4 Steps To Better Time Management for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners

This blog post was originally published on January 18, 2019. It has been updated as of March 13 2020.

7 Tips to Better Time Management

Have you learned how to manage your time as an online small business owner?

It’s something that can be difficult to do with the distractions that come with being online the majority of your workday.

Social media. Emails. Online classes.

These distractions can keep you from being productive and completing the necessary tasks required in your business and those of your clients. Learning time management isn’t something that’s really new, but if you don’t have a system in place to assist you with being productive, you can find yourself off task, and worse, procrastinating.

Here are 7 tips for better time management.

Make A To-Do List

Even if you create a simple to-do list on a piece of paper, create a to-do list each day of the tasks you want to complete. Keeping that list front and center next to you or on your computer as a constant reminder can keep you focused. In addition, a to-do list has always been the most effective way to remind you of what you need to complete on a day-to-day basis.

Schedule Tasks You Need To Complete

Go an extra step and create a schedule after you complete your to-do-list. By creating a schedule, it also gives you an opportunity to take breaks for browsing on social media. But a schedule will keep you on task when you know you need to “check email at 2:30p.” :-)

Delegate Tasks

At some point (hopefully), you will come to a point where you are so busy that you will need help in your business. Do not hesitate to seek help. Whether it’s a virtual assistant, social media manager, Pinterest manager, or someone to help you with email marketing, delegate tasks so your business will continue to grow and scale.

Take Breaks

When you need a mental health break or a vacation, take a break! Don’t burn yourself out to a point where you’re not enjoying your business anymore. This also applies to your daily tasks. When you write out your to-do list and your schedule your tasks, write in breaks.

Avoid Task Switching

Don’t get distracted. Routinely switching tasks guarantees that you will never get anything done, or at the very least, tasks will take you longer to complete. This also applies to getting distracted with social media or checking your email when you should be finishing a project. Use your to-do list and your schedule to give yourself breaks to do the things that distract you. And don’t switch tasks in favor of doing something else. Once you start a task, finish it.

Set Time Limits

If you give yourself a deadline to complete a task or project, stick to it. A task can take one hour, a project can take two weeks. Set time limits and keep them. When you do, you will always be productive.

Track Your Time

After you implement a few time management strategies, start tracking your time. When the time comes for you to outsource (delegate) tasks, you will know exactly how much time it should take to complete the job duties you will outsource. For one or two weeks, write down exactly what you do each and every day (your to-do list will help with this) and track how much time it takes you to complete. This will also help you manage your to-do lists and your schedule.

Original Blog Post…

If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur - you probably have a lot of irons in the fire. Social Media. Talking to Clients. Talking to Suppliers. Payroll if you have employees. Budgeting. The day-to-day tasks you have to complete are endless and ongoing. Being able to effectively manage your time is a must. Knowing what you’re trying to accomplish each and every day is a must if you want to have a successful business. If you struggle with this, there are four things you can do to be more efficient with your time.

Plan

Plan your day. Really. That sounds simple but knowing what you’re going to do the moment you walk into your office gives you focus. I love to-do lists. Whether it’s on your cell phone, an iPad, your computer, or on a piece of paper - write down what you want to accomplish so you can check it off when you’re done.

Prioritize

Once you write down your to-do list - decide what’s important. What needs to get finished first? What is going to hinder you from making money? Satisfying a client’s needs? Moving to the next step of other tasks? Figure that out and you’ll know what to concentrate on first.

Don’t Stop Until You Finish

After you plan and prioritize - Get. To. Work. And don’t stop. Don’t start one task and jump to another before you even finished the first item on your list. The only way to check things off your to-do list is to actually finish them. Yes, you might get interrupted, but don’t you make a to-do list AND prioritized that list for a reason. Complete one task and a time until you get them done. And YES your list is probably un-ending - but as long as you’re ticking things off that list one-by-one, you’re helping your business grow.

Stop Procrastinating

Don’t put things off because you don’t want to do them. There will be some pain points when you’re the boss, the owner, the small business owner, the entrepreneur. But - if you’re a one-wo(man)-show, somebody has to do it and if you haven’t outsourced that task to someone else - you’re the only one who can get the job done. So do it. Maybe you can’t afford to outsource it out just yet because you’re still growing your business, but if you’re not procrastinating, and you’re systematically checking things off your to-do list, one day you will be able to outsource the tasks you like the least to someone else. Someone like me, a virtual assistant or social media manager, an efficient Jill-of-all-trades who thrives on managing those tasks.

Xoxo

Raquell