Time Management – Business Coaching

February 5, 2020February 2, 2020

Tackling Work-Life Imbalance

As a business owner or entrepreneur, you may have the freedom to control your work schedule, but that doesn’t make it easier to achieve work-life balance. In fact, a study conducted by Melissa Milkie and her colleagues at the University of Toronto found that people who set their own working hours and work over 50 hours a week tend to have more, not fewer, work-life conflicts.

If it seems the work will never end, making changes in how you work can reduce your workload, free up time for your nonwork life, and prevent burnout. Here are three ways to better manage your work hours.

Delegate

If you’re just starting out, you may not be in a position yet to delegate a lot of what you’re doing to get your business off the ground. But experts say that three years in, you shouldn’t still be putting in 70 hours a week. Hiring right, and training well, will keep you from doing the job of two people.

Be Productive

There are so many distractions to draw us away from the task at hand, and I don’t mean the obvious ones like social media. You can get sidetracked from pursuing your most important goals by day-to-day emails and calls. If you’re not achieving what you set out to do each week, take a close look at how you are spending your time at work and consider trying a different time management system.

Segment Smarter

Achieving work-life balance doesn’t mean sticking to traditional working hours of Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, and not working the rest of the week. You might find mixing work and nonwork segments throughout your week is more effective for your schedule and workflow. For example, managing email in the evening when there are fewer distractions might help you get through your inbox faster, and work more efficiently the following day, opening up time for a nonwork activity.

For some people, stress and stress-related health issues are signs that their work-life balance is off. Focusing on how you spend your nonworking hours can help you get the most benefit from the time away work. In a previous blogpost, I recommended three ways to make changes in your personal life that help can help improve your health and mindset.

May 23, 2019

Time-Management Skills in the Office

Are you easily distracted? If you need to learn how to spend your time wisely, then continue reading to learn about the importance of time-management skills in the office. If you don’t manage your time wisely, you might miss important deadlines, have poor work quality, accumulate unwanted stress, get a poor reputation, and have imbalance in your work (and your life). Proper time management can help you deliver work on time, produce better quality work, become more productive, have less stress, and grow in your career.

Put time aside for specific tasks. This helps your brain structure your day, allowing you to accomplish more and manage your time better.

Prioritize your work, to help you focus on important tasks. Give full attention to high priority projects. This will improve your work quality.

Giving yourself a schedule and prioritizing your tasks will make you more productive. A more productive professional leads to career growth.

Stress is not good for your productivity or your health. Time management tasks can reduce stress, which will decrease your sick days at the office.

Time management skills at the office will give you more time outside of the office, improving your personal life as well.

If you would like further information or you have any questions about this blog, you can email me at pjweiland@actioncoach.com or call 847-739-3079.

To register for our complimentary workshop, How to Build a Business you can Sell, visit www.actioncoach.com/pjweiland. Let’s work together to help your business grow.

October 31, 2018

How to Prioritizing Your Time in the Office

With our lives becoming more busy these days, we need to find a way to help prioritize our time. Here are some simple ideas to help make your time in the office less stressful.

Plan your day the night before. Try to figure out how long each task with take, so you can map out your day. Make sure to include your morning routine and your lunch break. Making a list of these timed tasks will help you stay on a routine throughout the day.
Be flexible. You may need to adjust your schedule for new projects or other unplanned things that come up during your day. To do this, add a couple 15-minute slots into your schedule with no tasks. You can use these to catch-up on unplanned tasks, to read or go for a walk, or to just get ahead on your to-do list.
Do the most important tasks first. Plan to take on the tougher, more important projects first, when you’re the most alert and ready to work. Plus, you won’t have to worry about them for the rest of the day.
Eliminate distractions. Don’t check your phone and email all day long. Give yourself 5 or 10 minutes at the top of every hour, or every 2 hours, to check your messages or respond to emails. This will help keep you focused and on track.
Stay mindful. Keep your calendar close and your desk clear of clutter. Remain mindful of where you are, giving yourself ample space to work, and checking tasks off your list as you go.
Delegate some projects. Put some trust in others and give some of your not-so-fun work to someone who doesn’t mind doing it. When we work on tasks we don’t like, if often pushes us off course because we find ways to avoid them. Try to only work on tasks you enjoy. It really does make a difference.

If you would like further information or you have any questions about this blog, you can email me at pjweiland@actioncoach.com or call 847-739-3079.

To register for our complimentary workshop, How to Build a Business you can Sell, visit www.actioncoach.com/pjweiland. Let’s work together to help your business grow.