Struggling to get all the tasks in the business done? Become the master of your own time!

When you own your own business, you quickly discover that you end up multi-tasking to try and cover all of the roles that are required. You are the production manager, the marketing manager, the sales manager etc. As you rightly point out, this can sometimes be a very big challenge.

Become the master of your own time!

As an entrepreneur, you may be frequently interrupted or pulled in different directions. While you cannot eliminate interruptions, you do get a say on how much time you will spend on them and how much time you will spend on the thoughts, conversations and actions that will lead you to success.

There are only three ways to spend time: thoughts, conversations and actions. Regardless of the type of business you own, your work will be composed of those three items.

Here are some tips to help you master your own time better

• Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are going. You'll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.
• Any activity or conversation that's important to your success should have a time assigned to it. To-do lists get longer and longer to the point where they're unworkable. Appointment books work. Schedule appointments with yourself and create time blocks for high-priority thoughts, conversations, and actions. Schedule when they will begin and end. Have the discipline to keep these appointments.
• Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the thoughts, activities and conversations that produce most of your results.
• Schedule time for interruptions. Plan time to be pulled away from what you're doing.
• Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don't start your day until you complete your time plan. The most important time of your day is the time you schedule to schedule time.
• Take five minutes before every call and task to decide what result you want to attain. This will help you know what success looks like before you start. And it will also slow time down. Take five minutes after each call and activity to determine whether your desired result was achieved. If not, what was missing? How do you put what's missing in your next call or activity?
• Put your phone on “Do not disturb" when you absolutely have to get work done.
• Practice not answering the phone just because it's ringing and e-mails just because they show up. Disconnect instant messaging. Don't instantly give people your attention unless it's absolutely crucial in your business to offer an immediate human response. Instead, schedule a time to answer email and return phone calls.
• Block out other distractions like Facebook and other forms of social media unless you use these tools to generate business.

Remember that it's impossible to get everything done. Also remember that approximately 20 percent of your thoughts, conversations and activities produce 80 percent of your results.

For a personal time, management strategy on how you can manage your time better contact Paul Redmond on 053 9170507 or email paul@rda.ie