5 Time Management Tips for Business Owners

As a business owner, time is your most valuable resource. It is a critical element of being a good business owner. But in reality, good time management skills are something that even the best entrepreneurs struggle with. 

Many first-time business owners or entrepreneurs do not realise the incredible time commitment that goes into running a new business. This can be made even worse if the business owner does not have the time management skills to get the most from every day.

In our blog, find out tips and resources on how you can improve your time management skills and make the most of your business day to help you set your business up for success. 

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Focus on Your Work

When you have work to do, you need to focus on the work in front of you. The modern world is full of distractions and it can be very easy to get off track. You have your phone that not only does calls, texts and emails, but it can also let you watch TV shows, movies and online videos. Beyond that, you might have friends and family members that want your time when you are busy trying to push your business to its goals.

If it is work time, you need to do what you can to eliminate distractions. Maybe put your phone in a desk drawer or turn it off if the task is very important. Don’t check your emails or your phone messages when you are in the middle of an important task. Even if they are for your business, they can wait until the work is done. 

The Pomodoro Technique

Using a tried and tested time management system can be a good way to boost your productivity. The Pomodoro Technique is one system that has helped many entrepreneurs get more from their time. With this system, you work in short bursts of concentration and then take short breaks in between working sessions.

The Pomodoro Technique works by taking a task and setting a timer for 25 minutes. You work uninterrupted until the timer goes off and then take a break for two minutes. However, you do not have to follow the method precisely. If 30 or 45-minute working sessions work better for you, you can adjust the timing to meet your needs.

Learn to Set Priorities

When you look at your to-do list, you will probably notice that some tasks are more important or more urgent than others. If you are going to get more from your time, you need to know how to set priorities. A good way to do this is to take every item on your to-do list and rank them based on their urgency and how important they are for helping you reach your goals. Once you have them ranked, you can take the ones that are most urgent or important and prioritise them in your schedule. 

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Track Your Time

It can be difficult to improve on time management if you do not know where your time is going. Instead of just having a rough idea of how you spent your week, you should start tracking your time. This includes tracking the time it takes to work on projects, read and respond to emails, take phone calls, have meetings and more. If it takes more than a few minutes, it should be tracked.

You can do this the old-fashioned way by writing your time on paper or you could consider using spreadsheets to organize the information. If you want to make it even easier, you should consider time tracking software. This will automate some of the process and some of the software solutions may come with additional time management resources.

Care for Yourself

As a person who is incredibly busy, you might feel like self-care is a luxury you do not have time for. That might feel true right now, but if you neglect your health, it will come back to bite you. If you get sick or overwork yourself, it could undo all of the work you put into time management. It is not that you need to be health-obsessed, but you should do some of the basics. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, set aside time for exercise and make healthy meals for your family. A little bit of self-care can help you avoid physical or mental health issues that could throw your entire business off track.

This article was originally published by Rea Steinbach for Physio Inq.

Want to read more?

Check out our other blogs:

• How to Start a Small Business in Australia
• Soft Skills and Transferable Skills: Why are they Important?
• Happiness as a Leading Business Indicator

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