Seven Tips to Make the Time to Build Your Business

1) Clearly layout on paper what is most important for your business by what makes the most money for your business. Then focus on those items over other items that might take more time but do not produce results. This is the 80/20 rule that we have all heard about.

2) With the remaining items that did not make the top 20% most important items, you will have to decide if you should minimize the times, delegate the items, or delete them all together. If you determine that a task is important but not worth the time that you spend on it, look for outsourcing services that can handle the task at a reduced wage.

3) Put email in its place. Limit the amount of time that you spend reading and responding to email. And limit those that have your personal email address to avoid wasting too much time on this one task. Turn off any automatic notification tool that is tied to your email account. And instead select set times during the day to respond and read your messages.

4) Don’t send out as much email. The more you send, the more your receive. So to receive less email, send less. And if an email is not time sensitive, delay responding for 48 hours. This will also reduce the number of emails that are exchanged.

5) Find your most productive times of the day and focus on tasks during that time. Turn off all interruptions and do not respond to phone calls or emails. Schedule the periods of time on your calendar if that is the only way to make sure you have a good 60 to 90 minutes to complete important tasks.

6) Leverage technologies that reduce your communication time but do not become tied to them where they control you.

7) Hire a personal assistant or a virtual assistant. Finding a good personal assistant may take effort upfront but in the long-term will save you an incredible amount of time. A personal assistant might cost $500 a month but will save you 40 hours. How much is your time worth?

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