Being Time Poor Will Be A Thing Of The Past With These Tips
If there was one thing any business owner, or anyone for that matter, could do with a little more of it I bet the majority would say time. We all have the same number of hours in the day. We need to sleep for a portion of that time, we need to eat, socialise and be with our family, so often you can find that you feel like you don’t have enough time to fit everything in. In this article we look at how you can regain a little more time in your day.
If there was one thing any business owner, or anyone for that matter, could do with a little more of it I bet the majority would say time. We all have the same number of hours in the day. We need to sleep for a portion of that time, we need to eat, socialise and be with our family, so often you can find that you feel like you don’t have enough time to fit everything in. However, everyone gets the same, sometimes it is just how you manage that time that can really affect your output and what you ultimately achieve in that day. Do you find that you are time poor? Do you feel like you don’t have enough time to do everything? Then fear not. I wanted to share with you some of the things you can do to help you make being time poor a thing of the past.
Monitor your day for 24 hours
One of the first things you could consider doing would be to monitor your day for 24 hours. It may sound a little crazy, but it is important to highlight how you actually spend your time. You may think you use it wisely, but only keeping a log will identify this. Log everything from the time you get up, how long it takes you to get dressed, and exactly what you do through the day and evening. While it will highlight what you do it will also identify where you can save time, or put it to better use.
Outsourcing when needed
Many business owners can be a victim of their own crime. By this I mean that they can be too involved in every aspect of the business when sometimes it is better to save time for yourself and outsource certain aspects to keep things running smoothly. You are one person. Things like it support, digital marketing or website creation, they could all be outsourced to capable companies that will have more time to dedicate to it. There is no point spreading yourself thin and finding that you are doing a mediocre job in every way when you could be doing a fantastic job focusing on what you can implement and where you have the most power for change.
Time blocking
Now is the time to start thinking about your time, now that you are more informed with how you spend it. Time blocking is a great way to prioritise and work through multiple tasks. Especially if some of them are very similar. For example, you may have to take pictures for your business, so rather than keep going back to it, why not time block out the time you need to complete the task in full. It frees up extra hours in the week for others, ad you can actually tick something off your growing list of things to do.
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Prioritising your workload
It is so important for you to prioritise your workload. So in the morning a good suggestion is to look over your list and number them in priority order. This gives you the opportunity to really work on what you need to do first, rather than wasting your time on needless tasks that don’t necessarily need to be done soon. We can all be guilty of favouring the tasks that take the least time or effort, but actually making sure you do the things that need to be done first can help you to become far more productive.
Working at your most productive times of the day
There are times in the day that you will find that you will work better. Some people find that it is first thing in the morning, others find it is in the night. Figure out what works better for you and then take action. If it is the morning egt up an hour earlier and start working. Once it becomes a habit your body will acclimatise to your new timings. If you work better at night then take advantage of that and don’t schedule things for early in the morning so you can also get the necessary rest you need.
Don’t snooze your alarm
Snoozing your alarm is bad news. But yet so many of us do this every morning. It can really start your day off on the wrong foot as the extra little minutes of sleep you do get can actually make you feel worse than how you felt when your alarm first chimed. Avoid the snooze button and get up, you will feel better for it and will gain that extra time in the morning to put to good use.
Avoid using negative language
Many of us can be guilty of being negative every now and again, but one of the biggest issues people have is using negative language on a day to day basis. Surprisingly, telling yourself that you have no time will make that phrase become your truth. You are affirming to yourself that you have no time so you will continue to make choices to that effect. Instead, be positive with your thinking and saying that you can and will achieve what you have set out to do. Use the positive words, the “can” and the “will” it should help you to feel more focused and determined to make things a success.
Could you work on the morning and evening commute?
Finally, you may find that there is extra time in your day that you are not fully using to your advantage. Your commute. If you don’t drive then you have the perfect opportunity to jump on your smartphone, tablet or laptop and work through emails, figure out your day or get on with some work you have to do instead of indulging in the morning or even paper. If you do drive, you could still safely connect your phone to your vehicle and talk via bluetooth to people. Perhaps arranging meeting or responding to emails verbally.
I hope that these tips help you to better manage your time.