Did you know small businesses operating with a few numbers of employees (e.g., 1-9 employees) spend an average of 15 hours weekly on complex paperwork like financial matters? Solopreneurs rank last on this list, with a higher percentage (over 30%) of their weekly time spent on do-it-yourself finances maintenance. If you are an owner or manager, you may want real-time progress tracking for every task or project, but you also understand that timing is a complicated matter that can hinder you. For example, financial and administrative tasks may comprise just one of the many chores solopreneurs or entrepreneurs have to deal with, highlighting how critical time management is.
Efficient Time Management Strategies
Time management is the planning skill that helps entrepreneurs efficiently use and deliberately control your valuable time. This way, you can maximize your efficiency and productivity. Getting more done in less time is the key to success. The main benefits your time management skills can offer are:
- Improved quality of your work done
- No or less stress
- More valuable time to work efficiently on complex projects
- Less procrastination
- More self-confidence
To start, follow these steps:
1. Know Your Time Allocation
You might be assessed based on what you produce during a specific period, and lost time equals lost money. Just like in working out your budget, you should make a timesheet, as it will reflect what you are doing with your time and show you the areas you are losing out on as far as achieving your aims are concerned.
Start with a time check. Time-tracking tools like MiPlaniT – a cross-platform app for managing tasks – can show you whether you are spending time productively or unlocking your phone to start mindlessly playing games, checking social media or online shopping, showing the percentage of productive time vs. the time wasted on non-work-related activities.
2. Maintain Consistent Daily Routines
Instead of saying, “I should do it in eight hours,” consider a daily schedule with time blocks for tasks. Along with it, consistency is the key to achievement.
- Create realistic timelines. When people overestimate their capacity to complete tasks, a phenomenon dubbed “planning fallacy” by scientists, the due date is almost always too tight and behind the predicted schedule. Add time buffers between tasks so that even if one takes longer to finish, there is enough time in the schedule to stay on track.
- Give full-minded attention. Don’t hide in websites that don’t belong to your current work task (or just avoid everything you aren’t supposed to do) while at work. Shut down your “later” browser tab just for now. Either put away the phone or place it away until the planned break. Self-discipline will also be a reliable friend in such situations.
3. Establish Your Priorities
Using to-do lists can be a life-saving factor for entrepreneurs because they can boost their productivity. However, once in a while, you suddenly find them overwhelming and begin to wonder where the start line would be. Time management is made easy with MiPlaniT, which emphasizes users prioritizing tasks, which depends on the tasks’ importance and time limits.
- Do immediately: Important cases with crisp deadlines or those you’ve had hanging around so long now they’ve become overdue.
- Schedule for later: For example, performing tasks with no set time frame intent.
- Delegate: Someone else may complete the task.
- Delete: Start by eliminating the tasks that are not necessary or important to achieving your desired results or goals.
4. Address the Toughest Task Initially
It’s no secret that distractions can wrench your productivity, derailing even the most focused professionals. Whether it’s the ongoing buzz of a phone call or a well-intentioned interruption from a colleague, there is always something vying for your attention.
Today’s fast-paced digital age requires entrepreneurs to master time management. MiPlaniT, serving as an automated task manager, helps you control your productivity by eliminating procrastinators and distractions. It also helps you ensure your success by prioritizing the most challenging and critical tasks at the start of your day. Ultimately, you can eliminate the temptation to push them aside for later.
5. Establish Sensible Deadlines and Steer Clear of Multitasking
According to Parkinson’s law, the amount of time you have to allocate and complete a task tends to ascertain how long it will take to finish. For example, if you have two tasks to complete in a full day and you know three hours will be consumed, you’ll more likely still dedicate the entire day to completing tasks. Remember that giving yourself less time may imply you can meet even the tight deadline sooner.
Multitasking is not a skill; instead, it may hurt you by reducing your efficiency. According to psychologists, switching between tasks lowers productivity. If you constantly switch tasks with the hope that you can finish all your tasks soon, even if just for a few seconds each time, this multitasking approach can increase the potential for errors. Using the MiPlaniT app, you can establish sensible deadlines and steer clear of multitasking, thus minimizing errors and maximizing efficiency in your workflow.
Now that you’re aware of the key strategies for managing your time and tasks, download the MiPlaniT app to apply them efficiently. With the cross-platform app – MiPlaniT – you can keep things in order and reach goals faster than ever.
