If you are following me, it is likely you are struggling for time, and considering whether to employ a Virtual Assistant (VA). These days so many of us are time poor, struggling to fit everything in, doing too much. We often over-commit ourselves. Especially those of us out there who run small businesses, and don’t make much money, so can’t necessarily afford to buy in services for everything we’d like to.
So if you are struggling, and want some top tips that can help save time during your day and make you more efficient, here goes.
1, prioritise the tasks on your To Do List. Start with the most important ones to ensure you tackle the biggies early on in the day. Then you can start on other tasks
2, embrace the power of delegation. Don’t hesitate to share responsibilities with others to lighten your workload. This could be at home perhaps with your partner or children, as well as in
the workplace. Or employ someone to do certain tasks they are better at, that you don’t enjoy, or are not your skillset, so you can focus on the important things in your life
3, track your time – it has been said that ‘what gets tracked gets done’, so if you track the time you are spending on the tasks taking your time, you can see where you time is going, review it and then look where the most time is being spent, and consider if any time is being wasted. If you think it is, consider how you can make small changes to stop this happening, and get that time back
4, utilise technology wisely. Explore apps and tools that can be used to streamline your tasks, helping you save time and stay organised. I will be covering some of these in a future blog post, so stay tuned and watch out for that coming soon. Smartphones are an ideal way you can utilise time that can otherwise be lost. For example, if you have to wait for appointments, or for your children doing clubs, you can use this time to tick off things on your To Do List, and if you have the technology set-up on your phone it makes it so much easier than having to carry paperwork or a laptop with you
5, eliminate multitasking. Focusing on one task at a time can really boost productivity, prevent errors and definitely save you time in the long run. As women we often try to multi-task, and whilst it seems like a good idea at the time, it hardly ever ends up being the case
6, allocate specific time slots during the day for checking emails and messages. Constant interruptions can hinder your flow, so designate specific times to respond. This is especially
true of social media, where it is likely you will get distracted and start scrolling when you should be working
7, batch similar tasks together. This minimises “context-switching”, allowing you to complete similar activities in one go. This might be phone calls you need to make, emails to respond to, orders to place, invoices to send, and many other administrative tasks
8, take short breaks. Stepping away from work for a few minutes can refresh your mind, leading to increased efficiency when you return. We often think we are too busy to take a break, so try to carry on, but this slows us up, so taking a break can be the best course of action, and then getting back into it and concentrating hard will be easier
9, optimise your workspace. A tidy and organised environment can save you valuable time searching for things. Is your workspace neat and tidy? Do you have filing systems in place, both physically and online so you can find things when you need them? It’s probably valuable time spent setting these up, to save time later, when you might need something urgently
10, learn to say ‘no’ sometimes. Prioritise your commitments and don’t be afraid to decline additional tasks that may hinder your productivity. We can’t keep adding to our To Do Lists, if we aren’t ticking things off
Implementing even some of these ten time-saving tips can help you reclaim valuable minutes, and possibly hours, in your day. If you have any more tips on how you save time and make your day more efficient, perhaps you can share how you currently manage your time?
Jean Weir – Oyster Flame – Giving you valuable time back (in your day)