each activity takes for a period of two weeks. Then, review what you wrote down. It might surprise you to realize that you are spending more than an hour a day on the Internet when you don’t need to be. Maybe you are spending too much time checking your emails each day as well. Do you take an extra fifteen or twenty minutes at lunch?
By finding all of these little areas where you are wasting time, you will be able to eliminate much of it from your life. This should help to make it easier to find that missing time in your day.
For example, instead of answering every email as it comes to you, schedule a time in the morning and the afternoon to check your emails. This will keep you out of your email folder. Do the same thing with social media, and actually commit to staying away from it.
Expect the Unexpected
Even though you are trying to regain time and manage it better, things do not always go according to plan. Sometimes, something entirely unexpected will happen that throws the entire day off. It’s okay. Those things happen, so try not to get flustered by them. Just get back on track as soon as possible. If you are able to schedule some time for the unexpected, simply by saving time in other areas, it will affect you less.
Learn to Say No
Sometimes, you need to say no when people are intruding on your time. Unless it is a true emergency, then you need to make sure your work is coming first. Say no to switching projects midstream if you can. It will help you to stay focused, which will help with your productivity.
The amount of time you have available each day will differ from the next small business owner. However, with some simple time management skills, it should be possible for nearly everyone to find a little bit of extra time during the day. Time management helps you become more organized, and it can help you to stay sane.