Repost of Entrepreneur time management article

This is a great article about time management published by Entrepreneur. All small business owners stuggle to get everything done so try some of these techniques and let us know if they work for you.

10 Time Management Tips That Work

Are you working on clock time or 'real' time? Learn how to manage your day by understanding the difference with these 10 time management tips.

Chances are good that, at some time in your life, you've taken a time management class, read about it in books, and tried to use an electronic or paper-based day planner to organize, prioritize and schedule your day. "Why, with this knowledge and these gadgets," you may ask, "do I still feel like I can't get everything done I need to?"

The answer is simple. Everything you ever learned about managing time is a complete waste of time because it doesn't work.

Before you can even begin to manage time, you must learn what time is. A dictionary defines time as "the point or period at which things occur." Put simply, time is when stuff happens.


There are two types of time: clock time and real time. In clock time, there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. All time passes equally. When someone turns 50, they are exactly 50 years old, no more or no less.

In real time, all time is relative. Time flies or drags depending on what you're doing. Two hours at the department of motor vehicles can feel like 12 years. And yet our 12-year-old children seem to have grown up in only two hours.

Which time describes the world in which you really live, real time or clock time?

The reason time management gadgets and systems don't work is that these systems are designed to manage clock time. Clock time is irrelevant. You don't live in or even have access to clock time. You live in real time, a world in which all time flies when you are having fun or drags when you are doing your taxes.

The good news is that real time is mental. It exists between your ears. You create it. Anything you create, you can manage. It's time to remove any self-sabotage or self-limitation you have around "not having enough time," or today not being "the right time" to start a business or manage your current business properly.

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.

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.

 

Practice the following techniques to become the master of your own time:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the thoughts, activities and conversations that produce most of your results.
4. Schedule time for interruptions. Plan time to be pulled away from what you're doing. Take, for instance, the concept of having "office hours." Isn't "office hours" another way of saying "planned interruptions?"
5. 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.
6. 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?
7. Put up a "Do not disturb" sign when you absolutely have to get work done.
8. 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.
9. Block out other distractions like Facebook and other forms of social media unless you use these tools to generate business.
10. Remember that it's impossible to get everything done. Also remember that odds are good that 20 percent of your thoughts, conversations and activities produce 80 percent of your results.

Are you too busy or are you procrastinating?

Small business owners are usually extremely busy and often overwhelmed by the amount and variety of tasks they must accomplish in a given week.  We often hear that there isn't enough time in a day/week to get everything done.  We understand this feeling as we are small business owners too! 

What we have noticed is that it is usually the unpleasant tasks that get pushed to the back and left undone.  Beth and I share a calendars on Microsoft Outlook and we schedule all time we are working at clients there as well as any meetings we will be attending.  What we don't always do is put tasks we are going to work on at the office on the calendar.  Since we work from our virtual office (our homes), we do a great deal of work there.  We have noticed that when we are not getting a job done that putting it on the calendar on a specific day, at a specific time pushes us enough to get the task completed. 

We are great believers in calendars-ours are color coded and maintained rigorously.  We schedule family events as soon as they come to our attention and as we are planning each month, we make sure we have set aside time for big projects which are upcoming. 

If you find you aren't getting essential but unpleasant tasks (bookkeeping?!) done time after time, consider putting them on the calendar for a day and time you feel the strongest.  We also have found that scheduling something fun right after the task you dislike also gives you incentive.

What techniques do you use to get all your work done?

10 Tips for Working a Room

Networking is an essential part of every Marketing Strategy. Learn how to do it well and make it a productive use of your time.

1. Plan ahead. Put not only the event on your calendar, but block off time the following day to follow up and connect with the people you met.

2. Prepare. Dress appropriately, wear your name tag (on the right side!), have your business cards ready, plan your introduction.

3. Brush up on your small talk. Know the main news topics and have a few anecdotes, interesting books or articles, something on your reading list in your head.

4. Put on your smile, practice a good handshake, and remember to be focused on one person at a time. People want to talk to people who are pleasant and have a welcoming attitude.

5. Position yourself. Notice the flow of traffic and position yourself in a place that allows you to see who is coming and going and to be seen by others. You are not having a romantic dinner, so do not allow yourself to disappear into the corners of the room.

6. Know your goal. It is never my goal to gather as many business cards as possible. Instead, I make a point of meeting 2-3 new people and having a meaningful conversation with them and then reconnecting with 2-3 people that I already know.

7. Be customer focused. Ask questions about them. Get a conversation going, not a one-way monologue. Try to identify their needs. Figure out how you can help them.

8. Don't monopolize their time. 10 minutes is plenty of time to have a discussion and move on politely.

9. Introduce people. Everyone is at a networking event for the same reason, so introducing people is another way of being helpful. Think of yourself as a host in this respect.

10. Follow up with your new contacts. Connect on social media, set up a lunch, follow through immediately on any promises that you made. Meeting someone new is the initial goal. It is the follow up that begins the process of building a meaningful relationship.

Anything you would add to this list?

Summertime for Mompreneurs

Well it's here! Summer has arrived! The kids are off of school. Camps have begun. Summer...in my opinion the most difficult season of the year for Mompreneurs...especially mompreneurs who work from home and have school age children andwork from home. Scheduling is crazy, the noise level is higher, there are more interruptions in the day, and the internal pull between running your business and providing a fun summer for your kids is at its peak. So how to navigate through these few precious months?

