As an entrepreneur or self-employed person, you have a lot to do. Starting from running the business, to meeting with clients or suppliers, to having meetings with the internal business team, all of this needs to be completed on time. When the work gets complicated, you start to realize how importance of time management is to running a business.
Maybe you understand that time management is very important for your business, but you don’t know how to apply it. We provide practical tips on how to apply time management in your work. Find the tips in this article.
Definition Importance of Time Management
Time management is a process or step to control the time within certain limits to complete a task or job. Like any other management, you also need to plan and use your time effectively and as much as possible. The available time is used to produce something useful for yourself or others.
The Importance of Time Management for an Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur must also realize the importance of time management in running a business. In general, good time management affects the smooth running of the business internally and externally. Good time management also trains you to be a reliable and agile entrepreneur in running a business.
Time management can help you get things done on time in your business. This process involves planning so you know what activities or tasks need to be completed before you reach a due date. You also set the time and schedule to complete all work so that the results of the work are satisfactory.
Time management will train you to be a calm person and not panic while working. Panic occurs when you procrastinate or do not determine the priority scale of the tasks to be done. As a result, you feel tired and this can disrupt the operations of the business you are performing.
Finally, time management can strengthen relationships with other business people when working together. Poor time management not only disrupts the project work process but also impacts your business relationships. Conversely, good time management can give the impression that you are a credible business person and can be trusted to work with in the future.
9 Time Management Tips for You
You must have understood the importance of time management after reading the above reasons. The question is, what needs to be done to implement good time management in the company? Apply the following practical and simple time management tips.
1. Create Schedules and Deadlines
Scheduling is the first step in time management. You need to create a list of tasks or work that needs to be done and indicate the deadline. Deadlines are very important so you have no reason to procrastinate.
2. Maintain The Priority Scale
Along with the schedule, you also need to prioritize the tasks you want to work on. Divide the tasks into four categories: important and urgent, important but not urgent, not important but urgent, and not important and not urgent. Make sure you complete all tasks and plans according to the established priority scale.
3. avoid small distractions or distractions.
The smallest distraction, such as email notifications, phone calls, or social media, can be a “small weapon” that can cause you to lose focus while working. For this, you need to create a specific schedule to answer the phone, respond to emails, or open business social media.
4. Take Time to Rest
Focusing on work doesn’t mean you don’t have a special time to rest. Rest is necessary to keep your mind fresh and give you enough energy to continue your work. Take a few minutes to eat lunch, take a short break, or just stretch.
5. Set Goals and Rewards for a Job
Enthusiasm and focus increase when you have realistic goals for each task. For example, finishing work before the weekend so you can spend time with your family. In addition, you can set rewards when you achieve these goals.
6. Eliminate Unsuitable Tasks
You need to remember the goals or objectives that you want to achieve by running a business. For this reason, you should avoid tasks or projects that are not aligned with these goals. With these tips, you can manage your time in a more focused and effective way when running a business.
7. Organize Your Workspace
You certainly won’t focus on work if you see a messy workspace, right? That’s why it’s important to constantly clean up and organize your workspace. The mind is even more relaxed, so you can think of innovations or new ideas that will help business development.
8. Use Time Management Tools
Many tools or applications are useful for time management while working. You can use a planner or a to-do list to schedule all the work or meetings you want to do in a day. Aside from that, there are also Pomodoro tools that allow you to focus on your tasks but have rest periods in between work.
9. Avoid Micromanagement
An important key to successful time management is not micromanaging or overdoing everything. You don’t need to micromanage because it will make your main work even more neglected. In the end, you will feel burnt out so you can’t run a business for a while.
The solution: you must learn to delegate tasks to employees according to their skills. Apart from employees, try to collaborate with other companies to maximize other areas of the business.