Running a small business is hard. Whether you’re a freelancer or have a few employees, there are so many things that you need to do. You need to wear multiple hats and they all take up time throughout your day. You start looking for ways small businesses can save time.
I spend more time now growing my business and working with my clients than ever before. I’ve have streamlined processes. Something that used to take me 4 hours now takes 1-2 hours. Something that took all day, now takes a couple of hours. And there are tasks that I don’t even have to worry about any more.
These are my 5 strategic ways small businesses can save time every single day of the week.
Time Management: Master Time Management and Boost Your Success: Time Management, Productivity and Success (Time Management, Manage Time, Productivity, Success, Business)
Outsource Tasks Others Can Do
It’s time to stop wearing all those hats. This is the number one mistake business owners make – and yes, I made it too. I thought that I had to do everything myself.
One business owner once told me that outsourcing her blogging was cheating. It was her blog to connect with her audience and she should do all the content. The problem was that she didn’t have time then to work on the marketing, customer service, product development, and more. She couldn’t build her business because she was working so much on the content.
I spent too long not outsourcing my social media. I’m actually dialling that back a little as I’ve found now that I’ve learnt to streamline it I enjoy it more – and it doesn’t take as long. New tools keep coming out. Instead, I’m going to outsource other areas of my work – like all the annoying admin stuff! I’ll still outsource some of the social media stuff, but there are other elements that I want to pick back up again.
There will always be tasks in your business that you can do but you don’t necessarily need to do them. Outsource them so you have time for other areas.
If you need a blogger, get in touch for a free 15 minute consultation call. This will be a great way for us to discuss your content needs to help you grow your audience.
Stop Trying to Multitask
This is another mistake that I continually made. I thought that I had to do everything at the same time. In fact, I had so much on my list that some things had to be done at the same time.
By trying to multitask, I was taking longer to do tasks that I should. Something that would have only taken an hour took two because of the multitasking. I was having to switch mindset and remember where I was between tasks.
Now that I time track – that’s another tool that I’ve gone into multiple times to save time in business – I’ve cut down on multitasking. Blog posts that could have taken me a few hours to write between research, image sourcing, social media image creation etc. now take 30-60 minutes to write. I focus on one task at a time and get through everything so much sooner.
My processes are streamlined.
15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs
Set Three Things You Need to Do a Day
Small businesses owners tend to have ridiculously long to-do lists. I remember what mine were like.
While you’ll have meetings and may have client work or customer orders to fulfil, you’ll need to work on areas of your business. Start your day with three tasks that you want to accomplish. Plan time into your day to work on these three tasks.
Don’t worry if you don’t get through all three tasks – unless they’re time sensitive. Just move the tasks onto the next day as part of your three tasks for that day.
How does this save time for small businesses? Well, you won’t feel as overwhelmed when you’re looking at your list. You’re not trying to figure out what to work on next. You can focus directly on one task and get through it.
Set Reminders on Your Phone
There’s no need to keep your eye on the clock. If you want to work for an hour, set up a timer or alarm that goes off at the end of the hour. You’ll get more done because you can focus on the exact task at hand.
I set reminders for TV shows, deadlines, meetings, and more. They all go off a few minutes before the event, so that I can get ready for them instead of rushing around at the last minute. It’s one of my favourite ways small businesses can save time because you can do it all in the first hour of your morning. I do it with my morning cuppa while I’m watching the news!
Block Schedule Your Time
While I time track, I also block out my day. I have an ideal day calendar that shows what I would like to focus on but then a more realistic calendar for the day, based on appointments, meetings, and client needs.
Scheduling your time will help you do every little thing that you need to do. You’ll have the time to check your emails – going back at strategic points to answer anything immediate. There’s a black of time to work on your social media scheduling or content marketing. You have time for play and time to build your business.
You could try setting one day for different elements of your business. I know freelancers who will set one day a week specifically for working on their businesses. They don’t do any client work on those days. Other freelancers – like me – will set the morning for clients and the afternoon for business needs.
These are 5 strategic ways small businesses can save time every single day of the week. It doesn’t matter what you have to do. Try them out and let me know how they work out for you.
If you need to outsource your content marketing or copywriting, get in touch with me today and book your 15 minute consultation call to see how I can help you.
I love the advice about setting three things per day! I haven’t tried daily tasks, but I set myself tasks that I want to get done by the end of the week. And any that don’t get carried over into the next week. Some have been moved three or four times now, but they aren’t time-sensitive.
It’s okay to move them but eventually they need to become time-sensitive. I kept moving a few tasks and two years later I’ve still not done them! This month I finally set an end of the month deadline and have scheduled them into my day.