HOW many times have you said: ‘there just aren’t enough hours in the day’? As a business owner you will sometimes have to wear different hats for different parts of your business so finding the time to do everything can be difficult.
It is not a matter of working harder but working smarter. There is a difference between activity and achievement. A person can be busy all day without achieving anything. The solution is to develop a time organisation system, to make better use of your time in the office.
At the end of every day, make a list of jobs you need to do the following day and number them in order of importance. The following day start at number one on your list and keep at it until you complete the list.
But how do you prioritise your day activities such as paperwork, selling, training, and problems? This has to vary according to responsibilities.
As a business owner your key task must be to win more sales and retain customers.
You should look at time spent with clients, customers, or prospective customers. If you could find an extra 5% of your time a day by better planning and organisation, or by cutting down on lunch or extra breaks – this could be an extra 20 minutes of your day.
Spend that extra time productively. Phone that client you have been meaning to ring for a week, chase that proposal up. Spend this communicating with customers and you could increase your sales figures by a third.
What about email? This can be a big time waster in your day. We have all come back from holiday to find 400+ e-mails in your inbox which takes you the majority of your day to clear only to find say four or five that are useful. Before sending an email or replying back, ask yourself why you are sending it? Is it really important? Does the recipient need this email or am I wasting their time?
Get your priorities right;
Make a to-do list every night;
Prioritise that list;
Don’t let others waste your time;
Keep e-mails to a minimum;
Time really is money, don’t waste it.
If you would like advice from Tedco, tel: 0191 428 3535 or email starting@tedco.org. Visit www.tedco.org.
Carole White, business support manager, Tedco