1. Organization is key: Decide how many hours you must work each week. Write your involvement in your children's activities onto your master schedule and then block your work time into your schedule as well.

2. Reclaim your office: During the school year I gravitate to my kitchen counter to work. When summer comes, I need to separate myself from the household activity and move my work back into my office.

3. Set rules: When I am working, the children need to understand that they cannot interrupt me randomly. When I am on the phone, they cannot be playing their musical instruments. Figure out where your problem areas are and set the rules accordingly.

4. Take some time off! You deserve it and the kids are only young once, so reward a good smooth-running workweek with a Friday afternoon at the pool.

What are your tips for managing your summer as a Mompreneur?

Tips for Effectively Managing Employees

Entrepreneurs often find themselves thrown into the new roles of Employer and Manager, often for the first time in their lives. Bogged down by the other pressing tasks involved in running a business, many entrepreneurs do not give the role of Manager the proper focus that it requires. The reality is that poor management can destroy your business. Today I offer you a mini crash course on what I believe are the most important tips for being a good manager.

When I graduated from college and entered corporate America I asked my brother for some advice and this was his response: “Treat everyone, from the lowest man on the totem pole to the CEO, with respect. You never know who is going to be your boss some day.” I took that advice to heart and found that it served me well in my early days in the plants and then later as I became a manager.

On a practical note, what does it mean to respect your employees? It means understanding that your employees are individuals and taking the time to get to know them on a personal level, letting them know that they are important as human beings. It means that you understand that your employees are people with a variety of learning styles. As a good manager, it is your job to learn how to identify those learning styles and adapt your message to meet those styles. It means that you understand that your employees are thinking people capable of adding great value to your organization if you allow them the freedom to do so. It means the simple things, like showing up and working side by side with them when there is a problem, speaking politely with your employees even if you have an issue to resolve, being willing to pitch in and do the very jobs that you are asking your employees to do when times get tough, and following the same rules that you ask them to follow. If you don’t want your employees to leave early, for example, then don’t leave early yourself. Showing respect to your employees is the fastest route to gaining your employees respect as their leader.

In addition to respecting your employees, clear and complete communication with your employees is a must. By this I mean face to face communication giving your employees a chance to ask for clarification, as well as consistent reiteration with written communication. Communication requires a two-way exchange of information. Murphy’s law states that “if anything can be misunderstood, it will be misunderstood.” Clearly communicating your mission, objectives, and how it affects your employees is an important step in motivating your employees.

Finally, my favorite book on management is a book by Roger E. Allen, Winnie-the-Pooh on Management, given to me by my mother when I was promoted to my first managerial job. Despite all of the management seminars that I have attended and management books that I have read, I still go back to this book for the basics:

“A good leader will always try to make the project that she wants worked on seem to be exciting…That is really part of motivating individuals. Everyone will try to do a better job when they feel that the project is exciting and significant. By being part of something that is important, individuals will feel that they are important—everyone likes to feel that way.”

“Encourage and praise those who are working with (you)…living up to the good opinion that someone we respect has of us is a strong reason to do a good job.”

“(A good leader) treats individuals as individuals…He gives credit to others…An effective leader’s goal is to make his people look good.”
“(Give your employee) an important task to do—many managers delegate only unimportant or minor tasks, which is unfair to those they manage…(Don’t) tell him how to do it… let him decide how to accomplish the task …giving subordinates a chance to learn and develop their own skills and abilities… A manager has to learn that when she delegates, those she delegates to may make mistakes…By making mistakes you learn how to do things right, and you are not afraid to try new things. Delegation…allows managers to multiply their efforts.”

After all, multiplying our efforts is the whole reason for hiring employees to begin with.

Please share your tips on being a good manager in your small business.

Stay Sane While Running Your Small Business

What do you need to keep sane while running your small business? Organization, routines, structures, priorities, and most important, a guiding mission. The key to getting all the work done in an efficient and effective manner is to set up the structure, steps and routines to keep you and your employees on track.


The key to making the process work is to become aware of your own personality and style. Organization techniques that work for your neighbor may not work for you because you each approach work and life in a different way. Some people are visual and need lists and reminders visible to keep them on track.

Once you figure out the ideal organizational structure for you and your employees consider all the tasks you need to accomplish in your business. Write them all down, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. A little intimidating, isn’t it? Now you need to prioritize the tasks and figure out a timeline for each one. Some things will need to be done daily, others once a month and so on. You need to have prioritized first so if you run out of time at the end of a day, you’ll sleep at night knowing the most important jobs were completed.

How can you get all these tasks done and still have time for a personal life? Delegate where you can. Entrepreneurs are often unable to let others take charge. You can’t do it all so train your people well and let them work. Job descriptions and procedure manuals can help you insure that the works is done the way you need it to be. Try to be open to other ideas and other ways to get a job done. Your employee may have a great idea so hear him out. Make sure everyone understands why they are performing a task in a certain way. People are much more likely to remember how to do a job and to do it well if they understand why it is important and what the ultimate goal.

Don’t underestimate the importance of having a mission statement for your business and using it as you establish a structure, routine and processes for yourself and your employees. Creating a solid organization structure with good procedures, effective routines, clear priorities and a well defined mission will keep your business running smoothly and make the work environment more fun for everybody.