There’s much to love about running your own business, but there’s no denying that it can be pretty intense. There are just so many tasks that need to be completed! And sometimes, it feels like you’re always racing against the clock just trying to get everything done. That’s why it’s really important that small business owners are looking at save-timing actions. By making a few changes to your operations, you might just find that you have a lot more time to work on the tasks that’ll really help to push your business forward. Below, we take at a few tried and tested things you can do that’ll free up time throughout the day.

What Are You Trying to Achieve?

One of the reasons why business owners can struggle with time is that they lack a clear vision about where they’re going. If you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve in clear terms, then you’ll be liable to steer off course. This helps save time because when you know what you’re trying to do, you can cut out the tasks that don’t contribute to finding success. It sounds simple, but it does make a big difference. Just by thinking about your broader mission can make you realise that you’ve been putting some all-important energy and resources into tasks that don’t help achieve that goal.

What’s Wasting Your Time?

It’s normal for us to just go with the flow when it comes to our businesses. So many things have to be done that it always feels as if we’re busy, and then before we know it, the day is over. But it’s worthwhile taking a critical look at your day, and seeing exactly how you spent your time. So try this for one day: keep tabs on what you’re doing, and write it down. That includes things like looking at your phone and dealing with personal matters while you’re at work. Once you can see it all down there on paper, it might become clear that you’re really not working as much as you thought you were. It’s all good and well spending eight hours at the office, but it won’t count for all that much if you’re only actively working for three hours. Things like mindlessly browsing the internet, waiting around, and chatting with employees can all suck up more time than you think.

Hiring an Additional Employee

Some businesses are reluctant to hire an additional (or even a first) member of staff because they see it as an unnecessary expense. But this is the wrong way to think about things. Instead, you should see your staff as an investment that’ll eventually allow you to make even more money. If there’s only one employee at your business, then you’ll have far too much on your plate. Better to bring another set of hands on board. You’ll notice the positive impact on your time management almost instantly. And with all that extra time, you can focus on doing the tasks that help to push your business forward.

Outsource Certain Tasks

Of course, it’s not as if you’ll be able to hire an employee for every task that needs to be completed. For those things, take a look instead at outsourcing. This is a highly efficient way to free up considerable amounts of time and up your professionalism. When you look at the jobs that are taking up the bulk of your time, you’ll find that many of them don’t have all that much to do with pushing your business forward; they’re just tasks that have to be completed. Outsourcing helps because you’ll effectively be handing over the task to another business to handle for you. And just as with your employees, this will give you more time to focus on more important jobs.

Get Smart With Marketing

Of all the tasks that you have to get right, none are quite as important as your marketing. This is what’ll help to bring new people on board, which means it has a direct influence on the overall success of your business. But part of the problem is that you can spend a lot of time and money on your marketing, yet see only minimal results. It’ll be much better to use a system that is both effective and time-saving. Ringless voicemail marketing is one such system. Learn how to leave a voicemail without calling, and you’ll be able to reach large numbers of people in a short amount of time. You’ll also know that anyone who gets in contact with you after you’ve left the voicemail will already be interested in what you have to offer, which means more qualified leads.

Call it a Day

This may sound counterintuitive, but sometimes the best way to save time is to pack up your belongings and call it a day. If you’re overly tired, then you’ll work nowhere near as efficiently as you would if you were feeling refreshed and alert. So instead of pushing through and working slowly (and more poorly), it’s best to take a break. You’ll find that you’re able to work much better the following morning after a night of rest. Another danger effect with trying to push through tiredness is that it has a negative ripple effect; it’ll mean that you’re still tired the following day, which will again result in wasted time.

Daily Tasks

We mentioned earlier how tasks could often just fill up the day. Your day is going to be busy one way or another! So it’s best to make a plan about what you hope to achieve. When you get to the office, sit down and come up with three things you want to achieve -- with one task standing as a priority. And then get to work on them. You could have everything finished by early afternoon, at which point you can just let whatever tasks come your way take control.

Choose Your Clients

Common wisdom says that you should try to take on as many clients or customers as you can. But this isn’t strictly true: sometimes it’s better to be more selective about who you’re working with. Ultimately, you’ll find that you’re able to deliver much better work if you’re putting your time and energy into delivering outstanding work for one or two clients, rather than satisfy ten different clients. You’ll have a better grasp of your time, and your clients will ultimately be happier with the work that you deliver too.

Put Your Phone Down

We’re probably all more addicted to our smartphones than we realise. We just open them up so much, even when there’s no message or phone call to respond to. But just think about how much time this repeated action may be costing you. We’ve all opened up our phone and then, fifteen minutes later, realised that we just wasted time on social media or whatever else. As well as time-wasting, it also knocks you out of your rhythm -- and you’ll have to work hard to get it back each time. So unless you really need your phone all day long, look at keeping it out of sight and out of mind when you’re at the office, at least when you’re working on the really important tasks.

Hit the Ground Running

Another issue that business owners can have is that by the time they’re really alert and working well, it’s already 11 am. If you’re arriving at the office full of tiredness, then you’re going to waste time! You’ll be working more slowly; it’s just unavoidable. So make sure that you’re fully alert and ready to work well when you get to the office. Your morning routine can really help with this, as can getting a good night’s sleep. In the morning, look at going for a short jog and then taking a cold shower. Those two will wash any feelings of tiredness well away and can give an amazing amount of mental clarity.

Daily Fatigue

That’ll take care of the morning, but what about throughout the day? No matter what your morning was like, we’ll all hit those tired little slumps. When you’re becoming a little mentally fatigued, it’s always tempting to just sit there and play on your phone for longer than you’d like. So look at adopting healthier practices that’ll jumpstart your body and mind. A short walk around the block will be much more effective, and only take a couple of minutes. An apple is also a great snack since it delivers a slow release of energy (as opposed to coffee, which does release energy but then delivers a crash).

Conclusion

Incorporate the tips that we’ve outlined above, and you’ll find that you feel much better about your time management. Though it’s not always discussed, time is one of the bigger problems that affect small business owners. If you can wrestle back control, as you can with the advice above, then you’ll find that you’re calmer, and better able to put the plans in place that’ll lead to future business success.

HOW SMALL BUSINESSES CAN SAVE MORE TIME