Timing is the only golden capital that any entrepreneur can’t afford to lose. However, being solely responsible for every phase of keeping your business alive and running can be an overwhelming prospect.
Entrepreneurs are their own boss. It may sound thrilling, but honestly, it takes a village. From chairing and organizing meetings to developing and executing novel strategies – an entrepreneur’s day can be a rollercoaster ride. Entrepreneurs have to move mountains of duties every day and still sleep with the thought of a super busy day awaiting. But, no matter how vigilant you are, you won’t get more than 24 hours in a day.
It begs the question, how can successful entrepreneurs juggle through a handful of responsibilities and tasks without falling off the tracks?
Well, it’s all about time management.
Let’s get one thing straight; time is life’s greatest equalizer. Therefore, you don’t want to mess with it. So, let’s not waste any more of your precious time. Below is a list of some highly effective time management strategies for all the busy entrepreneurs out there:
- Break down your activities into simpler forms
Making use of your consciousness demands more energy and can be avoided by streamlining your tasks. Excellence in time management is about establishing a plan and breaking it down into atomic, small operations that are easy to get the hang of and don’t demand intensive resource consumption.
Despite being mindful of time management, it can be difficult for entrepreneurs to think of new profit-inducing ways to expand their business. However, if you’re well-equipped with the proper business knowledge, you can turn any useless object into something successful. For people like you, who have to manage between work and school, an online MBA no GMAT program is a perfect choice. You can enroll in an MBA program without appearing in the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). We call that a win-win!
Furthermore, the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur is to take a complicated task and break it down into smaller pieces, thus making the remaining process easier to follow. Furthermore, when the time comes to execute these tasks, you don’t get caught up in the details.
- Stop stalling
Whether it’s standing outside the parking lot smoking a cigarette, scrolling through social media, or giving yourself a break every so often, don’t make stalling a habit. Instead, time yourself. Give yourself a restricted deadline to accomplish things. Everything works well until you give yourself reasons to postpone tasks simply because you don’t feel like doing them. We’re not implying that you should have no fun at all; take some time to relax, but don’t overdo it.
- Create a prioritization system
The key to successful time management for entrepreneurs is to schedule your priorities rather than prioritizing one thing on your schedule. Running a business for entrepreneurs is like being trapped in a square. There’s a task waiting to get unveiled around every turn.
However, priorities vary for entrepreneurs when it comes to deadlines, and each emphasis revolves around ROI, scope, and execution.
There is a propensity among entrepreneurs, mainly those who have just jumped into this space, to ignore the basics that bring long-term significance. Spending weeks and resources on a single process while overlooking everything else in the itinerary is a clear-cut path to destruction. You, as an entrepreneur, need to learn how to highlight both short-term and long-term activities and goals. Only then will you be able to witness incremental results.
- Take regular breaks for brainstorming.
Powerful and well-organized entrepreneurs work less “in” the business and more “on” the company. When you get stranded in a sea of overlapping responsibilities, you often lose perspective on the purpose of every duty. To avoid loss of perception, take regular breaks between your tasks and align your progress with your goals. Go out for a walk, get some time to relax – this would get your creative juices flowing.
- The 2-minute rule
Procrastination is the number one dynamic that causes us to lose focus and waste hours of our time. For some entrepreneurs, postponing or delaying an activity is sometimes due to the lack of focus or believing that they have plenty of time on their hands. But, most of the time, it’s just that you don’t even want to lift a finger or start the process.
For this terrible habit, the 2-minute rule was made. It can help busy entrepreneurs like you overcome your laziness and procrastination. Here’s how it works: for any of your activities that you’re delaying, start giving just two minutes of your time. If you need to draft a letter, take two minutes to write two sentences. That way, you will find yourself finishing the tasks sooner.
The two-minute rule isn’t just for people in business; it’s an excellent practice for students as well. Even if you’re attaining education virtually, you can still manage to ace everything. For instance, if you’re studying a master business online, pursue your dream of becoming an entrepreneur. The two-minute rule can instill excellent management skills, all the while helping you ace your degree.
Furthermore, the two-minute rule doesn’t always have to be about finishing a task ultimately; it is more on the process of actually starting your work. So don’t waste your time wondering when you should start your career. Instead, take action every two minutes.
Conclusion
Becoming an entrepreneur is exciting. But, newsflash: youth does not last forever. Many of us don’t realize the time made available to implement an idea. Time management isn’t just an instrument or a tool. It is a well-thought strategy that helps you execute, organize and stay ahead of your plans. Excellent time management practices help you get a prime return for your investment. So if a plethora of duties and assignments break you down, try a little something called time management and make the best of everything.
