Time Management in Business: Creating Systems
I get it. You’ve finally jumped on the dreamboat and took action after a long-winded relationship with that little voice inside of your head that kept you back from starting your business in the first place. And now that you’ve taken the plunge, you feel like you’re trying to well, let’s say, hang on to all of the helium filled balloons at once so that not one floats away. I hear you. It’s a challenge when you’ve got bills to pay, emails to answer, marketing plans to implement and….the list is never ending. So how do you keep it all, have it all and be all sane. Create a system that will translate: efficiency.
Managing Time By Creating Systems
What exactly is a system?
A system is a set of connected components working cohesively to form a whole. For example, your body is a living structure that is made up of various systems. You’ve got a circulatory system, a nervous system, a musculoskeletal system etc. If one system isn’t working properly, other systems compensate to allow the body to continue to function. Eventually, the wear and tear will cause disease.
Your business is like the human body
You’re business runs pretty much the same way. If you are working too hard for minimal return on investment, you, your family and friends and your business may have to pay the consequences of your poor management.
How you choose to go about your business can affect your life outside of it so why not organize it before it becomes a “to do” that just is too big to handle.
Consider these questions:
- Are your life systems working for you now?
- Do you find yourself feeling anxious or worried all of the time because there just aren’t enough hours in a day?
- Do you feel drained with no energy to get stuff done?
- Do you feel unhappy and irritable?
Yes?….how’s that working for you?
Yep. You may have a set of systems in place that aren’t quite working for you. So why not change them and figure out something that does?
A system could simply be an approach you put in place that will allow you to do something quicker and simpler; therefore, giving you more time to get more done with less headaches.
I can’t be bothered with the mundane
Like junk mail.
When you get your snail mail every day, what do you do with it?
Does it pile up until the drawer is overflowing or the designated area is full to capacity to the point where you just feel overwhelmed to sort through it? Does the pile get bigger and bigger?
A simple example of a time management system:
- Have a designated area for mail with a shredder, a now box and a file box.
- As soon as you get your mail, shred the junk mail. Remove the mail you want to keep from the envelopes and throw them away. Sort the mail between the boxes. Bills, for example, will go in the now box and statements in the file. If you do your bills online, figure out what pieces of mail will go in what box based on your own priorities.
- Designate a day in the week you will call mail day, that way you will focus on your mail (including email) the same day of the week. This will eliminate the daunting task of having to go through the big pile that you won’t have time to do later. And, it will create a habitual routine that after 3 weeks or so, will feel like you’re bare without it.
I use the same system for cooking. If you cook in bulk for let’s say 2-3 days, you will eliminate the time required including prep time to have to cook every day. Of course, this will only work for people who eat leftovers or don’t really have an affinity to cooking – like me.
These are simple systems that may not work for everybody but it can give you an idea of how you can get more done in less time. The key is to try to develop a system and subsystems for all aspects of your life. You will see how it will cut down significantly on all of the extra work required to perform a specific task. Try to aim at cutting down your task load, especially if it’s not going to contribute significantly to your bottom line.
What you are trying to develop is a method to accomplishing more much quicker than before. Your body, mind and pocket will thank you for it later.
If you are a reader, here’s a list of books to help you get started:
Best Books On Time Management
- Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence
- Getting Things Done
- Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
- The Now Habit
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard