Are Your Business Practices Saving Time or Wasting Time?

by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger

04 Feb 2007 05:13 PM

Ah, time--what a slippery, elusive, necessary thing time is when you're trying to run your own business. For many of us, how we manage our time has a direct bearing on our bank accounts, and yet time management tops the list of things most entrepreneurs grapple with. How do we get things done efficiently without wasting time?

Tasks take time--but how you do those tasks and what you're doing with your time can make or break your home business. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be a mad multi-tasker (although that can certainly help) but it does mean that we have to be able to recognize time savers from time wasters. For me, telephone conversations and e-mail can both be huge time wasters--however, if I manage e-mail correctly, it can save me more time that making telephone calls to colleagues and clients. The truth is, playing phone tag--voice mail to voice mail--can be such a waste that it's better for me just to send a complete e-mail than to try to catch some people on the telephone. So, I have to learn to work within those parameters and evaluate when it's a time waster or saver to pick up the phone or get on the e-mail.

Some people find that setting time limits and schedules helps to keep them from wasting time--they check their e-mail in the morning and at the end of the afternoon, or give themselves one hour at the end of the day to return phone calls. Others find that making phone calls while they are doing other tasks helps them keep the time productive.

Other big time wasters for me can be going to the bank (so I do as much online as I possibly can), generating article ideas (I try to do this while I am doing other household tasks or errands), and commuting time. Technology is a big time saver for my business--fax machines and the internet. In fact, buying a new fax machine was such a boost to my time management (I was able to fax invoices, proposals, etc.) that I kicked myself for having not done it sooner.

Take a look around your business operations and see how you are saving time and where your biggest time wasters are. Chances are, you'll be able to come up with a better way to manage things and experience a little self-awareness around your working style while you're at it!

See Also: How's Your Time Management?

Learn more about Kori Rodley Irons

Bio has been removed by administrator

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger