Redefine Your Management “Quality Time”

Time is a precious commodity for every entrepreneur. With all the responsibilities of managing and growing a small business, the hours and the days can easily slip by, sometimes leaving one to wonder just how much got accomplished.

For many, the go-to time management tool is the to-do list. Marking off completed items may provide a sense of satisfaction—at least until you remember what else has to get done— but it may not be as productive as you think.

You may be tempted to start with small easy tasks, or things you’re in the mood to do, Often, however, they’re things that won’t drive your business forward.

Instead, entrepreneurs should prioritize tasks based on revenue, a concept called “dancing near the revenue line.”

The key is to consider how many steps each task separates you from revenue. One step is providing the service or making the products. Two steps are doing a proposal or developing a product that may lead to new business. Three steps are going to a conference to develop a skill set, which can be used to develop and sell a new service.

You should always prioritize from the top down, but don’t neglect the 2- and 3-step items; they all contribute to your business.

Answering email may be among the one-step tasks you complete during the “quiet” hours of the morning. The problem here, is that it costs you control over this valuable time of the day. Open it and you’re forced to react to what the sender wants. If you don’t start the day with you in control, you’ll never get it back.

Instead, devote your mornings to the most critical, high-conscious task that will benefit your business. It may be things that you’re tempted to put off—strategic planning, writing a proposal, analyzing financial numbers, or evaluating your marketing strategy, Once that’s done, then you can ‘roll up the shades’ and open for business.

Finally, lower your expectations when it comes laying out each day’s to-do list. Staffing cutbacks in many organizations have left many workers with time management challenges of their own as they manage multiple roles and responsibilities. And, lingering economic uncertainty has increasingly caused many decisions to be delayed, sometimes indefinitely.

That can lead to a lot of frustration when you find yourself waiting and waiting for actions that may not occur for a while. Focus on a smaller number of critical things each day and release the rest. You will feel a sense of release and focus.

One item on every entrepreneur’s to-do list is to contact SCORE. You’ll find a wealth of small business-related information, resources, and training, plus free, confidential counseling from more than 11,000 business experts. For more information, visit www.score.org.

David Inskeep is a retired Commercial Lender, Retired military officer and retired collegiate educator. He can be reached at davidinskeep1@gmail.com.