If you are a small business owner who wants to develop it into something bigger you probably know that good time management is your key challenge. Trying to catch up with all the latest tendencies, marketing your web presence, managing employees, communicating with clients, in other words – doing everything that a business of the 21st century should… We know how hard it is! Here are 4 Time Management tips that will guide you through your busy schedule:
1. Prioritize Urgent and Important Tasks
Do you remember the innovation by Allan Mulally, Ford Motors CEO, the famous story about using traffic lights in the office? That’s a perfect example of how implementing simple rules can boost efficiency.
Classify your tasks and those of your employees into Green, Yellow, and Red.
Start with the red ones, move to yellow and finalize with green.
Prioritizing tasks by urgency will allow you to always meet deadlines and accomplish what needs to be done.
So, remember, traffic light system for time management can work wonders!
2. Stick to the 80/20 Time Management Rule
It is already proved that 20% of what we do during a day produces 80% of the results. The important thing here is to be attentive to details.
Figure out what that 20% is compiled of. Increasing the amount of time you spend each day doing that very 20% is likely to lead you to increased productivity.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate
Delegation is one of the main challenging areas while managing a small business.
What shall I delegate? Whom shall I delegate? Shall I spend time checking the task?
Yes, it causes confusion and may get messy. But take a deep breath and read on.
Classify tasks according to their difficulty, group them by what:
- Only you can do
- Another person can do with your help
- Another person can do 100% independently
This will help you identify the percentage of tasks you can get rid of and relieve the burden.
And, most importantly, keep in mind that you will spend some time training employees, but if you’ve got the right person – it is all worth it! Hire people you can trust and delegate responsively.
4. Find the Right Team Collaboration Tool
Even if your team is small, you still need to organize communication efficiently. So, be careful when choosing the right tools. Employees should always be aware of whether you are available for a quick chat or not, when and on which platform.
What is the primary collaboration tool for your small business: is it an E-mail marketing tool? Facebook? Or maybe Slack? Are you consistent with time tracking? Do you need separate software to increase productivity?
Answer these questions and make those answers distinct for yourself.
To Conclude
Once you follow these time management tips for several days, analyze the results at the end of the week. You will see your big-time wastes, distractions, and things getting in the way of developing your business into something bigger. Never give up and optimize your business schedule to the full extent. Believe me, the results will amaze you!
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