Tip #1 Assess your priorities to find the time for your business
The biggest difference we see between business owners who find the time and those who do not are priorities. Those who find time prioritize their business. They may not prioritize it above their families, but it is up there. The same applies if you still have a day job. Try working before going to your job, during your lunch hour, after you clock out, and on weekends. If you want to run and grow your business, then you need to make the necessary time to get there.
Tip #2 Assess where you are currently wasting time
Did you know that adults spend an average of 3 hours, 43 minutes daily on mobile devices, not counting calls, and 3 hours, 35 minutes watching TV? That is more than 40 hours per week that you can use for your business. If you feel like you can’t find the time to work on your business then do an audit of what you are currently doing with your time.
Audit your time to find time for your business
Track your time for a couple of weeks (don’t cheat and record it accurately). What you find will be eye-popping. No matter how aware you think you are of where your time goes, you will get new insights.
Download an app to make time tracking easier.
At the end of your time tracking period, schedule an uninterrupted 2-hour block of time. Carefully, review your recorded time and list all the tasks you are doing, then prioritize them.
Here are some questions to ask yourself about each business-related task in order to find time for your business:
- Will it bring me new business, customers or clients and especially the kind of new business I want? (Marketing your business and following up with leads is an emphatic “YES!” Designing flyers or business cards is a “no”).
- What will happen if I stop doing this task? Will I lose money or business?
- Is it critical that I do this myself?
- Is there a way to automate this task?
Discard everything that is unnecessary
Most likely, you will find that you have several tasks you are doing because you “should” and not because you “must” do them.
Tip #3 Cut out the side projects, errands, and chores that are getting in the way
If you are honest with yourself, you can probably find projects, errands, and chores that are not a good use of your time. For example, pay someone to cut your lawn or use delivery services such as Instacart for grocery shopping, so you can spend more time on your business. When you focus your energy on the right tasks, you will find time for your business and make more money. Therefore, your job is to make sure you are using your time and energy wisely.
There’s a tendency with many business owners to simply say that no matter what comes their way, it must be done without first assessing the level of effort vs. rewards. If you have the capacity and time to do everything, that’s great, otherwise, you need to prioritize because not everything that comes your way is not equally valuable.
Final Thoughts
The reality is that not having time to work on your business is usually not true. Often, you can find the time. Start with these suggestions and notice how much more time you have.
See how you can schedule some time this week to work on growing your business. If you start with these three simple tips, you will have more time than you ever dreamed of to grow your business.
Further Reading
