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by Fundid on February 18, 2021
As women business owners, we can easily spread ourselves too thin if we are not careful. Time management skills are crucial for women who want to own a successful business and also live a happy, productive life. After all, what good is a strong work ethic if you don't have a plan? Below are several tips on how to prioritize your time so that you can have a highly productive work week.
1. Identify What Your Main Priorities Are
First, take some time to think about what your biggest priorities are at the moment. Are you focused on fundraising another round of money from venture capitalists or driving traffic to your website? Or perhaps you want to focus on getting more publicity for your business in the next couple of months? Think about what you want to achieve in the next week, month, quarter, and year and write it down. Try to focus on two or three key strategies that will drive growth.
2. Categorize The Priorities According to Urgency and Importance
Next, organize your priorities into categories on a sliding scale based on their urgency and importance. As a rule of thumb, you should only complete tasks that are both urgent and very important. An example of tasks that only you should handle may include managing the company's financial records, pitching projects to potential clients, or any activity that is strongly tied to the core of your business.
Tasks that are not time-sensitive or important should ideally be delegated to someone else or postponed. Only delegate tasks that are important and will help the business move forward but can be performed by anyone (e.g., market research or customer service). You may find after careful consideration that the activity is a waste of time (such as weekly team meetings that don't have a core objective) and decide to get rid of it.
3. Organize Your Schedule into Time Blocks
Another tip that'll help you better prioritize your time is to organize your calendar into several time blocks. Schedule time in your planner for high priority tasks and try to remove as many distractions as possible. Focusing on multiple tasks can hinder productivity, so try to focus on only one task at a time.
You can also try the Pomodoro Technique to improve productivity. Set a timer for 25 minutes and try to get as much work done as possible within that time frame. Stop and take a quick break for five minutes when the timer goes off and start the cycle again.
4. Work on Your Hardest or Most Difficult Task First
Try to do all the tasks that you don't enjoy or find difficult first thing in the morning. Once you cross this off your to-do list you'll feel more confident and you'll be happy that you didn't let procrastination prevent you from reaching your goals. You'll also be happy to move on to the next task because you've already accomplished something that you dread.
5. Set Aside Time in Your Calendar to Plan for the Future
Successful entrepreneurs navigate their businesses with a purpose. The best way to prevent burnout or unfocused energy is to set aside a specific day of the week to plan ahead. Sit down Sunday and consider what you want to achieve the upcoming week and create a schedule. You should also spend a couple of days alone or with your team so that you can develop quarterly and yearly plans.