Always running out of time?
Almost everyone is looking for more freedom in their business. More specifically, Financial freedom, Time freedom and Mind freedom.
Time freedom is about having balance in your life. Having the time to do the things you want to do outside of your business whenever you want to do them. For example, being able to go on holiday, time with your family or time to spend on whatever you love to do most.
In the modern world, it always seems like there is more to do than we can manage in any given working day. Let’s start by looking at why we always feel so busy.
1. Work expands to fill the time available
We pace our output to match the time we have. Think about the time you allocate to each task. Could you shrink the timescale to free up capacity?
2. No shortage of distractions
Emails, social media, office chats…there is plenty of potential for us to allow something to interrupt our day and steal our time.
3. Our perceptions of being busy change.
Often our perception of what busy feels like changes over time. How we perceive our “busyness” changes based on our experiences and stage of life.
4. Social norm – being busy means you are successful.
We are conditioned to be busy. A busy person is seen as a successful person, especially in a business context.
5. Being too busy is often an excuse
We fall into the trap of thinking “I’ll do that when I have more time”. Or, we can sometimes fool ourselves into thinking we are too busy when we procrastinate on a task we find difficult.
We have to recognize that we are the ones who have chosen to work in the way we work. We have developed unhelpful habits and allowed them to dictate how we spend our time. What we need to do is focus on what we can do and take control. We have a choice on what we do, when, how and even if, we do it.
Here is a list of tips and proven techniques to help get stuff off your desk and control your time
1. Delegate
Delegation is the most effective way of shifting work off your desk, yet business owners often feel they are unable to do so. They feel they can’t trust their team or their team members don’t have the necessary skills or expertise.
Let’s tackle this head-on. If you don’t trust your team members, then you shouldn’t employ them. If they don’t have the necessary skills, then it is your responsibility as the business owner to make sure they are suitably trained.
The real reason is that, whilst owner-managers complain about their workload, they don’t actively develop their staff because, for the most part, they don’t want to relinquish control.
So, recruit the right people; train them properly; make sure they know what is expected of them; give appropriate support and supervision; review their output and give feedback.
2. Outsource
If you genuinely don’t have the people available within your business to take on the tasks you want to delegate, the next place to look is outside your four walls.
These days, you can pretty much find a solution to whatever service you are looking for from basic admin tasks to more complex technical jobs. When properly planned, implemented and controlled, outsourcing can be a highly efficient and cost effective solution.
3. Eliminate timewasters
Not all your customers are the same. Whereas most will be great to do business with, there is likely to be a group who are a drain on you, your team and, ultimately, your cash flow.
Let’s look at some of the common characteristics of this type of customer?
- They treat your team badly
- They don’t pay on time
- They never work as agreed
- Poor communication/slow to respond to queries
- They complain and/or haggle over prices
- They make unreasonable demands
Don’t allow these customers to exist in your business. Either put them right or show them the door of opportunity to another supplier!
4. Be an enforcer
Part of your role as the business owner is to make sure other people actually do their job.
How often do you find yourself doing something that one of your team should have done and is actually paid to do?
The fact is, you have to enforce your role and ensure that others carry out the tasks and responsibilities that are part of the job you pay them to do. Clearly, you have a responsibility to ensure that your people are properly trained and supported in what they do as well as paid fairly. But, once you have fulfilled your responsibilities as a good employer, it is perfectly reasonable and proper of you to expect, indeed demand, that your team fulfil their responsibilities.
Recognise that you are not doing your job properly if you allow others not to do their job properly.
5. De-clutter
This one is simple, it doesn’t matter what environment you work in, keeping it tidy makes you more effective.
You now it makes sense so “Just Do It”!
6. Take control of your day, week, month and year
How much of your time is lost to interruptions? Staff, customers and others. Telephone calls, e-mails, unexpected face-to-face callers, a staff member who pops their head round your door to ask if you “have 5 minutes”.
You can take control. Set your rules for the way you want to work.
Begin by planning your year. Block out your holidays first and then plan your workload around them. Decide what days and hours you are prepared to work.
Then look at your days. For instance, what is the maximum number of meetings you are prepared to have in a day or week? What is the earliest and latest time you are prepared to have meetings? Do you want to keep some days clear?
Eliminate interruptions. Switch off your emails and only deal with them once or twice a day. Or have someone else manage them. Do the same with phone calls. Try to have planned times for seeing your team members .
Of course, you need to ensure your team know when you will be available and that you have sufficient time to look after your customers but, ultimately, it’s your business. Only you can really decide what matters and what doesn’t so you set the rules and only you can break them.
7. Don’t be a dinosaur
Properly thought out and implemented technology saves significant time. Don’t fear it, embrace change.
In summary, make time-saving a planned business objective; invest in people and resources and be ruthless in eliminating interruptions.
Finally, developing helpful habits is key to effective use of time. Here are 2 classic books on this very subject:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Atomic Habits by James Clear
You can also download our e-book “How Do We Find the Time?” from our website Resources – ESP Business Solutions – helping your business grow (espbiz.co.uk)
If any of this strikes a chord with you, get in touch with us now for a free, no obligation chat about where you could take your business.
