We've explained in previous blogs how owner managed businesses often feel a requirement to always be available for their customers and clients - no matter what they may be doing or where they may be.
This blog will give you some tips on how to be more disciplined and what's 'out there' to help.
Time blocking
This can be the most challenging thing to do because it requires steely determination. Work out how your time is split between work, family and life in general- plus the fun stuff too (only joking!). Create a spreadsheet and block out time for everything (purely from a top level perspective) and whilst you don’t have to be chained to every hour of every day, it will at least give you a clear indication of how much time you want to reallocate to the good stuff. Seeing it marked on a spreadsheet will probably help you assess what is important to you and what you are missing out on.
Better still - print it out and stick it on the wall so you have a constant reminder.
In summary:
Schedule specific blocks of time for work, family, and personal activities.
Stick to your schedule to create a routine that balances work and family life.
Stay organised
Following from the Time Blocking point above, it’s important to now see how your business could be better organised, and how you personally, can be more efficient at work. On LifeHack - itself an app solution designed to help people rescue their time and reclaim their life - author Kirstin O´Donovan, Productivity Coach, Founder and CEO of TopResultsCoaching lists the 15 Best Time Management Apps and Tools. It’s not an exhaustive list and we would also recommend you take a look at Monday and Harvest but all these tools offer the same - how to be more organised.
In summary:
Keep your workspace organised to reduce time spent searching for information.
Use tools and systems that help you stay on top of tasks and deadlines.
Automate and streamline
The adage, “That’s how it’s always been done around here” is vastly considered to be the most dangerous phrase in business. It’s a debilitating observation from every angle and if it’s an opinion shared by many connected with your business, will prevent its growth and evolution.
We don’t advocate you change your business purely for the sake of change, but you can review systems and processes and see if there is a way of improving them and making your business more efficient.
At the end of September, we ran a hugely successful Business Improvement Summit where attendees were invited to scrutinise their business and discover where small changes could bring about significantly positive results. There are so many good (and sometimes free) tools that offer real value to a business in terms of efficiency and cutting down on time consuming tasks. We can give you some pointers too so if you need help, get in touch.
In summary:
Identify repetitive tasks that can be automated using technology.
Group similar tasks together and tackle them during designated time blocks.
Streamline business processes to make them more efficient, saving you time in the long run.