Many entrepreneurs start their business ventures to allow more flexibility in their schedules. If that’s the case for you, set your schedule the way you want and stick to it!
Stick to Your Hours
If your personal sovereignty list is like mine, it says you won’t work nights and weekends. Be sure to communicate your office hours to clients so they don’t think you’re on 24/7. Even if you work late one night, I recommend that you don’t send emails then. Either schedule them for a later time (Gmail allows you to do this!) or save them as drafts and send the emails in the morning.
Include timelines on your proposals and contracts. To keep everyone on task during the development of a new website I outline major milestones and their completion dates. I also include a list of my deliverables and items they need to provide me with. A portion of the timeline might look like:
1st week of February: website questionnaire to be completed together face-to-face
2nd week of February: client to deliver logos, images, fonts and/or brand identity guide
3rd week of February: creative and technical briefings, sitemap draft and approval
4th week of February: design mockup presentation by Terra, key staff to attend (client)
1st week of March: first round of homepage design drafted
2nd week of March: first round of interior pages designs drafted
3rd week of March: mobile responsive designs drafted
4th week of March: meet to approve header/hero images
Manage Your Time
How well do you use your time now? How productive are you? What time-wasting habits or procrastination habits do you have?
If you’re moonlighting and working a day job, your time management is crucial. Decide what you are passionate about, what you want, and what you will and will not do. Write it down and stick to it.
Create a Not-To-Do List
I don’t sew, iron, use Snapchat, do school fundraisers, or dust. If you’re not passionate about it, it’s not important, and you’re not good at it, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. If you can pay someone to do a task at a rate that is less than your hourly rate, do it.
Assuage your guilt by reminding yourself why you need to focus on your thing. You are not less of a person if you don’t bake cookies from scratch or use paper plates.
Consolidate
Combining similar tasks streamlines your time. I schedule my phone calls for Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons. This cuts down on how often I have to be in my office, makes it easier to switch tasks, and doesn’t interrupt me during my deep work time.
Automate
Technology can come in handy to automate your tasks. I use my calendar to remind me of all kinds of tasks. I set reminders on my calendar to let me know when I’m two weeks out from an event. Then I confirm the details. One week out my reminder tells me it’s time to submit all my handouts and resources. I set a reminder for the travel time I need so I know when to leave.
Templates allow us to save time and automate our tasks. They make our work more consistent. Any email, document, or report that you create regularly should start with a template. You’ll find the quality of these items improves, too.
Routine
A good routine frees up your mental energy. If you generally do the same tasks first thing in the morning, first thing when you get to work, before you leave work, and before you go to bed, you don’t have to overthink it. You’re less likely to forget something when it becomes routine.
For tasks you do less often, checklists are spectacular. I have a monthly task list for work items, a packing checklist, which has separate columns for international travel (passport and outlet adapters) as well as one for camping.
What are your time saving or time management tips? Please share in the comments below.
