As you’ve probably experienced by now, time management is essential as time is the most valuable asset you possess. And if you’re like most business owners, you’re eager to find ways to maximize your time.
This is why learning and implementing time management practices is so critical for business owners.
Here are some of our best time management tips for business owners:
Delegate When Possible
For founders, their business is their baby. And since you likely went through a stage where you did or were involved in every aspect of your business, it can be hard to delegate.
But the reality is that as your business grows, you won’t have the capacity to be involved in everything. You’ll need to let go and delegate, otherwise, you will become the bottleneck for growth.
Here are three tips to make delegation a little easier:
- Make a list of things only you can do and delegate everything else to a trusted employee.
- Spend time training and working alongside the team members you delegate to, this builds your confidence in them and makes it easier to pass things along.
- Consider hiring an assistant or virtual assistant. By doing this you can delegate all the small tasks you have throughout your day, such as setting up appointments or reading through emails.
Have a Plan to Stay On Top of Time Management
With all the things you have going on, it’s common to feel like you are being pulled in every direction. This is where having a plan becomes a critical business asset.
Having a detailed plan in place can help you prioritize and check more of your action items off your list, leading to more productivity. This will also help you make business decisions more consistent with your goals since it serves as a reminder of where you want to take your business and what needs to be done to get you there.
Here are some of the main reasons why you take the time to create a plan.
- It opens up some of your mental bandwidth.
- Since you no longer need to spend energy thinking about what you need to do, you can focus on getting things done.
- It improves your mindset.
- By checking things off your list, you’ll feel more productive and have a tangible idea of how much you are getting done.
- A plan doesn’t have to be complicated.
- You can do something straightforward or even on a week-to-week basis to make it more manageable.
Eliminate Distractions to Master Time Management
Your time is, without a doubt, your most valuable asset. As a business owner, your time impacts every aspect of your business, which can make any distractions costly.
The problem is that in today’s world, we have dozens of ways to get distracted, and some of those ways can even trick us into thinking that we’re being productive.
Here are some tips to help you eliminate distractions:
- Don’t look at your email all day, or at least minimize the number of times during your day that you check it.
- Email is handy, but rarely are they urgent. As a matter of fact, email shouldn’t be used for anything urgent. So responding immediately will simply take you off task.
- Ignore your smartphone unless you get an actual call.
- Our beloved smartphones have taken over our lives. They can help you be productive, but they are filled with powerful distractions such as social media.
- Minimize the number of meetings you attend.
- Most sessions are often unnecessary and take away both you and your team’s time.
Work During Your Most Productive Times
Everyone has different times of the day where they can be the most productive. It’s different for everyone because it’s determined by personal preference and everyone’s individual physiology.
Working during the most productive time of the day can be the difference between feeling great and energized or feeling rundown, all with the same amount of work.
Experiment with what are the best times of the day for the different types of work you do on a daily basis. Once you’ve found what works, make sure you block out those times for your work and keep them free of meetings or anything else that may get in the way.
Stay on Top of Your Finances
Your finances are the lifeblood of your business. Staying on top of them throughout the year allows you to know exactly where you stand and provides valuable information for making decisions. The problem is, unless you have a strong financial background, this can be a time-consuming and draining task.
To ensure you are using your time effectively, turn to a trusted accounting partner. They’ll help you carry your financial load and you can be confident things are being done timely and accurately.
When working with Argento CPA, you will collaborate to identify what your top priorities are and where you should be focusing your time.
Argento CPA is the perfect option for small business owners looking to maximize their time. Visit https://argentocpa.ca/ to learn more.
