Do you have a running list of “to-dos” that seems to get longer as the day progresses? Even as you check things off the list, attend meetings, and perform vital functions, you cannot seem to fit everything into your day?
This is a challenge encountered by business owners across every industry. As the day continues, the list of things to do seems to get longer.
If completing your daily task list is almost impossible, this article is for you.
How to Fit Everything into Your Day
It’s time for you to check off your entire list. Here is how to do it!
Get Organized
Getting organized is one of the hardest things for many business owners because they don’t want to “waste time” planning. Instead, they want to go ahead and conquer the day!
Think of planning, calendaring, and strategizing as the very first step to conquering the day. You can either do your organizing at the beginning of the day or the end of the previous day. Either way, getting strategically organized will help you check off every task on your list.
Delegate Tasks
There are some task lists that, by nature, will never be completed by one person. You cannot fit 35 hours into a 24 hour day. It just won’t work. If your task list is so long as to be impossible to complete, it’s time to delegate.
Delegating requires a few steps – which is why many business owners opt to keep the impossibly long list instead of handing some of it over to an employee. However, once you have delegated a task properly, then you never have to do it again. It’s permanently checked off the list.
Here is a rapid overview of what you need to do to delegate:
1. Identify the tasks to be delegated.
2. Decide which employee(s) are qualified for this additional work. You may need to hire someone new if the task list is long enough.
3. Create knowledge transfer materials that can provide employees with the knowledge they need to complete the tasks.
4. Create processes and procedures so that these materials are utilized and updated by the employees now completing the tasks.
5. Have the employee(s) train on the task and get started.
When this is done, you will never have those tasks on your list again. So, delegation may take some extra work on the front end, but it saves you an enormous amount of time and mental energy for years to come.
Use Your Work Hours Wisely
There are so many ways to waste time during the workday. A smartphone is enough to distract any individual for hours on end. On top of this, there is a vast trove of distractions on the internet. Then we have everyday distractions like home-related tasks that are bugging us in the back of our minds. These could be something like needing to make a doctor’s appointment or a nagging suspicion that your child will need a new raincoat before the end of spring.
All of these things distract from your work hours and end up making your workday longer.
Try to limit or delay distractions. For example, if you commonly have appointments to make or remember something you need to do that isn’t work-related but has to be done during work hours, keep a running list on your phone and schedule a time to take care of these tasks. Other activities that don’t need to be done during work hours can be listed and then taken care of after completing your work.
Put a Time Limit on “Never Ending Tasks”
Some tasks like answering emails or having discussions on Teams never end, and they interrupt your day. Sometimes you need to be part of an ongoing dialogue, and you certainly do need to respond to client emails.
Instead of setting an alert that disturbs your day, block out a couple of calendar slots for working on email or your project management platform. Then set a stopwatch or an alarm that notifies you when it’s time to wrap up.
Get Assistance
There are many ways to reach out for help. You can get an assistant or receptionist, hire a business consultant, or discuss issues with a mentor. You can hire a contractor to help with short-term projects that never seem to fall off the to-do list.
No matter your need, someone can help. So, reach out and get the assistance you need to keep your business growing.
If you need process and management consultants, you can reach out to us! Just click here to contact us.
