If only there were enough hours in the day to give you time to accomplish everything you need to do.
If only you didn’t have to work overtime or take work home with you to get things done.
If only you didn’t feel exhausted every day because of your busy workload.
If only…
Do you relate to this? If so, you’re not the only one. Many business owners work themselves to the bone each day, toiling away to ensure their business makes a profit and succeeds in the industry they are involved in. However, it is possible to take some of the pressure off you, giving you time to complete what you need to achieve without the risk of burnout because of a busy schedule.
Here are some tips to help you.
Save time on your commute. We aren’t going to go into detail here, as you can read more on how to do this here. By getting to work faster, you will be able to start work early, and that means you have a fighting chance to get all of your work done in the day.
Prioritise your day. Create a list of everything you need to achieve during the day, and what you will need to do to accomplish them. Focus on the tasks that have a deadline attached, and if there is anything that can be left until another day, then schedule it for another time. There’s no point you stressing over things that don’t have to be a priority, and working overtime because of them.
Eliminate time wasters. Your time is precious, so don’t let anything impinge upon it. If there is anything that prevents you from getting work done, take steps to stop yourself from falling prey to them. Time wasters include pointless meetings, officer chatter, checking Facebook (for non-work purposes), and spending more time than is necessary on the phone.
Take a break. It’s only fair that you take a couple of breaks a day, including time out for lunch. While you might consider this another time waster – surely your time is better spent working than taking time away from your desk – you will actually benefit from a little rest. Your productivity levels will slow down when you overwork yourself, but by having a few minutes of fresh air and an opportunity to stretch your legs, you will return to your workload with renewed energy, giving you the ability to complete tasks faster and more efficiently.
Delegate specific tasks. There are jobs you need to do during the day and other jobs that can be passed onto your co-workers. Provided you aren’t overburdening them, pass on any tasks that they are equipped to deal with. This will free up your day, giving you more time to concentrate on what you need to do, and freeing up your mind from the stress that can inhibit your productivity.
Outsource some of your tasks. Many business owners consider outsourcing an unnecessary expense. Why outsource when tasks can be done in-house? Simple. Outsourcing will free up your time, and give you the opportunity to concentrate on the tasks you are actually good at. An experienced company will get the job done faster than you would have been able to, and probably at better quality. Despite the expense, you may make a profit because a) you will be able to meet deadlines faster and take on more projects as a result, and b) get more customers and clients because your reputation for quality work will become known.
Free up your marketing time. Marketing is an integral part of your business, but it can be time-intensive. However, you can reduce the time you spend on marketing in at least two ways. The first is to outsource this area of your business, and you can use the following linked guide to learn more about some of the best inbound marketing agencies available to you. The second is to use something like HootSuite which is useful for your social media marketing. With a centralised dashboard with all of your social networking sites in one place, you can swap between them quickly without wasting time manually logging on to each. You can also schedule your marketing posts, so you don’t need to waste time during the day logging on to send something.
Have a tidy desk(top). Don’t waste time looking for a pen, paper clip, or whatever else you need for your duties. By keeping a tidy and uncluttered desk, with neatly organised sections for your office essentials, you won’t run the risk of losing time because you can’t find something. The same applies to your computer desktop. Organise your files so you don’t spend longer than you should trying to find any document you need to have access to.
Save time on meetings. You don’t need to waste time traveling across town for meetings, as you can use communication software such as Skype to conduct them from your office space. When it comes to meetings with your office colleagues, perhaps set the meeting for first thing in the morning, saying everything that needs to be said then, so you are free to get on with your day afterwards with less distractions. And be strict. Much time is wasted because of waffle and banter during meetings, so try and encourage everybody to stick to the point and to a time limit.
Automate business tasks. There are apps and software tools for nearly every aspect of your business, and they can make light work of those tasks that would otherwise use up your valuable time. From accountancy tasks to managing your emails, check out this list for the range of programmes that will free up your day to concentrate on those other jobs that can’t (or shouldn’t) be automated.
Go home on time. Provided you have met your deadlines for the day, go home without taking any work with you. You need your downtime, as you will be slower at work the following day otherwise because of tiredness and overworking yourself. If you can relax and spend time doing things you enjoy, you should return to work the next day invigorated, ready and able to get on with the workload ahead of you.
We hope these ideas were helpful to you, but let us know if you have any other time-saving tips that will help our readers. Thanks for reading!
