Time management is one of the biggest issues that most entrepreneurs face. Why is this? Entrepreneurs like freedom, and in our search for freedom, we don’t like to be constrained by a schedule. The problem with this is it prevents us from having structure and focus, which we need in order to effectively build our businesses.
Here are 3 time management tips to guarantee that the actions you take today are feeding your long-term business goals and maximizing your time.
1. Find a Balance Between Today Tasks and CEO Tasks
If your business is 100% focused on Today tasks, all the day-to-day minutia of business ownership, you’re likely to have a short-sighted ability to run your businesses. This prevents longevity in business and keeps entrepreneurs stuck on the hamster wheel of execution, rather than building out the long-term vision. You cannot create the momentum you need to have to create the success you envision with Today Tasks. This is where CEO Tasks come in.
The difference between Today Tasks and CEO Tasks is the difference between working in your business and working on your business. CEO Tasks move your business forward on a bigger scale; they are big picture actions that feed your one-, three-, and five-year vision. Often, CEO Tasks are the ones which lie outside your comfort zone. In order to build your business successfully, you must find a balance between these two areas and find time in your schedule every day for both Today Tasks and CEO Tasks.
2. Use Time Blocking and Batching for Efficiency
Time blocking allows you to see your entire week at a glance and understand where you need to spend your time and energy to accomplish your tasks. I perform my time blocking at the beginning of each week to know that all my responsibilities (both minutia and CEO) are accounted for before my week even begins. Begin by outlining all of your weekly responsibilities and how much time each responsibility requires, then drop each one into your calendar for the week ahead.
Using batching can also significantly increase your efficiency in your business. One thing to be aware of: if you are operating 100% from your Today Tasks, you are not going to be able to batch. Only with a big-picture vision can you begin to batch. For example, I outline all of my content for an entire month in one sitting. After that, I film the content for the entire month ahead in one batch, write every newsletter for the month ahead in another batch, develop my social media content for the month ahead in another batch, etc. If you have a plan for the month ahead, you can focus your energy on one thing at a time and cut down on the time it takes to switch between tasks.
3. Delegate Things That Are Outside of Your Zone of Genius.
As a business owner, you need to know what you’re good at. In other words, you need to know what your Zone of Genius is. Once you recognize what tasks are easy for you and what tasks you resist (generally the tasks which take more time and energy than they’re worth), you can begin to delegate. When you resist certain tasks, you procrastinate, and when you procrastinate momentum is lost. For example, if you have resistance to scheduling your social media content or your newsletters, hire a Virtual Assistant to do those things for you. Delegate the tasks you don’t like doing and stay within your Zone of Genius by focusing on the tasks you enjoy.
Which time management tip will you begin to adopt in your business after reading this article? Share an Instagram story with your intentions to change your time management and don’t forget to tag @briseeley and @influencive in your story!
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