Today, I want to dive into a topic that plagues a lot of us: time management. As business owners, time is our most valuable asset, but so many of us fall into the trap of time-wasting “stuff” that affects our productivity.
Let’s look at some common time wasters and how we can work to overcome them and improve your time management.
Common Time Traps
Email is a given in business communication, but it can be a major productivity killer. The constant ding of messages arriving in our inbox can be a huge distraction and lead to us jumping from task to task. So how do we keep our email distractions under control?
Set specific times in your day to check and respond to emails
Use rules and filters to organise your inbox and keep it under control
Unsubscribe from newsletters etc that don’t interest you anymore
If need be, close down your inbox to get work done
Endless meetings
Meetings are a necessary part of running a business, but what can you do when you find yourself in endless meetings with no time to do actual work? To keep your meetings under control, try this:
Set a clear agenda for each meeting
Limit the length of meetings – keep them as short as possible
Limit the number of meetings per week
Only invite the people who really need to be in the room [or Zoom] – this goes both ways; do you really need to be there?
Multitasking
Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is not an effective way to get more done.
In fact, trying to juggle lots of tasks at once can seriously affect the amount of work you get done. Instead of multitasking, try the following:
Focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention
Break larger projects into smaller, more manageable tasks
Prioritise tasks based on importance and urgency, and tackle them one at a time
Procrastination
Procrastination is a real problem for lots of people, but it can be managed with a bit of planning. Understanding why you procrastinate is the first step toward overcoming it. Consider the following tips:
Break tasks into smaller, more manageable steps to reduce the overwhelm
Set deadlines and hold yourself accountable for meeting them
Try to work out why you’re procrastinating over a specific task [usually once finished, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to get started on it!]
Take a break, clear your mind and come back ready to get stuck into it
Unnecessary “busywork’
I’m sure we’ve all got caught up in “busywork” at one time or another – they’re the tasks that might feel productive but don’t actually do anything to build your business. It might help to:
Prioritise tasks based on their impact on your business goals
Delegate or outsource tasks that can be handled by someone else
Regularly look at your workflow and eliminate any tasks that aren’t contributing to your business goals
Time management is a critical skill for small business owners, and avoiding these common time traps will help you maximise your productivity.
By kicking your biggest time wasters, hopefully, you can claw back some time and focus on what truly matters for your business.
Marie Robertson-King
After decades working in mining, aviation and oil & gas, Marie founded Empress of Order, a virtual assistant service, in 2018 and quickly became fully booked. With a background in operations and safety, focussing on processes, systems and procedures, Marie now supports busy business owners and helps them bring order to their lives!
She’s certified by the VA Institute and was named in the Inside Small Business Top 50 Business Leaders in 2020. Marie facilitates a coworking day each month in her hometown of Perth, where business owners get together to work and build connections. In 2022, Marie expanded her empire with the purchase of The Digital Mums Directory, an online membership and directory for female digital experts in Australia, with a biz friend. She lives in the beautiful Perth Hills with her husband Simon and fur-baby Jasper. She can’t function without her morning coffee and loves a glass of bubbles or a cocktail in the evening.
