If you’ve considered starting your own business but want to begin on a part-time basis while maintaining security with your current full-time job, you’re not alone. Many entrepreneurs have found it beneficial to start out this way.
For anyone starting a business, learning to manage your priorities and time is critical for both your financial and overall well being. I have found, in working with start up phase entrepreneurs, this is an area that gets ignored because more emphasis is placed on business planning and developing the services or products. But if you set up time management systems from the beginning, you’ll be able to have greater productivity that doesn’t drain you — not only during the start up phase, but even after you leave your full time job.
It’s easy to get consumed with the details of your business, but if you want the opportunity to experience and enjoy other activities in life, taking control of your actions and how you spend your time is imperative. It’s all about prioritizing, focusing, and being productive, rather than simply being busy.
Here are 9 key elements for using your time effectively:
1. Focus on productivity
Are you in business or just playing business? I heard that question years ago and it has stuck with me ever since. This can be the difference maker between success and failure if you’re starting a business and especially so if you still have a full-time job. Being busy is about motion and playing business. Being productive is about results and running a business. You can spend a lot of time actively working, yet accomplish relatively little. Think of your time is an invested resource. What is your time worth? What is your target goal? Consider the results you are likely to see from the course of action you’re about to take. Are the expected results from this activity worth your invested time? Productivity is key.
2. Plan each day
Your priorities and objectives change from day to day. Create a new list of action items each day. Any items that are incomplete can be moved to tomorrow’s list, but only if they’re still priorities. Create your list the night before and you won’t waste time in the morning trying to plan your day. You might also discover some solutions to your challenges if you have the opportunity to step away and sleep on them. If you find it helpful, schedule time slots to work on each item, or break the items down into time blocks such as listing things to do before lunch and after lunch. Breaking up the day like this can make things more manageable.
3. Work when you are most productive
We all seem to have certain times of the day when we are able to accomplish things with greater ease. Have you ever had that feeling like we are in our work zone and things are clicking? That’s probably your optimal time during the day to get things done. My peak performance times are usually between 9:30 AM and 1 PM and then again between 9 PM and 11 PM. Since I know this is when I have the most energy and usually will not be distracted, I try to schedule my most important work during those times. This way I’m more likely to get things accomplished with greater ease. This puts me in a good frame of mind and that helps keep me motivated to keep going.
4. Control distractions and interruptions
There’s always something that needs your attention. However, you’ll get more done if you can stick to the important tasks before allowing other things to grab your attention. What are the situations you know cause you to get distracted or drain your productivity? What can you do to schedule your day to remove or work around these interruptions and distractions? A big one for me is to limit when I check and respond to email. If I didn’t manage my email time, I would get nothing else accomplished as I always have correspondence to reply to.
5. Stop multi-tasking
The ability to multi-task has been praised for a long time, but recent research is showing that multi-tasking is a mistake. Some studies have shown that by focusing on one task at a time you can increase your productivity and performance. Focus your time and energy on one area until it’s completed or you’re scheduled to move on to something else. Consider using a timer to help you stay on task. If a task should take 25 minutes to complete, use a timer and try to beat the clock. A simple kitchen timer or a free app for your smart phone can really help you stay focused.
6. Be timely not perfect
Oh, this is a hard one, I know. Sometimes, though, good needs to be good enough. Working full-time and running a business requires focusing on the time required by certain activities. A good, timely solution is often better than what you think is the perfect solution, which may be complicated and too time-consuming to implement. Your second or third choice may be the best solution if it saves you time. Let go of being perfect and make decisions with time in mind.
7. Delegate
Do you insist on doing too much? Attempt to release some control. Whether it’s in your job, the business or at home, delegate as much as you can, and push yourself to delegate even more than you think you can. It’s not healthy nor is it financially responsible to do it all. Leveraging your time by using others to help is one of the top strategies successful entrepreneurs know how to use. Follow their lead on this. Determine the activities that can be done by someone else more efficiently and pass them on.
8. Build discipline
Many entrepreneurs start their own business because they like the idea of having autonomy. It can become easy to avoid thing you don’t want to do, but there are things that still need to get done. Your resistance to doing these things is like a 4 year old child throwing a tantrum, yelling “I don’t wanna!” To be mature enough to run a business, you need the discipline to quickly push through the stuff you hate. This is a key strength of many successful entrepreneurs. Figure out what you hate to do and why. Is this something you can delegate? If so, delegate. Is this something you must do yourself? Why do you hate it? If it’s based on fear or something that makes you uncomfortable, think of it as if you are doing it for the business, not yourself. By doing it for the business rather than yourself, you may be more likely to power through the issue. You can also have someone hold you accountable like a coach, mentor, or accountability partner to keep you from letting them down.
9. Live
Many entrepreneurs get caught up in the energy of creating a business. If this intense focus on the business is not managed properly, it can lead to burn out and a life that is out of balance. Just like you schedule daily actions on your to do list, make sure to include time for other parts of your life, such as relationships, fun, spiritual, health and other activities. After all, I’m sure you want to start your business for more reasons than just creating extra work for yourself.
Managing a full-time job and a business start up can be challenging, but many people are able to do both successfully. Prioritize the most important tasks, minimize the distractions around you, and let others help. You’ll get more accomplished in less time with greater results!
Have you started a business on the side? Did you work a full time job when getting started? Are you thinking about starting a business? Share your suggestions, thoughts or questions below!
Tony Khuon | Agile Lifestyle
Mary, I had to build my website businesses while I was working as a full-time attorney. It wasn’t easy. I think all of your tips are important. One additional thought is choosing the right things to work on. The list of things you could do that don’t move the ball forward substantially is lengthy and seductive. Managing time as an entrepreneur is as much about choosing what you don’t work on. Thanks for the article!
Tony Khuon | Agile Lifestyle last blog post…5 Breakthrough Techniques for Managing Time