Learn How To Manage Your Time Wisely
Whether you’re a new or seasoned business owner, there are only three things you can do with your time: think, talk and take action. While you may talk to a lot of people and take multiple actions on a daily basis, everything you do falls into one of those three categories. Even though everything can be categorized, that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to manage your time.
Time is one of the most valuable assets an entrepreneur has. Because it’s so valuable, and there’s only so much of it in a given workday, it’s important to make the most of your time every day. If you have difficulty managing your time, you’ll be happy to learn there are some basic things you can do to counteract that tendency. You can also take advantage of some technological advances in recent years to use your time more efficiently, such as a virtual PBX phone service.
Basic Tips to Manage Your Time Wisely
It’s impossible to improve your time management skills unless you know how you’re currently spending your time. For this reason, try logging every single thing you do during at least one of your typical workdays. Note your activities from the moment you get up in the morning until you go to bed at night. By tracking what you do during an ordinary workday, you’ll be able to identify activities you can spend less time concentrating on or find things you can eliminate from your daily routine all together.
Here are some more low-tech tips you can use to manage your time as a new business owner more efficiently:
- Delegate Responsibilities: As an entrepreneur, you may want to handle everything yourself. While that might be possible if you’re just starting out, it won’t be practical as your business grows. As you expand, you’ll need to delegate some of your responsibilities so you’ll have enough time to focus on growing your company.Even though it requires a larger investment of your time up front, be sure you properly train your employees to take on the responsibilities you delegate to them. This will prevent you from having to correct mistakes or reassume the responsibilities you just handed off down the line.
- Apply the 80/20 Rule: The 80/20 rule is based on the belief that you generate 80 percent of your results from just 20 percent of your efforts. Look at the specific things you do that produce the results you want and spend more time doing them every day, and reduce the amount of time you spend engaged in other activities.
Technology Tips to Improve Your Time Management
While “old school” tips such as logging your time can help you improve your time management, you can also take advantage of recent advances in technology to make improvements. Here are a few technology tips you can use to become the master of your time:
- Use Mobile Apps: There are many free and subscription-based mobile apps you can use to improve your time management. Some popular, user-friendly options include Clear, RescueTime, OmniFocus and Tripit.
- Virtual Business Phone Systems: Have you ever thought about the time you could save by having an auto receptionist or virtual phone system that could transcribe your voicemails into texts or emails? You don’t have to imagine anymore. Our phone systems are designed to help you and your employees save valuable time.
Whether you employ one person or several hundred people, we have a virtual phone system that will make your company seem like it belongs in the Fortune 500. With automated features such as find-me-follow-me call forwarding and automated voicemail, a customized virtual phone system from AccessDirect lets you and your employees focus on what’s truly important to your business. Our maintenance-free phone systems are easy for you to manage even when you’re out of the office, thanks to our intuitive mobile app. Contact AccessDirect to learn how our auto receptionist and virtual phone systems can save you time today.
