You probably wear a lot of hats when it comes to your business. Whether it’s hiring staff, checking inventory, or selling your product, business owners are accustomed to fulfilling countless responsibilities every day. It can be challenging for business owners to effectively manage their time. Proper time management creates a chain reaction of increased efficiency. Here are 3 tips to make you feel like you have more hours in your day:
Delegate Tasks And Responsibilities
A major key to successful time management is delegation. Delegating tasks to trusted staff is crucial for not only saving time, but allowing yourself to focus on urgent tasks directly related to the bottom line. First, figure out what’s eating up your time and what you don’t like working on. From there, you can train and empower staff to take control of certain projects. Sticking to the pursuit of things you know and love will create a better synergy for your business.
Set Priorities According To What Is Both Urgent And Important
As President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” The best way to handle your day to day, is to always tackle important and urgent tasks immediately. Priority setting should fall within the realm of handling what needs to get done, as opposed to what you want to get done. A great place to start is dividing your to-do list into 4 quadrants:
- Urgent and Important
- Not Urgent and Important
- Urgent and Not Important
- Not Urgent and Not important
From here you can make numbers 1 and 2 your priorities. “The end goal of the Eisenhower Method is to help you filter the noise from your decisions and concentrate on what really matters to you.” – The Mission
Among setting priorities, work-life-balance is an imperative component that usually takes a back seat. We know you can’t schedule a 2 week trip to the Bahamas, but add in some ‘white space’ to your calendar. Pencil in intentional open gaps of time, every day, to give yourself a moment to clear your head or catch up on an email.
Utilize Apps, Technology and Resources
In a technology driven society, there are a plethora of apps and websites that are ready to digitally assist you. The Yelp App for Business Owners allows you to respond to reviews on the go and answer incoming customer inquiries in real time. Asana is a great tool to use team-wide, to keep track of who is doing what and ensure timely project completion. Paypal Here allows businesses to get paid on the go. Check out some other companies that make online reputation tracking a breeze. People are resources too – amidst the chaos of running a business, asking for help is always a great place to start!
The information above is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice and may not be suitable for your circumstances. Unless stated otherwise, references to third-party links, services, or products do not constitute endorsement by Yelp.