Top 10 Tips for Managing Your Time

If there’s one challenge every business owner has, it’s how to fit more hours

into the day…

1. Plan the following day at the end of each day

This is the time your mind is most clear. It’s nearly impossible to think rationally about your priorities

when you’re being pulled in 10 different directions. It’s also a good idea to plan the following week at the

end of each week, plan the following month at the end of each month, and plan the following year at

the end of each year. Make this part of your regular routine.

2. Prioritize your work

Choose the one most important task you need to accomplish each day, put a star beside it on your

to-do list and don’t leave work without completing it.

3. Use a gatekeeper

If at all possible, have someone else screen your visitors and your phone calls. They can then set

up appointments for you that fit into your schedule rather than allowing you to be

disturbed at random throughout your day. If this is not possible for financial reasons, voice-mail

and posted office hours are a good start.

4. Do one thing at a time and complete it before moving on to

something elseMost entrepreneurs move and think at an accelerated

pace. Consequently, they often do not have the patience to finish what they have started. Unfortunately, this approach can be highly unproductive. Successful

entrepreneurs realize this and make a conscious effort to complete what they have started. They know that the value in an activity cannot be fully realized until it has

been completed.

5. Organize your meetings

Whenever possible, schedule meetings in advance, rather than holding them

spontaneously and always use an agenda. Also, make sure your meetings have both

a starting time and an ending time.

6. Learn to say “no”

This is one many entrepreneurs have trouble with. They know they can solve nearly any

problem an employee brings to them, so they are inclined to do so. It just seems easier to say “yes” and take over, than it does to say “no” and leave

the problem with their employee. “No” doesn’t mean you are not interested or that you are not

willing to help, it just means that you are not willing to take your employees problems off of

their shoulders and pile them onto yours.

7. Delegate everything you can

This needs to become part of your ongoing behaviour. New work will show up on your desk on a regular basis. If you don’t need to deal with

it, don’t. If it is important that it gets done, but someone else can do it, then 9 times out of 10

you should pass it along. Keep the true value of your time firmly in mind and you will easily be able to decide if you should take it on or not.

8. Outsource everything you can

Occasionally it may be prudent to delegate work to an outside expert. If you are having computer

troubles, for example, it may make more sense to hire a consultant to solve them for you than to waste time trying to solve them yourself. If a

problem can be solved with money, don’t think of it as a problem, think of it as an expense.

9. Clarify your communication

Miscommunication is responsible for vast amounts of wasted time and money. Not only

does it cause mistakes, but those mistakes also need to be repaired at the company’s expense.

So make sure that when you say something, you only need to say it once. Also, be clear and

include all details when leaving vocal or written messages.

10. Do some “strategic planning” every week

If you don’t start doing this now you will never get around to it, so schedule some quiet time on your calendar and let your employees know you will be unavailable. This makes many entrepreneurs nervous at first. They imagine that if they are unreachable by their employees for an hour then everything will fall apart. If this describes you, then try it for two weeks as an experiment. You may be surprised to find your business still standing when you open up your office

door at the end of that hour.

Mark Wardell is President & Founder of Wardell International , an advisory group that helps business owners plan and execute the growth of their companies. The author of seven business books, Mark also writes regularly for several national & international business publications. Email him at mark@wardell.biz.