A lot of our days go something like this…
We check off task after task, then new tasks come and we conquer them too.
All of a sudden it’s the end of the day and you felt like it was a productive one because you were so busy completing what seemed like endless tasks.
But upon looking at what you haven’t done…
An even longer list of unfinished tasks makes you feel like you were just busy and you’re still as far away from your goals as you were yesterday.
Being able to stay on top of all your tasks and moving your business forward to reaching your ultimate goal can often seem overwhelming.
I find this is one of the biggest problems engulfing small businesses and what is holding them back from taking the business to the next level.
Here are some time management tips that will help you prioritise what’s important and have you growing your business without added time and effort.
Organise your work with the Eisenhower Matrix
Before former US President Dwight Eisenhower was in office, he was a successful military commander.
What made him successful was his ability to be able to effectively manage his time when confronted with a myriad of decisions on a daily basis something he credits to his use of a time management matrix.
The Eisenhower matrix is a simple tool that allows you to put your finger on the pulse of all the day-to-day tasks that come up as you run your business.
Get into the habit of categorising your tasks within this matrix so you don’t get caught up in tasks that are ultimately wasting your time.
The tasks you shouldn't be doing
Time wasting tasks are those in quadrants 3 and 4 of the Eisenhower Matrix.
Those tasks that appear urgent but in reality aren’t important, such as a phone call, are those ‘quadrant 3’ ones that are likely where more of your time and energy are spent than should be the case.
Tasks like this can easily be delegated to a capable team member or outsource if you’re a one man band.
Any tasks that are in quadrant 4, you probably know you shouldn’t be doing them as they are all are those things you do when you’re procrastinating.
Having a work life balance is important, so I’m not telling you to eliminate or do less of quadrant 4, but it’s about finding that proper balance.
Are you spending hours surfing the net all day at work and having to catch up on your actual work later during what should be me time or family time?
Once you’ve created that matrix and done a ‘brain dump’ of all your tasks within the context of the matrix, it becomes easier to manage your time and make the most of your working hours.
How much time do you spend on planned but non urgent tasks?
All this wasted time on those ‘quadrant 3’
tasks tend to take away from ‘quadrant 2’.
These planned but not urgent tasks are
very important as they will contribute
to the growth of the business long term.
They include things such as working to improve
your business knowledge in order
to improve your business in the future.
It’s important to block out time each
week so that you’re able to work on this.
It’s like saving money, you may not see the benefit straight away
since it’s just taking away from what you can do today
but after a lot of time of sticking to the habit you’ll reap the reward!
This is what I help with as a business coach and it’s why I always
suggest to my clients to run our coaching sessions at my office,
so that session is uninterrupted time to work on, not in, their business.
If you would like to get your time back and start working on the important task of growing your business and reaching your long term business goals,
or call 0427 214 502
The key is in not spending time, but in investing it. Stephen R. Covey