You know that time is your most valuable commodity I your business. Can you put a price on your time working on your business? Are you trapped working IN the business instead of ON the business? In this article, we’re going to look into how valuable is your business time and how to make your work more efficient.
In this article:
- Hourly rate calculation
- Your business efficiency
- Business truth
- 5 Ways to make more time
- Conclusion
Hourly Rate Calculation
One idea is to calculate your earnings per hour. That works when you have a set salary. You look at your annual income and divide it by hours worked. You now have a rough idea. But does it tell the whole story? Have you included the time commuting, the odd jobs you do during the lunch hour or dropping the children off at school or day-care?
How efficient are you in your business?
What if you are running a business and your income depends on your business efficiency? Business people who spend their time doing more profitable work make more money. It is that simple. With more time you can invest in your employees, making stronger relationships that promote loyalty and innovation. What are the ‘high impact’ projects that should be your focus? How much uninterrupted time do you give to ‘high impact’ projects?
Business Truth
The truth is that everyone has the same number of hours each day. You can create time for yourself every day of the week. To help you make the next year the best year for your business, here are some simple and practical tips.
5 Ways to Make More Time
- Plan ahead
- Schedule blocking (or bundling)
- Outsource time-consuming tasks like answering phone calls
- Streamline your marketing
- Take regular rest
Plan Ahead
It is impossible to plan for every eventuality. Circumstances very much like the Google algorithm change every day. But you can plan your ‘high impact’ work. A business plan or a marketing plan will change but they are useful to benchmark where you are and where you want to get to.
Once you have those plans in place take some time to make your work a priority. Now, the most important part once you have the plan and the actions for each priority is to look at the ‘critical factor’. In each task which is the ‘critical factor’, that is the one (or more) factors that the piece of work relies on? You now have the plans, the task, the actions and WHERE to focus.
Schedule Blocking (or Bundling)
You will have repetitive tasks like answering emails or the phone. You’ll also want to continue your learning for the good of the business. You can block time for learning, two hours on a Friday morning perhaps. You can answer email every other hour for ten minutes (whatever works for you). But it is impossible to block time for answering the phone. Ignoring a call and letting it go to voice mail is not good business. Who will you miss talking to instantly? Was that call an opportunity to improve the business? Who is filtering your calls so you don’t waste time answering those nuisance calls.
Outsource Time-Consuming Tasks
You can’t do everything in your business. You need to trust and delegate especially if you are a trying to expand or a start-up business and momentum is key to success. You may be running on a reduced budget therefore you will want to make the most of every penny. A virtual Assistant (V.A.) is one route to support you and free your time. What about the bountiful phone calls coming into your business? How are you going to sort the valuable, the necessary and the sales calls?
A telephone answering service will free your valuable time and more besides. As an outsource, such a service pays for itself. It can be flexible; it can give a professional impression of your business and offer customer service. All these are for fixed costs so you can manage your overheads.
We established our company in 2007. Our ethos is simple. To give excellent service at an affordable cost. Try our 14-day FREE trial.
Streamline Your Marketing
You’ll have a marketing plan and you have to put it into operation. Here a V.A. will be a boon. Your plan will include social posting, here it is best to have a content schedule and batch the work needed. Social posting tools like Buffer and Later are a boon.
Take Regular Rest
Businesses, even efficient ones, can take up your energy. Do remember to make time for yourself and ringfence that time. When you are rested regularly the danger of ‘burnout’ passes. Use your energy wisely.
Conclusion
Time is our most precious resource. Take heed of the main points above. The key to making time for ‘high impact’ work is delegation. Use a competent and supportive outsource partner for everyday tasks.
