As an entrepreneur, the importance of managing one’s time effectively cannot be overstated. Considering the average adult person sleeps 8 hours per day, you only have 16 waking hours to fulfill all personal and business-related obligations you have for the day. Here are four time management tips that will help you become a more efficient entrepreneur:
Simplify Your Problems
Your consciousness is a finite resource that must be conserved throughout the day in order to solve problems and complete tasks effectively. Boil your activities down into smaller fundamental tasks that are easier to understand and accomplish. For instance, if your problem is exercise or lack thereof, you can pinpoint a specific hour in the day to dedicate towards running or weightlifting.
Take “Brainstorming” Breaks
Entrepreneurs often focus too much ON the business and not enough time IN it. It’s easy to forget your core objectives when you get overwhelmed with day-to-day tasks. Carve out some time away from your desk and screens to do a self-check on where your resources are being utilized and whether or not it is aligned with your business’ goals.
Learn to Say NO
As an entrepreneur, you interact with more people. In addition to family members and friends, you also interact with potential business partners, leads, and vendors. Running into more people means you might also get more invites to parties and favors to help someone. Learn to say NO to these requests when they do not align with your plans and interests. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you’ll have to desist from trying to please everyone.
Create a Long-Term Roadmap
Create a long-term business plan and establish KPIs or key performance indicators. Set milestones for each item, and add them to your business calendar. Goals should have either a monthly or quarterly timeline for the next 12 to 36 months. It should include all repetitive tasks that you are required to perform on a daily or weekly basis, such as content creation and social media marketing.
Effective time management isn’t an exact science. Given the ever-changing list of tasks and responsibilities on your plate, it’s best to acknowledge the fact that you will have curveballs thrown your way that will require you to adapt accordingly.
This article was originally published at SoniaHodgin.co.