Time management for sole traders
Every business owner is incredibly busy, and as a sole trader, you have even bigger demands on your time, as you’re having to do everything yourself. So let’s look at some specific time management tips for sole traders to make your lives that little bit easier.Time management is really ‘activity’ management
Prioritize
The most important things need to be done first
- Get and keep customer is the most important task
- Spend at least an hour a day on anything that helps you get and keep customers
- Keep a prioritized ‘to-do list’ so you know what you need to do first and what can wait until later
Switch off notifications
Turn off your electronic notifications (e.g., email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- This will allow you to focus on the important tasks without interruptions
- Look at emails only 3 times a day: in the morning, just before or after lunch, and in the afternoon
Learn to say no
You can’t do it all, and when you have a meeting in the diary you probably find it quite easy to say ‘no’ to another one at the same time.
- Check your time to make sure you have the time to do it, and whether it fits in with what you’re trying to achieve
Get good at planning
People who feel overwhelmed often find that things ‘creep up on them’ and that they have too much to do in too little time.
Outsource and automate
Get a virtual assistant to help with anything
- Copywriters to help write blogs
- Digital marketing specialists to set up your AdWords and Facebook ads
- Bookkeepers to do your books
- Autoresponders to send out email marketing
- Platforms such as Hootsuite to automate social media
Use a diary system
Don’t rely on your memory as it is easy to forget things and overcommit yourself