As entrepreneurs we think we have to be financial planners, web designers, managers, purchasing agents, and much more in one person. We may also have many obligations for our families and friends and want to accomplish everything with perfection. Being everywhere and tackling every task that comes along our way will not always be possible and you may even feel you dug yourself into a hole. That is the time to reconsider your time management.
When it is obvious that you cannot to complete everything that comes along your way you should ask yourself what the best way is how you can utilize your time and energy today. I suggest sorting all things you want to accomplish in three different lists. The first list contains items that are absolutely vital to keep your business running. The second contains all things that go along with your long term goal. For example if you wanted to write a book and count on writing a chapter each day, this would be list two. Finally the third list contains all these tasks that are not absolutely necessary or you things you would do because they are either easy or nice to do. Prioritize list two and three. Then for the day complete all items on list one, half of the items on list 2 and finally one or two from list three. When you have completed these you can tackle to finish items on list two and then three. The point is that by finishing the most crucial items first you make sure your business keeps running and it'll probably give you a huge boost of accomplishment when you completed all these.
Another tactic is creating one list of all tasks for your week with sorted priorities. Select your five top priorities and start completing these first. When you are done reconsider the remaining tasks and complete the five next most important tasks next. The satisfaction of having completed the most important things on your list will give you the sense of accomplishment that will easily motivate you to continue checking off more items from your list.
By splitting up larger task into smaller more digestible junks you can also create some momentum for your day. Avoid writing 'complete budget' as one item. Rather split it up in manageable portions by assigning each budget heading a subtask. Don't answer all mail but answer the first fifth of letters, then the second and so forth. With this method you make sure you always have the feeling you accomplished something while you are into completing the main task. Whereas 100% of the time working on the main task you probably feel like you did nothing at all.
Low levels of energy are often caused by us not taking care of our physical and psychological needs. By being so caught up with our business we often alienate us from everyone and easily let ourselves go with the argument that what we do is more important than having fun with friends or working out. But nothing is more important than being healthy and sane. Thus, include high priority task into your time management from the social and health sectors. Make it a task to meet with friends, go for a romantic dinner and/or spend some extra (unexpected) time with your kids. All this will not only make sure you can regain some of the energy you lost but also keep your environment happy. An extra plus!
Setting boundaries is very important to make sure you don't burn out. One boundary can be a maximum number of hours you work per day or the number of hours you work without a break. Meaning that just when you reached these maximum numbers of hours you stop working no matter whether are done or not. When you are honest with yourself you know that at a certain degree of exhaustion or sleep deprivation you can as well stop working because it doesn't change your output significantly. That is actually one of the best habits in terms of time management of successful entrepreneurs. They know when it is enough.
Outsourcing of certain well defined tasks is another active measure of successful time management. Look at all the hats you want to wear and select those you can easily give someone else. And if it is just a friend or family member for a certain time, you will see that you are not always indispensable. And this is a very important lesson to learn. You cannot be everywhere and some people may actually be more talented in doing advertising, accounting, etc. and be worth the money spent.
When it is obvious that you cannot to complete everything that comes along your way you should ask yourself what the best way is how you can utilize your time and energy today. I suggest sorting all things you want to accomplish in three different lists. The first list contains items that are absolutely vital to keep your business running. The second contains all things that go along with your long term goal. For example if you wanted to write a book and count on writing a chapter each day, this would be list two. Finally the third list contains all these tasks that are not absolutely necessary or you things you would do because they are either easy or nice to do. Prioritize list two and three. Then for the day complete all items on list one, half of the items on list 2 and finally one or two from list three. When you have completed these you can tackle to finish items on list two and then three. The point is that by finishing the most crucial items first you make sure your business keeps running and it'll probably give you a huge boost of accomplishment when you completed all these.
Another tactic is creating one list of all tasks for your week with sorted priorities. Select your five top priorities and start completing these first. When you are done reconsider the remaining tasks and complete the five next most important tasks next. The satisfaction of having completed the most important things on your list will give you the sense of accomplishment that will easily motivate you to continue checking off more items from your list.
By splitting up larger task into smaller more digestible junks you can also create some momentum for your day. Avoid writing 'complete budget' as one item. Rather split it up in manageable portions by assigning each budget heading a subtask. Don't answer all mail but answer the first fifth of letters, then the second and so forth. With this method you make sure you always have the feeling you accomplished something while you are into completing the main task. Whereas 100% of the time working on the main task you probably feel like you did nothing at all.
Low levels of energy are often caused by us not taking care of our physical and psychological needs. By being so caught up with our business we often alienate us from everyone and easily let ourselves go with the argument that what we do is more important than having fun with friends or working out. But nothing is more important than being healthy and sane. Thus, include high priority task into your time management from the social and health sectors. Make it a task to meet with friends, go for a romantic dinner and/or spend some extra (unexpected) time with your kids. All this will not only make sure you can regain some of the energy you lost but also keep your environment happy. An extra plus!
Setting boundaries is very important to make sure you don't burn out. One boundary can be a maximum number of hours you work per day or the number of hours you work without a break. Meaning that just when you reached these maximum numbers of hours you stop working no matter whether are done or not. When you are honest with yourself you know that at a certain degree of exhaustion or sleep deprivation you can as well stop working because it doesn't change your output significantly. That is actually one of the best habits in terms of time management of successful entrepreneurs. They know when it is enough.
Outsourcing of certain well defined tasks is another active measure of successful time management. Look at all the hats you want to wear and select those you can easily give someone else. And if it is just a friend or family member for a certain time, you will see that you are not always indispensable. And this is a very important lesson to learn. You cannot be everywhere and some people may actually be more talented in doing advertising, accounting, etc. and be worth the money spent.
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