How to develop a time management strategy

As an entrepreneur, chances are that on most days, you feel like that the day just flew by and you didn’t accomplish any of the things that you had set out to do. Fear not! This is a widespread affliction, if you can call it that, with entrepreneurs in India and abroad. However, there are some things you can do to make the best use of your time. When you use your time correctly, there will be time to pursue your hobbies, time for the family and time to take a break.

It’s true though that as the founder of a company, in the early days, you will not be able to afford a team big enough to handle different aspects of your business. You will have to divide your time efficiently to make allowances for a number of processes like managing sales, marketing, operations, etc. But multi-tasking doesn’t come naturally to many people.

So how does one tackle this situation? Well for one, you could create a time management strategy for yourself.

Get organized

This article is definitely not the first time someone has suggested that you make yourself a to-do list. You have probably made and thrown an endless number of to-do lists in the trash can in your attempts to manage your time. But still, the first thing is to develop a time management strategy to ‘make a to-do list.’ Make to-do lists not only for the day, but also for things you are looking to accomplish in the week or in the year. Don’t use an app. Use pen and paper. And now put this up in a place where you will have to see it constantly.

Maintain a calendar

A calendar can help to give you clarity about your tasks. If you have a meeting at 2 PM and another at 5 PM on Wednesday and one at 10 AM on Saturday, put it on a calendar instead of trying to keep track of all of this in your head. The more often you mark down your appointments on a calendar, the more in control you will be.

Plan for the unplanned

In an ideal world, you would go from task A to task B to task C and get through every to-do list you ever made. But everything you thought wouldn’t happen, will, especially when you’re on a deadline. Account for the unplanned while setting time apart for each task. Make sure these things don’t throw you off your planned schedule completely.

Identify the unproductive things

Social media is the best example for this one. We are not suggesting that you get off Facebook and Twitter! That would be unimaginable for a business in today’s times. But if you are spending considerable amounts of time on social media, ensure that it’s on your company’s social media pages, rather than on a friend’s album. Once you have identified such unproductive things, find a way to minimize them or schedule them. Beware though, unproductive activities can also be related to your business. Are you doing the same task over and over again? Effective planning and thinking about the task before you set out to do it can help you minimize that.

Leverage technology

There are a large number of apps that can help you with managing time and avoid wasting it. Try and use instant messaging as a way to communicate rather than long-drawn emails.

Maintain notes on your smartphone and use apps like Evernote to archive and access the information you need more often. It works better than spending a long time going through old notes or emails pertaining to a particular meeting.

Staying in check

Sticking to a to-do list takes some work and effort. Create a system to check it yourself. In the middle of the day, have a relook at your progress and adjust the schedule for the rest of the day accordingly.

Another thing you can do is assign this task to a friend or colleague or family member. Sticking to a hectic to-do list will require encouragement and you need to take the support of the people who can help you best with that.