5 Tips on How to Manage Your Time More Effectively

Do you find yourself dreading deadlines? Or that you have to work late and into the wee hours of the morning to be able to meet them? 

As a business owner it is essential that you know how to manage your time and stay organized so that you gain control of the tasks at hand and devote your time to projects that can positively impact the growth of your business.

Following are some tips on how to manage your time more effectively:

1.       Always have a to-do list. The secret to having an effective list is to jot down the most important tasks first. The list will help you keep on top of things so that you don’t forget to work on the most crucial tasks.

If you have a large project you’re working on like a “Social Media Campaign”, make sure you breakdown the project into specific, actionable items like daily “Facebook status update” or “10 daily tweets”.

2.       Set personal goals. Personal goal setting will help you have a vision to work toward to. When you have a goal, you’ll be more responsible in managing your priorities and time to get there.

3.       Learn to manage your distractions. IM chats, phone calls, checking your social media accounts, all these little distractions prevent us from achieving your work rhythm, which is the seemingly effortless work we do when we’re 100% focused on a task.

4.       Don’t take on too much. Know your limit and learn to delegate tasks. If you already have your plate full, learn to delegate tasks. Taking on too much is not an efficient way to work, and it can force you to produce rushed, sloppy work.

5.       Avoid cramming. Some people get an adrenaline rush when they see a pile of papers on their desk or when they know that the deadline is just hours away. Although some claim that they tend to work fast and much more efficiently when they’re cramming, this is something that needs to be avoided.

Cramming can lead to a lot of stress and sloppy work.

Over to you..

How about you, how are you trying to manage your time? Please share your thoughts and comments below.