I don’t think you’ll walk away from a conversation with a small business owner and not have the issue come up about the lack of time in the day to get everything done. As small business owners we wear many hats at once – sales, marketing, accounting, logistics, purchasing, customer service, human resources. No wonder we fall into bed at night exhausted and feeling overwhelmed and under productive.
Every day there seems to be a new article on how to be manage your time better and how to be more productive. So, that makes me curious as to the tips you, as small business owners, have found to assist you with staying on top of things. Whether it is time allocation, smart phone apps, prioritizing, use of stickynotes, etc.
One of the things that I find that works really well for me, is blocking time out of my day and my week for specific items. This way I stay focused, turn off outside distractions and I am more productive. If I have an appointment scheduled for one day, I try to schedule other appointments on that same day since the day is already interrupted or at least try to schedule them close to each other. This way I can eliminate the frequency of interruptions during my day and keep other days open for in office work. I have not learned to master the scheduling of time to return emails though. I know that would also help increase productivity but I can’t let things sit. If I know I have an email, I have to jump out and read it. One reason I have a smartphone – sounds strange but it lowers my stress level to know what is going on. I hate to be hit with something out of the blue.
Speaking of smartphones, I live and die by my iphone. The apps I use help me stay on top of things. Siri and I have become best friends. She updates my schedule and even sends emails and text messages for me when needed.
So, I have shared a few of my tips with you…your turn to share. I am anxious to learn from you, the true professionals of time management.