If you’re an entrepreneur, small business owner or freelancer, as your client base grows, so to will your list of responsibilities. You will need to adopt the approach of conscious time management to be able to keep on top of your varying roles, be that accounting to writing pitches for fresh clients. Here are four conscious time management tips that might help you to be more productive and as they say, “work smarter, not harder”…
Identify Your Priorities
In some cases, it might not be that you don’t have enough time, simply that you’re not really prioritising how you use it. A good priority matrix looks at both the urgency and the importance of the task. Some things might need to be done, but not now, while some tasks might be timely, but not really important enough to take your attention from the problems that matter. Set up a to-do list and apply the Priority Matrix to it to see where you should really be spending your time.
Delegate Where Possible
If you’ve grown your client base or small business to the point that you have team members you can rely on, then you should be willing to lean on them where appropriate and realistic. Make sure you’re not stepping on their fingers, adding more work to an already full plate, but be willing to offer them the chance to step up and take on responsibilities that could help them further their career. Team management software like Teamwork can make it a lot easier to see what any one member of the team is working on at any one moment, helping you choose delegation opportunities more sensibly.
Automate, Automate, Automate
Nowadays, there are apps that can not only make processes much more streamlined but ones that can automate tasks entirely for you. This applies to account apps, HR software, customer service software and more. Furthermore, with tools like Microsoft Power Automate, you have several processes in your workflow that automatically lead from one to the next. This can not only be used to reduce the amount of time you have to spend on routine processes but can help streamline the work of your team, as well.
Outsource As Approriate
You don’t necessarily need to handle everything yourself. Many growing businesses will rely on outsourced services, whether it’s to help them with their IT, to offer them marketing expertise, or to act as virtual assistants who can take care of admin and the front desk. It can help you take care of duties you don’t necessarily have the time for while ensuring professional standards.
Adopting a conscious time management plan to how you structure your workload will help you with finding new opportunities and for growth. If you’re held back by your day to day workload, you might never be able to find the time to do that. Use your time consciously and you will achieve great things!
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