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The Entrepreneur's Guide to Taking Control of Your Time

By Miles Galliford

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 09Jun2007 Word count: 451 Viewed: 205 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

After all, the most common reason for people to start their own businesses is to allow them to take control of their lives and find a better work-life balance.

How much Much is your Your Time Worth?

Let's say you want to earn £30,000 / $50,000 per year from your business. After weekends and holidays, you work 200 days of the year and you do 10-hour days. That means your time is worth £15 / $25 per hour. Remember that when deciding how you are going to spend it.

Definition of Time Management

Time management is the organisation and execution of work and leisure activities based on always prioritising what needs to get done.

Advantages

• Achieve control over your life
• Balance work, rest and play
• Be pro-active rather than reactive
• Relieve pressure and stress
• Stop working on time
• Increase your personal sense of achievement

Action Checklist

Plan your year first and your day last

1) Enter key yearly planning dates in your diary:
• Regular Meetings
• Known one-off events – trade fairs, company accounts, Board board meetings
• Holidays
• Family Occasions
• Planning days

2) Plan your next month:
• Count the available unplanned days available
• Duck less important events
• Reserve a free day each week
• Reserve key task time (review sales, do expenses, plan marketing activities)

3) Plan this week:
• Develop regular habits (e.g., review of weekly figures, preparation of management accounts, writing down expenses, etc.)

4) Plan each day at the outset:
• List and prioritise jobs. Give each a time and a deadline
• Make a list of phone calls and allocate a time when you will get through them
• Tackle jobs based on the impact they will have on the business
• Do the tough jobs before the more enjoyable ones
• Don't be too ambitious
• Be ruthless with paper and post that you don't really need
• Make a list at the end of each day of what you did not get done and a list of what you want to do the following day
• Build an ‘interruption hour' into the day

Get the Whole View

At the end of each week, think about what you have achieved in the context of your monthly and yearly business goals.

Get a Diary Format

To be really efficient, you need to create a diary format that helps you plan ahead and prioritise. You should also include leisure activities in this diary to ensure you are balancing work and pleasure.

And Finally……

Don't forget to reward yourself for achieving your goals. Go out to dinner, buy yourself something or take a holiday.

If you manage your time well, running your own business will be the best job in the world.

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