In recent posts, I have written about a productivity framework and the time management skills…
9 Essential Time Management Skills for Business Owners
Today’s business owners, need exceptional time management skills to survive and prosper.
Competition, accelerating change, customer and employee expectations and the sheer volume of information create a maelstrom that can easily lead to a loss of focus and overwhelm.
The challenge for business owners is how can you lead, inspire your team, and create an amazing customer experience, when you personally are out of control and stressed? It just doesn’t work!
Against this background, in my last post, I outlined a series of proven time management strategies that can help business owners establish a framework to more effectively use their time.
In this post, I cover a set of time management skills and practices to free up time to focus on what is important.
Time Management Skill No. 1 – Start of Day Routine.
One of the most powerful time management skills I learnt was to establish a robust start of day routine.
As a business owner, (or in a leadership role), it is very easy to get caught up in the vortex of running the business immediately you walk in the door.
When this occurs, we lose sight of what is important and the High Payoff Activities needed to move the business forward.
The start of day routine I found worked was:
Time Management Skill No. 2 – Work on the Business.
Another of the powerful time management skill I learnt was to schedule quiet time to work on, rather than in, the business. (An hour of power!)
I first came across this idea when I read Michael Gerber’s classic book, The e-Myth Revisited.
But the truth is, while I enjoyed the book and understood the concept, I never did anything about it, until I saw its impact in action.
My turning point came when I saw a failing manufacturing business suddenly turn their performance around.
While doing a tour of the business, the owner explained all the changes they had implemented that contributed to the turnaround.
At the end of the tour I asked him, how he came up with the ideas that lead to such a dramatic change. He said, “Bruce, I think!”
In essence, after a health scare, he went into his office one morning and told the team he was not to be interrupted. He told me he sat there with a large blank sheet of paper trying to “think” his way out of the disastrous situation he was facing.
He said; “For an hour or so, all I could think about was the problem. I then sat back and effectively gave up!……Then the ideas started to flow. What if we changed this? Do customers really care about that?”
From that day forward, he saw his role more about working ON the business and leadership. He set aside two hours every Friday specifically to work ON the business – time his team knew he was not to be interrupted.
I was so inspired by the results, I set aside an hour each week to specifically work ON my business. (I did it early Monday morning as I found it provided a great foundation for the week)
Within a short time, I had more ideas than I could possibly implement. It changed how I worked, where I focused, and significantly increased my enjoyment of the role.
Time Management Skill No. 3 – Meetings.
In my experience in the corporate and business world, far too many meetings are a waste of time.
Too often they are about “keeping score” or “ticking a box”, rather than actually moving the business forward or delivering value.
One of the valuable time management skills I learned was to:
Sales meetings in particular should not be about keeping score, but alternatively:
(Under performance should be addressed at another time through personal coaching – not embarrassment in front of colleagues).
Time Management Skill No. 4 – Calendar Flexibility.
An essential time management skill to master is managing your calendar and in particular, leaving space for the unexpected (which always occurs):
A key part of effectively managing your calendar is to learn to:
Time Management Tip No. 5 – Avoid Distractions.
Research has shown our senses are exposed to some 11 million bits of information per second – but our brain can only process between 40 to 50 bits per second!
From a productivity perspective this has profound implications:
The key lesson from this is, to the greatest extent possible, minimise distractions.
I first came across this concept when working in finance. A key part of my role was to review and approve loan applications.
It was not unusual to have 20 applications on my desk at any time competing for attention. It seemed, as quickly as I dealt with one application, it was quickly replaced.
By the end of the day I would invariably head home exhausted.
On reading this research, whilst doubtful, I thought anything was worth a try. The solution was simple. I put all files, apart from the one I was working on, in a cabinet behind me.
The transformation was remarkable. My productivity significantly improved. I was able to process applications faster. I started enjoying the process and felt less drained by the end of the day.
As a result of this experience, one of the key time management skills I employed subsequently, was to the greatest extent possible, (& practical), remove distractions.
Time Management Tip No. 6 – Preserve Energy.
Related to avoiding distractions, another key time management skill to learn how is preserve mental energy.
The reality is, it is hard to be creative, innovative, or provide an amazing customer experience, if you are mentally drained.
Again, research has established our brain consistently uses 20% of our energy – even when we are asleep.
If we are stressed the brain continues to drain our “battery” at the rate of 20%, leaving less energy to help our body deal with the challenges we perceive we are facing.
Some practical ways to preserve energy:
Time Management Tip No. 7 – Help Team Members Find the Solution.
One of the greatest traps a business owner or leader can fall into is being the “go to” person for all decisions or challenges.
Apart from reducing time available for other activities, it also impedes the growth and confidence of the employee involved.
When approached by an employee seeking a solution, a powerful time management approach is to:
Apart from saving time, the benefit of this major approach is that it greatly assists employee growth and confidence.
Obviously, there will be times where you need to provide some direction or even the solution. But these will be the exception rather than the rule.
Time Management Tip No. 8 – Deal With Overwhelm.
Even with best practice, there will be times when things get out of control and you feel overwhelmed. So much to do, with so little time!
When this occurs, a helpful time management skill to learn is to:
Then review your Task List (Is it a Task List to a Guilt List) and for each item decide whether to:
Time Management Tip No. 9 – End of Day Routine.
The final time management skill I find helpful, (and satisfying), is to establish an end of day routine:
Summary.
Business owners need to employ a range of time management skills to cope with the demands of running a business.
In addition to the practical skills outlined in this post, it is important to understand the impact of distractions, and pay attention to managing that precious resource – your energy!
Key to successful time management is to structure daily activities within sound start and end of day routines. To set the scene and ensure your focus is on what matters – then at the end of the day to review what worked and what didn’t.
If you want to learn more about ways to improve your time management skills – don’t hesitate to reach out.
In my next post, I will cover my favourite tools I use to improve productivity.
Bruce Hall.
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