Time Management Tips for Part-Time Entrepreneurs

by Startacus Admin

More and more of us are starting businesses on the side and trying our best to juggle all those other aspects of our lives. Whether you’re holding down a day job or looking after your family, it can be a real challenge to try and build another business at the same time. That ‘business’ might be a hobby or a lifelong passion or perhaps a new venture altogether but if it’s going to be successful, you’re going to have to devote proper time to it. And that’s where the challenges can set in. Time - there’s never enough of it. The secret (if there is such a thing) is all down to how you manage it. So if you’re currently struggling by trying to do it all, these Time Management Tips for Part-Time Entrepreneurs should hopefully help.

Set time aside
It goes without saying that you’ll need to be disciplined when it comes to managing your time. That might mean setting your alarm early and getting up to put in a few hours before the rest of the house awakens or burning the midnight oil and working late in the evening. The key thing to aim for is to have some time where you can focus, where you can avoid interruptions or distractions be uninterrupted and where you can effectively get on with your ‘job’. If you live alone of course it might be a tad easier; however it’s important in that regard that you don’t spend every single spare second working. You need your down time too.

Organise yourself
Whether you write a to do list or use an app to list all those must-do tasks, it’s important to formalise the things that you’ve got to do. Having some direction and instilling a sense of structure and organisation can really help you make the most of what time you’ve got. Establishing a routine can help too - from where you work through to the time you choose to work. Make clear distinctions between your ‘business’ time and your ‘work’, ‘ family’ or social’ time. If you fail to do this, things can get a little blurred round the edges, shall we say and that will get you nowhere.

Prioritise
When you’ve got a lot of tasks to do and very little time in which to do them, it’s important to establish which tasks will have the biggest impact on you and your business. Work out which tasks will help your business make the greatest gains and focus on them. When you’re trying to set up and grow a business, there are so many things to be done that figuring out which is most important can be a challenge in itself. Look at your overall goals and objectives and then prioritise and work on the tasks which will help you achieve those goals soonest. It might seem easiest to do the simple tasks first and put off the bigger more challenging ones; however there’s a danger that you could keep doing that and then the tasks that really need to get done, don’t. There can be a real sense of achievement if you get the tasks you’re dreading out of the way first. Go on - try it!

Use tools to help
These days there are all sorts of tools and resources available which can help make creating and running a business much easier. Obviously Social Media can help out with developing your business - the promotion and the marketing and even the selling of your product or service. That can take time in itself though so using tools such as Hootsuite can help you engage with customers in a more efficient way. Online schedulers and time management apps can also help you make the most of those precious few hours at your disposal.

Avoid Productivity Drains
If you’ve only got a few hours each day to work on your business, it’s vital not to waste them. Even if you’re working alone and your family are leaving you in peace, there are still a whole host of things which can distract you and get in the way of you doing anything productive. These time wasters can range from responding and replying to emails and using social media through to general procrastination. Reddit or Break anyone? Again it comes down to scheduling slots of time to undertake tasks such as emails and engaging on social networks and then sticking to those Luckily for you we’ve previously selected our favourite Tools to Stop you Slacking. Use them. They work!

If you like what you see here on Startacus and want to get involved yourself, why not become a member of our growing community by joining for free here!  Or... if you prefer, why not get features like this direct to your inbox by signing up to receive our bi-monthly newsletter. Simply enter your email address and we'll be in touch. 

Subscribe to our newsletter

If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.

• #
• #planning

Published on: 18th March 2013