1 Challenge

• “I’m an entrepreneur and I want to use my time more productively.”

2 questions

•  “Where am I spending the most time and why?”
• “How can I use my time better?”

3 Tips

• Break down tasks into bite-sized chunks
• Block your calendar
• Automate or outsource

Entrepreneurs are among the world’s busiest people. And with good reason. Someone with a great new business idea knows that the journey from ideation to business success is long, arduous and filled with many obstacles. An entrepreneur is the CEO of her organisation. But often, she is also the book-keeper, business development manager and project manager. She is the rank and file, and the boss, the peon and the decision-maker.

But as every entrepreneur also knows – busy does not always mean productive. Since an entrepreneur is pulled in many different directions – sometimes simultaneously – she often struggles to use her time productively. And at the end of a very busy day, week or month, she may muse in wonder, “For all the hours I put in, what did I actually manage to achieve?!”

Does this sound like you? Then this article is for you!

In this brief piece, we will provide some useful tips to improve your productivity and increase your chances of entrepreneurial success.

Tip1: Break down tasks into bite-sized chunks

Almost every entrepreneur relies on some form of to-do list to manage their tasks and time. Unfortunately, these lists, while a good way to stay systematic and organised, don’t necessarily help improve productivity. This is especially true if the list includes a number of large tasks.

So, how can you manage to complete all your tasks if a majority of them are major and time-consuming? The best way to keep from get through each without getting overwhelmed is to try chunking. Break down your major tasks into chunks and assign a time interval to each chunk. This is similar to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) concept used in Project Management. Make sure you account for any inter-relationships before you assign time limits to each sub-task. To help you prioritise, you can use colour coding and tackle each task accordingly. A number of software tools are available to help you with this. Make use of them!

And how do you define priority? A good way is to think of the goal of that task and ask yourself questions like:

• Will this task lead to my making more money, winning more clients, or improving my product or service?
• Is this task urgent? If so, why?
• Can I do this task later without any adverse consequences?

Another idea – don’t try to multi-task. Research shows that multi-tasking is the enemy of productivity. Focus on one task at a time, and pick up the next task only when the previous  task is complete.

Tip2: Block your calendar

Often, entrepreneurs try to pack more (and more, and more!) tasks, activities and achievements into a limited amount of time. But this choice is not sustainable. In fact, it can be very draining and prevent you from achieving many of your entrepreneurship goals.

And one of the most draining demands on your time is made by – you guessed it – people! Don’t get us wrong. No entrepreneur can work in a people-less vacuum. Your team members are people, and so are your vendors, suppliers and clients. You need them to keep your business going. However, these same people can also affect your productivity.

Here are some things you can do to keep them from draining your productivity.

Start by blocking time on your calendar for productive tasks. Don’t schedule any meetings or conference calls during this time. Close your email client, turn off notifications on WhatsApp and other social media, and if possible, turn off the ringer on your phone.

At the start of your day, study your to-do list and estimate the time you may need on each task. Assign a time to each task accordingly. Remember that this is just an estimate so you should also leave some buffer time on your calendar for task overruns, scope creep, unplanned phone calls, etc.

And do let people know that they are not to disturb you when you’re working on non-people related tasks.

Tip3: Automate or outsource

Entrepreneurs love doing everything themselves.

Balance the chequebook?

I’ll do it!

Do market research by studying hundreds of websites?

I love it!

Sweep the office floor?

I don’t mind!

It’s great to be passionate and gung-ho about your business. And frankly, no entrepreneur – or their business – can survive without passion. But this passion comes at a cost – productivity loss!

For every minute or hour you spend on non-productive tasks, i.e. tasks that don’t have a direct (or even indirect) impact on your business’ productivity, you don’t just lose time, you also lose something that’s equally precious – money. Remember the Economics concept of opportunity cost? That’s exactly what comes into play here!

Why not outsource such tasks instead? Hire a CA or market research company. Ask a cleaning company to take care of your office hygiene. Invest in technology to automate certain repetitive or non-productive tasks.

By pushing these tasks off your plate, you will be able to focus on what really matters – growing your business. And if you’re worried about money, remember that for a small amount you spend now, you will enjoy huge returns over time.

Conclusion

As an entrepreneur, you can stay on top of the million tasks you need to complete every day and the bajillion goals you need to achieve to be successful. However, neither of this happens automatically or by chance. Make some deliberate choices and take some concrete actions to manage your time better and be more productive. The results will be totally worth it.

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