Businesses can only grow if owners are able to give time and attention to new ideas. Moira Dunne outlines how you can win back time to put towards developing your business
In most businesses, the primary focus is on customer satisfaction and delivering products and services to the highest standard.
To stay competitive and evolve, however, businesses must also continuously develop and improve their offerings.
Coming up with new ideas to innovate isn’t a problem for many business owners who are able to carve out time to work on them – but for others, doing so can be a challenge.
So, what is the best way to prioritise business ideas within the cut and thrust of a busy day, often while juggling urgent requests from important stakeholders?
We know that, if we don’t develop the business, it can stagnate. This can lead to anxiety that makes us want to do everything at once, resulting in decreased productivity and little business growth.
Win back time
To include longer-term development activities in your schedule, you need to start working smarter to free up some time each week.
There are three simple steps that can help you take back time to focus on bigger projects that can ultimately move the dial for your business.
1. Think
Think about what you need to do to develop the business. Do you need a strategy? Do you need to improve your products? How can you innovate in new areas?
Start capturing those great ideas that swirl around your head on paper. Then, review the list, prioritise and make a plan to deliver.
2. Understand
Before you can win back time, you first need to understand where time is currently wasted.
By using a simple time log template or any task tracker app, you can gain insights into your time usage.
Popular apps include ToDoist.com, Monday.com or Zapier.com.
This exercise can reveal patterns and trends that allow you to adjust your focus and activities to win back time – this time can then be redirected into higher-value business activities.
3. Identify
Winning back time each week may require some hard decisions. Consider the following:
- What is the best use of your skill, knowledge and experience?
- Do you spend too much time on tasks that could be delegated?
- Do you focus on the operational work because the more strategic projects are harder to think about or work on?
- Are you reluctant to delegate because you don’t think tasks will be done to your standard?
These are all common challenges when a business wants to grow and develop. You may decide to let go of tasks you enjoy working on. You may have to trust others within the team to step up and do the job. Be prepared to train some team members to achieve the long-term gain that benefits the business.
Changes you can make today
Actions you can take to win back time today will vary from business to business. Here are some for your consideration:
- Complete high-value tasks early in the week to give you momentum and motivation, which will also minimise the odds of getting pulled off track.
- Spend less time on low-value tasks by batching them together to complete at set times in the day.
- Leave the low-focus tasks until your low-focus time of day.
- Give yourself permission to say no.
- Protect time for high-value work by establishing routines, such as days without meetings or time blocks when you do not look at emails.
- Delegate or outsource what you can. Include regular reviews and feedback to ensure success.
- Share a document with the whole team to capture new ideas on an ongoing basis. Review this document at a set time, list and prioritise, then select the key ideas to progress.
Moira Dunne is Founder of beproductive.ie
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