One of the toughest parts of owning and managing a small business is the feeling of never having enough time to accomplish everything. To reduce some of your workload, you add a few employees. But, having employees brings a new set of small business owner responsibilities, such as employee hour tracking.
There never seems to be enough time in the day to complete all your small business tasks.
Do these statistics resonate with you?
- Of small business owners, 61% feel like they are racing against the clock.
- Small business owners think they would need 69 hours per week to run their businesses successfully.
- According to one survey, 68% of small business owners spend their time working “in” their businesses instead of “on” their businesses.
Time management is important for business owners. You need to know how to complete your tasks effectively in the time available.
Time management tips for small business owners
To get the most out of the time you have, here are three time management tips for small business owners.
1. Balance your schedule regularly
It is crucial to check your schedule on a regular basis to make sure you balance it with the right amount of time for each activity. For example, if you spend half of your day answering emails, it’s time to reevaluate that task. Or if you’re spending an hour each week chasing down employee timesheets, you clearly need to improve your time and attendance management.
Customize your schedule based on when you are the most productive and alert. Schedule high-priority projects for your peak hours. You might be tempted to accomplish small and easy tasks first. Work on high priority items first, even if they are the most time-consuming.
2. Use cloud-based tools
Are you still doing things the old-school way? Are you still tied down to a desktop computer at your business? Don’t get stuck in the past. There are many cloud-based programs available to use on the internet. You can use cloud-based programs on a desktop computer. And many cloud software programs are responsive, so you can use them on a mobile device. You can keep your business organized from anywhere you have an internet connection.
You can use cloud collaboration tools, such as Slack, to communicate with your employees. You can try project management or online calendars so your team can view deadlines and responsibilities. There are even cloud payroll tools that allow you to update or run payroll anywhere you are located.
3. Organize a little every day
Despite all the file folders and labels available, most business owners think they are disorganized. In reality, organizing your business might not be the problem; making the time to organize might be the culprit.
Mark off at least 15 minutes of each day for organization. Organization tasks might include filing and shredding papers, entering contacts, making your schedule, etc. Being able to access information quickly adds several hours of productivity to your day.
Take action
Mastering time management in business may be the most important thing you can do. If time management seems overwhelming, start with implementing just one of the strategies above. As you get comfortable with that strategy, add another. You will continuously get better at managing your time.
