The pressure people in charge face can be beyond what others see. Whether you are expanding your business to ensure it covers more ground or you are working at streamlining operations from the inside out, a lot of what you are doing can feel like you're battling time more than anything else. Mastering time management is critical when every second counts, so let's show you 4 of the most productive approaches.
By Team Savant
Image: Emanuel Ekström
Batching Tasks
If there's one thing that we need to do better, it's actually grouping similar tasks together to minimise interruptions and maintain focus. If you dedicate specific blocks of time for meetings, emails, or similar functions, you're not wasting time going from task to task. This is why so many business leaders and politicians utilise every spare second because they can group similar tasks together while also recognising where they function better.
Lots of entrepreneurs do things while they travel, and if you are in a position where you have to meet people face-to-face, you can rely on business jet hire companies to help you charter a private jet. This saves a huge amount of time in long check-in lines or waiting at crowded airports, which are a complete drain on your resources, not to mention the fact you can't speak about confidential information while you are queuing up! You're also able to schedule multiple meetings in different locations on the same day, which can be vital in relation to the next point.
Plan Around Your Energy Levels
Look at where you are most effective. Lots of people are more focused around mid-morning. Of course, it's all subjective, but if you schedule your most demanding tasks, in other words, your meetings, early on in the week, you are eating that frog, as they say, but this also means that you should ensure proper sleep to maintain focus and productivity throughout the day.
Those big meetings require a lot of prep, so recognize that if you are having to fly around or travel to places, it can give you a competitive advantage.
The Importance of Saying No
There can be the temptation to say yes to everyone, but you need to understand who are time-wasters. Establishing your boundaries by limiting unscheduled meetings or unnecessary calls helps you to focus on planned priorities.
We can easily get caught up in the having-meetings-about-meetings mindset. Always go in with a plan. Agendas and being strict on time limits are essential, particularly if you're hearing other people pitching to you. Giving everybody a good crack of the whip is important, but ensuring they are preparing for their presentations can make a huge difference as well. You can also use tools like the Eisenhower Decision Matrix at this point to master what is truly important.
Automation and Productivity Tools
We've got to work smarter, and this is why streamlining those workflows is critical. Project management tasks like Trello or Monday.com can be vital, but also look at automation and using those AI tools to your advantage. Task management apps like Notion or ClickUp can help you organise responsibilities as well.
Mastering time management will help you master your business, so it's important to be more aware than ever.