When you talk to most business owners their chief complaint is there’s not enough time in the day to do everything. Shy of finding a way to add more hours to the day (or cloning ourselves!) there’s not much that can be done about the amount of time we have. So we must figure out how to utilize the time we do have more efficiently. Here’s how.
To do lists (make a plan of action) First thing you should do is make your to do list. And don’t skimp on the list. Put everything you need to do on this list. Don’t break the list down to work and personal just yet. Focus on making the list and checking it twice! Now that you’ve made your list it time to organize and prioritize. So why didn’t we organize the list while we were making it? I wanted to insure that your list was complete with EVERYTHING you would like to accomplish for the day on it.
Now lets organize and prioritize the list, putting things you want want to accomplish first at the top.Think of this step as your planning step. Just like a business plan, this will help you stay focused and on track throughout the day.
Now that you’ve got your list and priorities set lets check for tasks that we can delegate to others. Maybe it something as simple as getting a box of paper from the big box store; delegate where you can. It’ll give you more time to do other things on the list. Be sure to put “downtime” on your list as well, so you are less likely to become overwhelmed. I usually like to add five minutes of meditation to the list. I find that it helps reduce my stress level.
Now that you have your list and you’ve delegated tasks let’s talk about time wasters. We all have them Buzzfeed, Facebook, Twitter and the list goes on. We didn’t delegate tasks so we could have more time to waste, we did it so we would have more time to achieve our daily goal! Whats that? You didn’t set a goal for today? It’s my belief you should start everyday with a goal in mind if its nothing more than something that’s on your to do list. I start everyday off with two goals: the first is to learn something new and the second is to take time out of my crazy day to be thankful.