Revealed: 7 Secrets To Better Time Management For Entrepreneurs

Last Updated on May 31, 2020 by Nadim Alamuddin

Have you ever wondered why the Warren Buffets of this world are rich and famous? Do they know a secret about time management strategies that we don’t? Why do they appear more productive? How do you really explain it?

Well, if you really look closely, it is not what they know but what they do and the habits they form that are the keys to their success. It is how they spend their time that really counts. What we need to do is practice on using our time efficiently, all the time. This is what time management and being more productive is all about. 

But, you may ask, why am I writing to entrepreneurs? This is because I believe that entrepreneurs are usually busy setting up their businesses, usually while they have a current job. In order to more productive at what they do, they need to learn certain techniques so they don’t end up failing in both ventures (their jobs and their new businesses). 

In this blog post, I will outline 7 ways to use your time more efficiently so that you can seriously increase your productivity. Consider them as management tips for busy people.   

Secret #1: Track how you currently manage your time

How can you tell if you’re not managing your time well? You need to first track what you’re doing and look at ways to optimize your use of time.

How about listing all the activities you do during the day? Split your list into two columns, one titled “Income Producing Activities” and the other titled “Non-Income Producing Activities”. I have written a blog post on this topic, so I will refer you to “How To Grow Your Business With ONE Key Ingredient.” The key here is to prioritize and focus your time on “Income Producing Activities”. Sure, there are many activities that are non-income generating that will still need to get done. But, you just need to prioritize.

Once your columns are listed with activities, you need to measure how much time each activity takes you in a day.  Write down when you wake up, when you get ready (prep work before you set for work) and when you actually start work.  Write down how much time you actually spend on calls, on emails, on surfing the web, on social media.  

Here’s a time tracking tool (free trial available) to help you calculate what each activity takes you every day (Toggl).

Secret #2: Assess Your Time Per Activity

Ever hear the expression “Time is money”? Of course you have! Now, you need to assess how valuable your time is for each activity. Knowing how much your time is worth will help you make decisions whether you need to do a certain activity or decide to delegate or outsource it.

Let’s illustrate with some real numbers. Suppose your time is worth $100 an hour, wouldn’t you rather outsource writing a newsletter to someone at Fiverr or Upwork for about $15, saving you not only the $85 but also your valuable time that you can put on something more critical?

Secret #3: Smart To Do List

Start your day with a daily calendar or a to-do-list. Some people refer to their to do list as a TO-DAY list, meaning that you only put down tasks that you must finish today. Without this, how can you tell if you’ve accomplished everything you set out to do? But this is what you need to do though. Categorize your activities into three or four groups, such as client activities, business activities and personal activities, etc. Make sure your to-do-list is achievable each day.  

Here’s a free tool for a to do list (Todoist)

Secret #4: Prioritize!

Maybe I’m repeating myself here, but, prioritize!  If you have too many activities to do in the day, you need to figure out which activities are critical and which can wait. Go back to point number one, where you’re looking at income generating versus non-income generating activities, or, of course, however you need to categorize your activities based on the type of business you’re running. This is where all the above points integrate together. You should be challenging yourself to categorize which activities must be done today, which could be outsourced, which can wait and which could be completely written off.

Secret #5: Know When To Say NO! 

Another huge tip – you need to learn to say no! By saying no, I mean you should not take any calls that are not critical for your business, such as personal calls (unless it’s your spouse and it’ll be detrimental to your marriage 😉  )  But, seriously, you need to respect your work time. Have your friends call you later in the day or in the evening, where you can allocate the time for personal activities.  

Another big time hog – email. When I concentrate on a task, I shut down my email and I focus on the task at hand. Email can wait. Focus on getting things done. You need to allot time for these activities. If you’re in marketing or sales, email is still key to your livelihood, which is why it needs to be scheduled at some point in your day. But, do not start an activity, then when your phone buzzes with a new message, leave everything and go back to the email! You would have lost your focus, your train of thought and very precious time.

And what about social media? This is something that, if not in check, can suck out all the time you have on your hands! Let alone take you completely off track!

Secret #6: Get Organized!

It is much easier to find references to things when they are organized in their proper folders. At work, I find it easier to color-code my emails to know which are important and which are less important. For example, you can color code your clients & prospects (leads) mails in red, your personal emails in blue and other emails as black to allow you to concentrate on those that are business critical.

Secret #7: Focus On Your Objectives!

• Stick to the plan or to your objective of the day.
• Avoid interruptions at all costs, especially email and social media.
• Finish whatever task you start
• Don’t stop working until you are satisfied you have achieved what you set out to do in the morning.

Following the time management strategies above will give some of your wasted time back. You will notice that you will work more efficiently, be more productive and be able to tackle more tasks in the same time each day.

Some of the ideas that I wrote on this post were inspired from my reading similar articles on the web, such as:

1. 5 Time Management Techniques Worth Using – Entrepreneur (written by Dan S. Kennedy)
2. Entrepreneurs Need Time Management Accelerators, Forbes (written by Martin Zwilling)

Lastly, if you enjoy writing and want to get started in creating a blog, whether for leisure or for your business, please be sure to read my “From Zero To” series of blog posts, beginning with “From Zero To Blog In 5 Steps“. If you already have a blog and are wondering how to work with Gutenberg WordPress Editor, please click here.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and that it has taught you a trick or two. Please leave me your comments below and subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss any future posts. Also read what this blog is about, if you haven’t already.