Time is an important factor for every entrepreneur out there who want to be both efficient and productive while running their business. But there’s only 24 hours in a day (eight of which should also be spent for a proper rest/sleep). How do you not freak out when you have 50 things to do in a day? With the right kind of approach, you can be efficient, productive and stress-free.
Image source: wonderfulengineering.com
Here are a few tips for every entrepreneur who is constantly chasing time
Know your goals
Jot down your goals. It might seem silly at first but being able to see your goals written out (and posted somewhere visible) can act as a daily reminder on what you’re striving for each day. Include both short term and long term goals that you would like to achieve. If your end goal is to grow your business, ask yourself this question: does this task/activity help in generating income and/or grow my business? If the answer is no, chances are, it’s not worth your time.
Priorities
Having a to-do list helps immensely in listing your most important and urgent tasks first. Try separating your tasks into these categories:
- Important and urgent
- Important but not urgent
- Urgent but not important
- Not urgent and not important
Completing the first few tasks on your to-do list not only will give you a sense of accomplishment but it can also motivate you to complete the rest of your to-do list. Also, having a to-do list will more likely prevent massive amounts of procrastination!
Plan
There’s nothing worse than having an unproductive start to a day. Planning out your day prior to starting it will prevent you from wasting time. At the end of your day, take a few minutes to cross out the tasks you have completed and analyse the ones that still need to be done. Put together a new to-do list for the next day. Alternatively, you can also choose to do it first thing in the morning.
If you have a team of committed and responsible workers, delegate some tasks to them. This way, you can take some of the minor tasks off your plate, while also gaining more time to attend to other urgent matters.
Saying No
Being an entrepreneur means knowing when to say no. If you have to reject requests or stop a project that is not growing, then do not hesitate to do so. The time wasted on something will not develop could be used on more productive tasks (perhaps a new project?). Learn from your mistakes and move on.
Health
Keep track of your mental and physical health. If either of these are not in a good shape, productivity and efficiency levels are bound to drop drastically. No amount of coffee or energy drinks will keep your mind and body energised if it isn’t healthy to begin with.
Remember, it’s about hustling smart not hard.
*Text by Nazlin Amirudin
