Need More Time? These time management techniques will help you

by Mariana Vega October 23, 2019

As an entrepreneur, you can find it challenging to find some free time to dedicate to the things you love. Entrepreneurs tend to be busy with a thousand tasks they need to complete. These are some techniques that will help you manage your time more efficiently.

• First, the basics. Start your day early. It might seem obvious, but many people skip this step. Set a time early on the day for when you want to start your phone calls and activities.
• Make sure you plan ahead. Planning will keep you focused and will prevent you from wasting your time on unproductive things. Your goals need to be short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Keeping a digital or physical agenda will help you keep track of your day-to-day activities and goals. 
• Don't waste others' time. Make sure you arrive on time for your appointments and ask people to do the same.
• Make a to-do list. This will help you not to forget anything. 
• Remember Stephen Covey's perspective. His time management system is based on four quadrants, in which you should divide your activities: 1. Urgent and important. 2. Important but not urgent. 3. Urgent but not important. 4. Neither urgent nor important. You should dedicate most of your time to Quadrants 1 and 2. 
• Remember the 80/20 - Pareto rule. Translated into commerce terms, this is: 20% of your customers/products will produce 80% of your profits/sales.
• Follow Brian Tracy's advice and "Eat The Frog." What this means is that there is usually one big important activity that you often procrastinate about. This is the activity that makes a big difference and that you need to tackle right away. 
• Create momentum and start your day by doing the 5 hardest tasks first every day.
• Ask your self three important questions: What are my highest value activities? What can I and only I do that if done well will make a real difference? What is the most valuable use of my time currently?
• Use the "Pomodoro" technique. This technique will allow you to be more creative and productive. This is a time-management method where you break down your tasks into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks, usually 5 minutes. After 4 pomodoros or cycles, take a longer 30-minute break. This tool is especially effective if you are in charge of creative tasks. 

 

Make sure you start by setting priorities, organizing and taking action. Don't get lost in all the planning. Taking action is extremely important. Which of these techniques and tools have you tried, and which one has helped you the most? Leave us a comment!

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