Time is money, want to save some?

No matter how driven, focused, or hard-working you are, it is easy to lose track of time during a hectic workday. In the blink of an eye, your day or week is over.

As experts we know that business owners know this feeling all too well. Even during lockdown, with more time available (less travelling, meeting online), there is still not enough hours in the day. To be productive and use your time wisely, we recommend tweaking your routine and utilise time-saving tips.

For this reason, we wanted to ask you two important questions.

1. Are you using your time as wisely as possible?
2. Are you being as productive as you could be?

To maintain a healthy Work-Life balance, we know it’s critical you use your time wisely and you are as productive as possible. For this reason, we wanted to share our tried and tested options that will help you save time.

• Track your time
  It’s a real eye-opener and gives valuable opportunities to increase efficiency.
  By measuring your time, you can evaluate whether you are spending it wisely. Otherwise, how could you identify areas that need adjustment? Focus on your timewasters one by one. Once you get over the shock of how many minutes you waste, you can reappropriate where it will do better. As you check your progress regularly, your steady improvement will motivate you to eliminate even more time-wasting practices. You will benefit from measuring your time for as short a period such as a week or a day.
• Do one thing at a time
  Multitasking will cost you 40 percent of your productivity, according to behavioural psychologist Susan Weinschenk. The problem is, you think you are doing two activities simultaneously, but you are switching rapidly from one activity to another. Switches last a fraction of a second, but over the course of a day, those seconds add up to a significant loss of time. You also make more errors and inhibit your creativity when you multitask. Instead, block off an hour or two to concentrate on your most important task.
• Keep meetings to a minimum
  Meetings are responsible for a lot of wasted hours. First, let us address the meeting setters. Is a conference necessary? Would an email serve the same purpose? Does the entire team need to attend (because they play significant roles) or only certain members?
• Take a break
  You might be wondering, how would taking breaks save me time? Because breaks make you more productive, you are more likely to finish projects sooner and save time to complete other projects.
  As a business owner, you may find it challenging to step away from your desk. What if someone needs you? How will you get all your projects done? Instead of making excuses, devote time during the day for breaks.
  Start off by taking mini-breaks (e.g., five minutes long) and work your way up to longer break periods. Consider also scheduling your breaks at specific times to designate when you should spend time away from work.
• Set deadlines
  You are likely used to assigning due dates for employees to get assignments done. But, do you do the same for yourself? Switch things up by setting your own hard deadlines.
  Setting deadlines may be difficult at first. However, establishing due dates can reduce time spent on projects and save time for other tasks.
  Consider setting hard deadlines for your projects, especially your bigger tasks. Deadlines can help motivate you to complete your work and give you the incentive to focus. Also, telling others about your deadlines can help hold you accountable.
• Look at adopting tech
  To begin saving time in your day-to-day business operations, you cannot be afraid to automate. You can automate things like payroll, accounting, social media, and marketing to help save time.
  Implementing automation tools allows you to simplify repetitive tasks and gives you more time to work on important projects. And automated processes can help make sure your business runs like clockwork.
  Consider automating your accounting and payroll duties by investing in accounting software and payroll software.
  Tools like Buffer and Hootsuite allow you to schedule social media content. That way, you do not have to worry about posting or forgetting to post to your accounts.
• Stay organised
  Organisation is key for small business owners. Without it, you can get caught up searching for documents and files to complete your other responsibilities. The sooner you start to get organised, the more time you can save.
• Prioritise tasks
  When you feel behind at work, you may need to put other tasks on the back burner. Instead of delaying or cancelling projects time and time again, prioritise them. 
  Make a list of all your projects for the week and prioritise them from most to least important. Assess which tasks bring your business the most benefits and focus on them first. 
  Sometimes a shift in priorities causes you to push back a task. If you need to rearrange priorities as you go, that is OK. Prioritising tasks allows you to remain organised and motivated. And it lets you accomplish tasks sooner so you can save time for other responsibilities.
• Consider outsourcing
  If you find you cannot keep up with your list, consider outsourcing tasks. Look at your task list to see . Assigning trusted employees additional responsibilities lets them gain experience and learn new skills. And, it helps lift a weight off your shoulders by decreasing your workload.

It is no secret that saving time has many benefits for businesses. And, some timesaving efforts have more advantages than others. Using the time-saving tips from above might allow you to:

• Increase productivity
• Reduce stress
• Become more organised
• Improve service, performance, and quality
• Complete more tasks more quickly

In our minds it’s a win, win so why not give some a try!