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No Time In The Day? Here’s How Modern Entrepreneurs Can Manage

Being a modern entrepreneur is a tough game. You’ve got a much wider market to deal with than any other generation that came before us, and that also means a lot more competition for funding as well.

You may have a great idea that anyone would be happy to get involved with, but beating everyone else to the investor application is wholly another matter! 

This issue of time management can be the worst thing a modern entrepreneur has to deal with. When it feels like you’ve got no time left in the day to get things done, you’re not going to achieve your goals in an acceptable time frame.

While these goals are going to be a bit different for every business, the issue remains the same.

 It’s why prioritizing time management skill development is the best thing to do. No matter what point you’re at in establishing your business presence, knowing you can handle the next 24 hours in the best way possible will solve a lot of your problems!

Get Up Early, Sleep Early

Fitting in a good 8 hours of sleep is the hardest thing for a young business person. No matter what kind of job you’re working, whether you’re employed or self employed, you’re going to miss out on those crucial unconscious hours. And that’s usually all due to a skewed sense of a healthy work/life balance. 

Sometimes this is a fault of your own, a lot of the time it isn’t, but the end result is the same. You don’t sleep, the days get harder, and you’re always tired. A lack of energy can lead to a long term lack of business success, and that just isn’t going to help you achieve any goals!

So, start heading to bed earlier and then waking earlier. Yes, you need to do both! This will soon shift your sleeping pattern into something that works out better for your business ambitions. You’ll be both the early bird that catches the worm and the well rested entrepreneur that can get the job done. 

Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time

Planning meals prevents lunchtime panic, and makes sure you always eat a good breakfast before heading out to work. Whether you work from home or not, a good meal prep action plan ensures you’re fueled up and eating healthily, even when you’re spending upwards of 12 hours on the job. 

If you don’t have the energy to come up with a full meal plan, you can simply decide what to eat the night before and write it down. Then when the morning comes, follow your instructions! Healthy, tasty, and nutritious meals are an integral part of a good work/life balance. 

If you can handle making them when dealing with a busy schedule, it’s a very good sign for your future time management skills. 

Multitasking Can Be Counterproductive

Did you know that trying to split your focus is only going to slow you down? Instead of speeding up the way you work, nine times out of ten you’re going to lose out on crucial minutes towards the end of the day. 

As such, try to focus on one thing at once. If your sole time and attention is funnelled towards the most important project of the day, not only is it going to get done faster, but to a higher quality as well. If you’re multitasking, who knows how well the end result will turn out? 

Of course, the pressure to multitask is going to be crushing. If you’ve got a lot to get through, doubling up on tasks is the most tempting thing in the world. But try to resist; take things on one at a time. 

Download a Project Management Suite

Technology is here to help, not just make you feel like you’re racing against the clock. Time management is difficult when we’ve got a timer blinking away in the corner of the computer screen and in the center of our lock screens. The minutes are always ticking away and we feel we never quite get closer to crossing everything off the to-do list. 

Does this sound like something that’s been driving you crazy at work? Then you should look into applications like NetSuite project management. Use a better tracking method throughout the day and you’ll soon stop feeling like a snail that never quite catches up. 

A suite like this helps you to sort projects into neat boxes, list tasks in order or priority, and automatically cross things off as you go. The annoying admin tasks that keep us wasting minutes, such as working out what we’re going to spend and the best times to post on social media, can be automated through a system like this too. 

Create a Practical To-Do List

A practical to-do list focuses on what you need to get done day by day. An impractical to-do list compiles everything you want to get done in a vague and uncertain way. You have no time limits to follow, no deadlines to keep to, and little to no motivation to get it all done. 

So write your to-do lists on the daily. Write them in the morning when you’re fresh faced and in the zone, and then slowly get through the list throughout the day. 

If you don’t get everything done, that’s fine. Take it as a learning moment; if you run out of time on a task and it’s something you’re going to need to do regularly, you now know you need to cut down the time you dedicate to it. 

Monitor Your Phone Usage

Do you tend to pick up your phone every 10 minutes? Or whenever you come across something that requires a little bit of hard thinking? Then it’s time to break the habit. 

The need to spend time playing mobile games and scrolling through social media can get pretty pervasive, and it’s something you want to put limits on while you still can. 

This is one of the best ways to manage your time; head into the ‘screen time’ section in your phone and put blocks on things. You may even want to delete an app if it takes up more than 10 hours of your time per week. 

Some Projects are More Important Than Others

It’s true but it’s something you’ll have a hard time adjusting to. After all, bigger clients with bigger budgets are going to offer you the most. Focusing on their needs is no bad thing when you’re trying to establish your business. 

This may lose you other clients in the short term, but the results of this one project could mean a much bigger payoff when all the work is done. After all, it might land you a lot more network contacts and even long term work with this specific client. That’s the best kind of bonus anyone could ever expect! 

Breaks Prevent Burnout – Take Them Liberally

Taking a break is essential in the modern workplace. If you need one, take one! Whether it’s for 5 minutes or 20, a good break allows the stress of the past few hours to wash over you. 

This also means you have a much better chance of getting a project completed without feeling like your head is going to explode. That’s a common symptom of burnout and it’s one you should pay attention to. Take a break, take a breather, and make sure you feel better when you sit back down at your desk. 

You’ll also need to take vacation time too. Don’t think you can work the whole year, no matter how much you want to!

Decide What Progress Means to You

It’s up to you to decide what should happen during a working day. As such, it’s up to you to measure your progress in your own way, and subsequently decide what means the most to you. 

Maybe it’s closing a new deal? Maybe it’s making a new connection at a business event? Maybe it’s just getting through the day knowing you’ve satisfied all the customers that have shopped with you!

Whatever you want to achieve as an entrepreneur, don’t let someone else tell you you’re not meeting the goals you should be. You’re the one who decides them and you’re the one who spares the time to meet them. 

As far as time management goes, it’s better to focus on the positives rather than all the missed opportunities everyone else keeps talking about!

No Entrepreneur Should Struggle with Time Management

Modern entrepreneurs should benefit from modern technology and understanding just as much as they need to compete with it. If you’re someone who struggles with finding enough hours in the day, this is the post for you. 

So, use the tips above to help you develop your schedule and habits that’ll enable you to stick to it. Even when something unexpected happens during the day; if you’ve got the skill to adapt, your business is going to be just fine.

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