Feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done for your business to grow and maintain? Maybe you’ve got so many things you need or want to get done, but you just don’t know where to start. I get it, sometimes that to-do list can feel like a big giant glob of anxiety. I mean, how’s a girl supposed to get things done, when all the things are crying out for attention?
Let’s break it down into 7 simple steps shall we? These steps will help you kick that overwhelm to the curb by:
- Figuring out the pieces that make your business go
- Make a list of all your goals and tasks
- Prioritizing tasks
- Finding a schedule that fits your style
- Getting rid of those distractions
- Settling on an organizational strategy
- Figuring out what makes your business go
1. What are the pieces that make your business go?
What are the parts of the engine that keep your business running? Entrepreneurs wear a lot of hats, especially in the beginning. So it can be super confusing to manage your time, if you aren’t clear on what makes up the core of your business.
Identifying all the parts of your business engine is your first step towards better time management because you’ll know how to best spend your time. For example, I know that the pins and pivots and other enginey things for Loving Simple, is the blog, social media (Instagram and Pinterest), and email list building.
I know this because, I’ve sat down and figured out that this makes up the engine that is Loving Simple, I can devote time to each of these areas. When you can devote attention to each aspect of your business, you’re putting yourself in a position to continue to move forward.
2. Make a List
Now that you have identified the engine of your business, it’s time to break it down further. You need to write down all the parts of the parts that keep that engine moving forward. (Are we enjoying my analogies so far?)
For example, if you have a blog, you know that you’ll need to write blog posts, edit those blogs posts, design blog graphics, respond to comments, and promote your blog posts. Whew, sounds like a lot when it’s all written out like that. But writing it all out allows you identify exactly what you need to be doing to keep your engine running smoothly. It also prevents you from forgetting an important step that could slow down your progress.
So, here’s another little tip that you could easily do once a month over a cup of coffee, preferably at the beginning of the month. Write down all the tasks that you want to get done that month, along with some goals. This will help you keep your goals for the month in perspective. It’ll also help you see what’s at stake if you procrastinate on one of those tasks. It’s like a domino effect.
3. Prioritize
Once you’ve written down all of your tasks and goals in one place, it’s a lot easier to figure out how you can prioritize everything. There willl be tasks that take up more time and energy than others, and there will be tasks that need to be done before you can move on to others. For example, you may need create a freebie to offer potential email subscribers to build up your email list.
These bigger items should be at the top of your to-do list, so that you can get the best return on your time investment. Not only will you feel awesome after completing a big task, but it’ll give you more motivation to complete even more. And it frees up your headspace for the other smaller tasks left to check off your to-do list.
4. Make a schedule that works for you
So, if you’re like me, or anyone else in the world, you’ve probably got other responsibilities and commitments to take care of outside of your business. Mama-hood, possibly a regular job outside of your business, church, friends, they all require a piece of your time and your schedule. Your business is no different. Just like you make a coffee date with your friend, think about doing that with you business. I know it’s hard to make time for your business when you’re just getting started, and it isn’t quite paying for itself yet. But it’s worth it. Make that date with your business.
Let’s go back to our your-business-is-an-engine analogy. Remember all those parts that keep the engine running? All those tasks that are super important to complete, so that your business can keep going forward? Yeah, make those tasks the coffee part of your date with your business. Meaning, those will be your focus when you sit down to do some work.
I’ve experimented with a couple different scheduling techniques. I’m not sure about you, but my dates with my business are often brief, and tend to be late at night or early in the morning due to the schedule of my outside job and my mama job. So, I tend to squeeze in business work whenever I have a free moment. Or when my tiny people are sleeping.
Time Blocking:
This worked somewhat okay for me, granted at the moment I don’t have huge blocks of time to work with. I found it hard to complete tasks within my allotted times to complete them, so I ended up not finishing many of the items on my to-do list since I kept having to stop and start again. But here’s what it looked like for me:
6AM-7AM: Social Media Management
10AM-11AM: Study Business Principles
9PM-10PM: Design Web Graphics
10PM-12PM: Blog Writing
I wasn’t super strict when I tried this method, in that I ONLY wrote blog posts from 10pm to Midnight everyday. Sometimes, I didn't feel like it, or I traded that with another task earlier in the day. You have to go with the flow, sometimes that’s going with the flow of your creativity. If you don’t feel like writing blog posts, but it’s your allotted time to do so, then you’ll just end up staring at that blinking cursor. And believe me, there’s nothing worse than that.
Batching:
Then I heard about about batching tasks. This is just batching similar tasks and doing them all that day. For example, Monday is blog day. I brainstorm blog ideas, outline, write and edit blog posts. This worked better for me than time blocking, because then, I could just focus on creating blog content with each little bit of time that I had.
These are awesome techniques, but remember, sometimes work life balance is about blending rather than separating. So, sometimes those dates with your business are crammed in over breakfast, or a quick perusal over your phone when little ones are playing or you get a quick break at your 9 to 5. Which leads me to my next point.
5. Eliminate distractions
This might be easier said than done, especially if you work from home. I mean come on, sometimes your couch and Netflix just screams for attention. Or if you’re a mama it’s your toddler screaming at you for another snack.
But there are distractions you can eliminate or at least mute since tiny humans aren’t born with mute buttons. For instance, your phone. I know for me, my phone is something I’m always taking a glance at to make sure I haven’t missed a text message or a notification from Instagram or Pinterest. So, when it comes time for me to sit down and focus on my businessy things, I put my phone in another room so I’m not tempted to look at it every 5 minutes. Unless of course, my phone is required for businessy things. Whatever your main distraction is, brainstorm ways to eliminate it, so you aren’t losing precious time to interruptions.
6. Be organized
Organization is another important part of time management and productivity. . If you’re not organized, then you’ll be losing time looking for something you need to get your tasks done.
So, what I’ve learned is to keep everything I need for my business in one centralized place. I utilize Google Drive pretty heavily. All of my blog outlines, brainstorming ideas, goals, and little tips and tricks I’ve learned live here. It’s there when I need it, and it’s there from any device, I just have to log into Google. If you’re looking for a centralized place to store all your business content, definitely give Google Drive a try! But try different methods, you never know what will work best for you.
7. Assess your Success
One of the best things you can do to make sure you’re managing your time, is to practice assessment. Take an honest look at how your days are going. Are you getting those tasks ticked off your to-do list you created at the beginning of the month? How about those goals? Are you getting closer to any of those goals you set for yourself?
Think about how well things have gone at the end of the day, week, and month. At the end of the day, ask yourself if the work you did pushed you closer or farther away from your goals. How effective was the week as a whole? Then take a step back and assess the overall progression of your month. What made your month successful or what kept you from achieving that success?
This assessment gives you a chance to identify what patterns, habits, or systems are working for you. When you can identify methods and systems that consistently produce the results you want, then you know to stick with it. Don’t be tempted to leave those methods and systems behind when the next new shiny thing comes around.
Now, don't we all feel better? That to-do list doesn't seem as scary anymore does it? It's amazing what a little breakdown of tasks, time management, and organization can do for a gals outlook.
Now go forth and build, you beautiful business babes you!!!