Think you could be getting more done? Don’t we all, but the saving time is money is especially true when you run your own business.

 

Productivity and time management skills don’t come naturally to everyone and that’s okay. The key is to identify the mistakes you’re making so you can be more efficient and better delegate your energy.

 

Here are five common time management mistakes you should avoid.

  • Not Planning Out Your Day

It’s important to plan out your day for maximum efficiency. You don’t have to know what you’re doing by the minute, but try to set daily goals including tasks you’d like to complete, then prioritize them in order of importance.

  • Multi-tasking

Entrepreneurs pride themselves on being a jack-of-all-trades but you don't need to be involved with every single part of your business. Be aware of what’s going on but check your ego at the door and delegate the right tasks to the appropriate people.

  • Being inflexible.

No matter how well planned you are, you will get interrupted. That’s why it’s crucial that your calendar has some flexibility. For instance, the other day, everything was going according to plan until right after lunch when a high profile client reported some technical problems with our software.

  • Over-and-under committing time.

We tend to miscalculate how long a task will take us to complete. We estimate something will only take an hour, then it takes closer to two hours. Sometimes it's the other way around but either way, it throws a monkey wrench into our entire schedule. Whatever was supposed to get done today has to be pushed until tomorrow.

  • Not Scheduling or Automating

Time management is all about using the time you have wisely and effectively to produce your desired results. If you’re doing everything yourself, you’ll find it harder to manage time and make any progress.

 

Time management can be a tough nut to crack if you feel like other people always seem to get way more done while you’re just holding on by a thread. Look at your typical workday and identify whether you’re making any of these common mistakes so you can gain more of your time back so you can spend it on what’s important to you.

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