If there’s one challenge every business owner has, it’s how to fit more hours into the day…

1. Top 10 Tips for
Managing Your Time

2. If there’s one challenge
every business owner has,
it’s how to fit more hours
into the day…

3. 1. Plan the following day at the
end of each day
This is the time your mind is most clear. It’s nearly
impossible to think rationally about your priorities
when you’re being pulled in 10 different directions.
It’s also a good idea to plan the following week at the
end of each week, plan the following month at the
end of each month, and plan the following year at
the end of each year. Make this part of your regular
routine.

4. 2. Prioritize your work
Choose the one most important task you need to
accomplish each day, put a star beside it on your
to-do list and don’t leave work without
completing it.

5. 3. Use a gatekeeper
If at all possible, have someone else screen your
visitors and your phone calls. They can then set
up appointments for you that fit into your
schedule rather than allowing you to be
disturbed at random throughout your day. If this
is not possible for financial reasons, voice-mail
and posted office hours are a good start.

6. 4. Do one thing at a time and
complete it before moving on to
something else
Most entrepreneurs move and think at an accelerated
pace. Consequently, they often do not have the patience
to finish what they have started. Unfortunately, this
approach can be highly unproductive. Successful
entrepreneurs realize this and make a conscious effort to
complete what they have started. They know that the
value in an activity cannot be fully realized until it has
been completed.

7. 5. Organize your meetings
Whenever possible, schedule meetings in
advance, rather than holding them
spontaneously and always use an agenda.
Also, make sure your meetings have both
a starting time and an ending time.

8. 6. Learn to say “no”
This is one many entrepreneurs have trouble
with. They know they can solve nearly any
problem an employee brings to them, so they are
inclined to do so. It just seems easier to say “yes”
and take over, than it does to say “no” and leave
the problem with their employee. “No” doesn’t
mean you are not interested or that you are not
willing to help, it just means that you are not
willing to take your employees problems off of
their shoulders and pile them onto yours.

9. 7. Delegate everything you can
This needs to become part of your ongoing
behaviour. New work will show up on your desk
on a regular basis. If you don’t need to deal with
it, don’t. If it is important that it gets done, but
someone else can do it, then 9 times out of 10
you should pass it along. Keep the true value of
your time firmly in mind and you will easily be
able to decide if you should take it on or not.

10. 8. Outsource everything you can
Occasionally it may be prudent to delegate work
to an outside expert. If you are having computer
troubles, for example, it may make more sense to
hire a consultant to solve them for you than to
waste time trying to solve them yourself. If a
problem can be solved with money, don’t think of
it as a problem, think of it as an expense.

11. 9. Clarify your communication
Miscommunication is responsible for vast
amounts of wasted time and money. Not only
does it cause mistakes, but those mistakes also
need to be repaired at the company’s expense.
So make sure that when you say something, you
only need to say it once. Also, be clear and
include all details when leaving vocal or written
messages.

12. 10. Do some “strategic planning”
every week
If you don’t start doing this now you will never get around
to it, so schedule some quiet time on your calendar and let
your employees know you will be unavailable. This makes
many entrepreneurs nervous at first. They imagine that if
they are unreachable by their employees for an hour then
everything will fall apart. If this describes you, then try it for
two weeks as an experiment. You may be surprised to find
your business still standing when you open up your office
door at the end of that hour.

13. Mark Wardell is President & Founder of Wardell
International , an advisory group that helps business
owners plan and execute the growth of their companies. The
author of seven business books, Mark also writes regularly
for several national & international business publications.
Email him at mark@wardell.biz.