As a solo entrepreneur, whether you are just starting out or in business for quite some time, you often encounter the following problem: “Running out of time”.
There are just so many different things that need to be taken care off on a daily basis… and sometimes the most important things like building your business and getting more clients easily slip through the cracks OR are intentionally put on the back burner.
This not only causes frustration, but also hinders your success.
With only 24 hours a day to your disposal, how can you ensure you get everything done, be more successful and accomplish more in one day?
Developing a smart and effective time management strategy is a great start to get the important things done and still have enough time to do marketing and grow your business successfully.
5 Ways I Use To Create a Smart Time Management Strategy
1. PLAN & PRIORITIZE YOUR DAY:
Spend 10 minutes at the beginning of the day to plan and prioritise all tasks / projects you want to complete that day. Ask yourself: Of all the things that are on your to-do list, what 3-5 things will you complete before end of day to get closer to your goals? Those will be your priorities for the day.
2. ALLOCATE SPECIFIED TIME PER TASK
For every project/task you intend to do, allocate a specific period of time in which to do it. If you do not have a specific defined work period you will find that work will expand to fill the time available and you will not be managing time – it will be controlling you. If the task is large, break it down to ‘bite size’ pieces and allocate a time to each piece. By breaking a big task into smaller sections will help you to assess the results or outcomes and you’ll feel good about your achievements.
3. SCHEDULE SPECIFIC TIME IN YOUR DIARY EACH WEEK TO WORK ON YOUR BUSINESS
As a service professional, most of our time is spend on working with clients. But when you want to grow your business, you have to make time to work on your own business as well. Thus make time each day or each week for business development and marketing activities. These specific time slots can be used for re-evaluating your goals and plans; developing new plans for growing your business and getting more clients & taking specific actions to implement all those plans.
4. IDENTIFY YOUR 3-5 BIGGEST TIME WASTERS DURING A TYPICAL DAY
Take note of all the activities during a normal work day that eat away your time. This can be things like watching TV during the day, spending hours on social media, lunch / coffee with friends, emails, searching the internet, playing online games, running to the shop etc. Make the decision to set boundaries and put a pause button on these time wasters at least during your normal working hours.
5. SET UP SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
To dramatically increase your productivity and profits, start using and leveraging systems to automate or make your routine tasks easier to handle. These systems can include things as simple as making lists; using a calendar to effectively plan your time and managing your yearly/monthly/weekly projects; creating templates for routine activities like answering questions via email and automating some marketing activities like social media updates.
Charles Bruxton wisely said:
“You will never “find” time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.”
Thus, if your income is stagnating and you are not making progress in your business, it is most likely that you can spend your time more effectively. Successful time management i.e. making time for the important things in your business, getting your focus back and spending time on those things that will have the biggest positive impact on your business and eliminating all the time wasters is a really smart strategy to more clients and a growing business.
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