Quick Tips for Successful Time Management

It can be so easy to go off track each day and lose focus when you have lots of tasks to juggle, feel overwhelmed with your workload or simply don’t want to tackle certain jobs. Here are some quick time management tips which will help you to become more productive and use your time wisely.

1. Get Organised

Create the right environment and tidy your work area. If your work space is in chaos, this can affect your performance. Set up an effective filing system and utilise workflow management tools and software to help you become more productive.

2. Prioritise Your Goals

Identify and set yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals or desire outcomes. Always work on your most important and urgent goals. Create a ‘‘To-do list’’ at the beginning of each week and plan your days in advance. Go over your list and organise the things needed to accomplish them. As you accomplish these goals you will have great satisfaction crossing them off with a great big tick!

3. Identify Your Most Productive Time

Are you an early bird or night owl? We all reach our best efficiency at different times. Keep a mental note of your daily energy levels over a couple of weeks and use this to plan out when your productive periods are each day and when you need to take time out and re-energise.

4. Allocate Your Time

Schedule your week ahead. Set aside time each day of the week for regular tasks. For instance, file every Monday, do online banking every Wednesday, update your website and schedule your social media on a Friday, pop these must do weekly tasks into your calendar with a reminder.

5. Overcome Procrastination

Delete– does it really need to be done? Delegate –can the task be given to someone else? Do it now-don’t postpone an important task. Defer-if the task can’t be done quickly and is not high priority just defer it!

6. Avoid Interruptions & Distractions

Let your calls go to voicemail when you are working on a task requiring concentration. Limit your email by batching and prioritising your access in the morning, at lunch and at the end of your day. Set time aside to check your social media channels so you are not tempted to check each time your phone pings.

7. Take Care of Your Health

This goes without saying but often our own health and well being is the first to be overlooked. Get plenty of sleep. Take regular breaks. Eat healthy and get fresh air so you can refresh and focus on your work. Periods of time out away from your work can revitalise your mind and give you renewed energy and clarity.

8. Learn to Say No… Or Delegate

Everyone has their limitations. We simply can’t do everything, be assertive and recognise when someone else could pick up certain tasks.

You may find yourself saying, “I know I need to delegate more, but I can get things done more quickly if I just do it myself ” or “I’d like to delegate more, but I’d have to take the time out to train someone else to do certain key tasks.”

For repetitive tasks there is a long-term time-saving benefit if you can invest in the initial time to teach another person, delegation can add value to your business by leveraging resources and facilitating growth.

By following these simple time management suggestions, you should have more time and less stress to enable you to run your business more productively.

To find out how a Virtual Assistant can help your business, drop me an email hello@myadhocpa.com or visit my website www.myadhocpa.com