One of the most important aspects that determine the levels of success in any business is time management. This is even more intense in a startup where the entrepreneur needs to familiarize themselves with the various operations associated with running a business. An entrepreneur who is not keen on managing time the right way might end up not completing some of the important tasks that needs to be done, or by overworking themselves.
The main problem with time management is that people feel that they need to work very, very hard so as to ensure that their business takes off. As a result, they usually become overwhelmed, and fail to take care of some of the important things that need to be done. Following are some helpful time management tips for entrepreneurs:
1. Staying Organized:
One of the issues that make time management difficult for entrepreneurs is lack of proper organization. This means that usually, an entrepreneur does not know clearly which task(s) to start with and which to carry out after. As a result, they find themselves taking on various tasks at the same time.
As a way of eliminating this issue, every entrepreneur should ensure that they prepare a periodic plan of events, be it on a weekly or a daily basis. This plan can be revised and edited as new developments emerge within the period in which it is meant to be implemented. A well thought-out plan of action allows the entrepreneur to be organized and know which tasks to start and finish with.
2. Prioritizing Tasks:
In every business, there are tasks which, if not completed, can lead the whole business to come to a stand still. There are also tasks which are important but not necessarily very crucial to an extent that the business may stop operating if they are not completed. Every entrepreneur, including and especially those operating startups, should ensure that they differentiate between these two types of tasks and then prioritize accordingly.
The tasks that the business cannot operate without should be given the first and foremost priority, and hence they should be completed before the others in line. This, in turn, will add to time management since the entrepreneur will not be needed to complete the most important tasks at the last minute, as they had prioritized the same properly.
3. Identifying Time Wasters:
It is also common for every business to involve itself in some operations that take a lot of time but are not really helpful to the business as a whole. Such operations are usually time wasters where they use up time which could have been utilized to do more productive tasks. An entrepreneur looking to enhance their time management skills should ensure that they identify such operations that take up time, but are not really beneficial to the business.
Time wasters can be identified by looking at an overview of the activities that you have done over a period of time, be it daily or weekly. These activities are usually of the nature where the entrepreneur does the same thing over and over again, such as replying to generic emails or sorting out mundane details for various departments of the business. The ideal strategy to deal with these kinds of time wasters is by applying technology and getting applications that can simplify these tasks for you.
4. Delegation:
Most business people, especially those operating startups, usually find it ideal for them to handle as many operations of their business as they can. This is attributed to the fact that they believe that they are the ones who have the best interest of the business in heart, and hence are the only ones who can get things done. As a result, they end up overworking themselves, consequently decreasing their efficiency.
This can be avoided by delegating various tasks to other people such employees and independent contractors, among others. This results in everyone being assigned just enough tasks that they can handle without feeling overwhelmed. Consequently, everyone is able to efficiently complete their assignments smoothly.
5. Understanding Oneself:
Different entrepreneurs have different characters and personalities; some are able to work continuously for long hours, while others must take breaks in order to stay efficient. If an entrepreneur who needs take breaks to stay efficient attempts to work at a stretch, they will end up spending most of their time not being productive since they are not efficient. The ideal way for them to avoid this issue is by understanding themselves and their capabilities, and coming up with their respective time management strategies accordingly.
Photo Source: Eddy Lee
