Taming That Time Management Beast
I hope Sunday is treating you well so far. Like so much of the northeast, we got some serious snow in Toronto this weekend. I’m sitting here next to my daughter who was up much of the night fighting a cold, a bit tired from shoveling and lack of sleep, and I’m thinking about how hard it can be to keep everything in life balanced.
Don’t get me wrong, I have it good. I have it great! I was just thinking about the work it takes to have a balanced life when you run your own business. So as Special Agent Oso entertains my daughter with his his three special steps to making orange juice, let’s talk about time management and life balance.
Whether or not you’re raising young kids like I am, chances are there are things in your personal life that become a challenge to balance with your business. We have to make choices. Sometimes, we have to make choices that we don’t like- the ones that hurt the feelings of the ones we love.
Some people wave the “I work 14 hour days” flag like a badge of honor. Not me. Whenever I miss dinner with the family or I have to work late and don’t get to tuck my kids in at night, I consider those days failures. But the thing I’ve come to realize is that those days are going to happen, and that’s fine.
Balance. Sometimes we have to sacrifice time with the family or others we love, in order to accomplish things with our business. When I bring my business forward and make more money, my family benefits from that. Sometimes, I make that call. But sometimes, the business opportunity is not worth the sacrifice.
One of the biggest advantages of running your own business is have a flexible schedule. This doesn’t apply to all of us. Some businesses, especially in retail, require a set schedule. But for most of us here, we have a lot to say about the hours we work.
It’s not unusual for me to get up at 5 AM to get a couple hours of work in before the family gets up. Then it’s the morning ritual- breakfasts, dressed and off to school. Then back to work for me. I try to be home for dinner, spend a couple more hours with the family and most nights the computer goes back on after they go to bed.
When I’m with them, I try not to look at the phone or pick up the iPad too much. This is something I can get much better at. There are times a quick glance is all that’s needed. An email hits that can wait, but I dig anyway. I’m working on this.
It’s an ongoing, constant process to keep your life in balance. I’ve picked up some good habits over the years though, and here are some of them that you can try to help you manage your time better. Hopefully they will help bring a little more balance to this entrepreneurial existence.
Establish set times for work. When you work for yourself, it is very easy to be at work 24 hours a day. This is the road to burnout and failure. You’re going to be putting in long hours- more than most people with “real jobs” but you should establish set work hours. You will go beyond these hours, no question, but when you do you should think of it as overtime. Having this mindset makes it easier to decide if a situation warrants “overtime”.
Make Lists. Oldest trick in the book, but making a list of the important things you need to accomplish that day, and trying to get them done as early in the day as possible, is one of the best things you can do to take control of your day.
Turn off email notifications. For most of us, this is very practical. Very few us us do something so critical that we need to get that email as soon as it is sent. For most of us, that email is an interruption It stops our workflow. Try to get in the habit of checking your email proactively, w hen the moment is right for you, instead of reactively, as soon as the other person sends it. If you do this for a week, you’ll never go back to the old way.
Take as many conversations to email as possible. While we’re talking email, I find it a much more efficient way to communicate than the phone. First, the phone is almost always an interruption. You can answer emails when the time works for you. There is also less likelihood of misunderstanding and an easy reference history of the conversation. I love email.
Stop muti-tasking. I know, this goes against what a lot of people think of as a time management tip. Why wouldn’t it be better to get a few things done at once? When you concentrate on a single task, you do it better, and usually quicker, than you would if you’re multi-taking. Trust me on this one, single-taking rocks when it comes to that todo list.
What are some of your tricks? Hit reply and let me know. Also, I’d love to know what stage of business you’re in. I want to prepare content for you that is as helpful as possible. Are you in the planning stage, just getting started, trying to grow? Please let me know.