5 Time-Management Tips for Small Business Owners

Running a business is rewarding - but it can also feel pretty hectic. When you’re starting out, and particularly if you’re looking to scale and expand internationally, it can feel like your to-do list keeps on growing, and there simply aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything finished.

While this is a very common situation, there are ways to alleviate the pressure and make sure you’re attending to the most important tasks at any given time. With some time spent on strategic planning and an understanding of some key time management tools and techniques, you can give yourself breathing space, and give your business a boost too. Here are some ideas to think about.

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1. Understanding Time Zones and Scheduling

If you’re working across time zones, for example with an international team or suppliers overseas, you’ll need to figure out the intricacies of communication across different time zones. Being able to communicate in real time isn’t always easy - and having a large variance in time zones can also create havoc when it comes to agreeing deadlines.

The good news is that there are some tools which can help with synchronising global teams, such as Google calendar. If you set a meeting or event in Google calendar it’ll use your specific time zone. Invite others, and the event will adjust to the time zone they’re in. The result is that the meetings, events and plans you enter into Google calendar all show up in each individual’s diary in the right time zone, so you’re all in sync. Simple.

2. Prioritisation and Delegation

The Eisenhower decision matrix can be a powerful tool to help navigate what needs to be done, delegated, scheduled and eliminated entirely, depending on urgency. In this model you’ll categorise all the tasks on your to-do list based on their urgency and importance, creating 4 different ‘buckets’ of activities:

Tasks which are:

• Urgent and important - these should be done as soon as possible to clear space and free up time later
• Urgent but not important - these should be scheduled to complete at a convenient time later
• Not urgent but important - these should be delegated to someone more appropriate to complete the task
• Not urgent and not important - these should be deleted entirely

Sometimes, simply looking at your to-do list with fresh eyes can be all it takes to cut through some of the background noise and understand where your most important activities lie.

3. Track your business goals and milestones effectively

If you’re involved in a complex, multi-stage project - or if you’re working with others - it can be particularly tricky to keep on top of project management. Simply being able to see what needs to be done next can feel like a handful, and keeping tabs on who is doing what can seem impossible. Here, technology is your friend.

Many small business owners use project management, workflow and list making tools including Monday.com, Trello, or Asana to keep on top of complicated workflow patterns, track progress on project and business goals and spot where blockers are.

Tools like these - which often have free basic versions you can play with to figure out fit - can be helpful to track progress against agreed goals, split tasks between team members, and improve visibility across team members so everyone can easily see project status and requirements.

The best time management technique for busy entrepreneurs

If you’re looking for a new idea to help you manage your own or your team’s productivity, check out the Pomodoro Technique. This is a simple but powerful concept, moving away from multi-tasking and towards short blocks of focused time on single tasks.

All you need to do is pick a single item from your to-do list (one of the urgent and important jobs), and set a 25 minute timer. Work on that task - and that task alone - for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break. Repeat a couple of times, before taking a slightly longer break.

By working for manageable blocks of time you’re reducing the impact of interruptions, and avoiding mental fatigue. This approach can be far more effective than trying to tackle multiple tasks at once, meaning you get more done in the end.

4. Leveraging Technology and Automation

Small business owners can also look out for ways to automate monotonous tasks and leverage technology to alleviate everyday pressures.

For example, rather than manually reconciling your business finances, try syncing your business account with cloud based accounting software. This will show you your company’s financial health at a glance without requiring arduous manual work. You can also consider automating payroll processing. Business accounts such as the powerful international account from Wise Business allow you to pay international teams in multiple currencies, with ways to make batch payments to up to 1,000 people all at once.

Keep an eye out for apps or software to help automate recurring invoices and payment reminders, or to allow you to more easily manage marketing communication and other ongoing tasks. Having some of these jobs set up to run in the background without needing lots of extra thought can free up a lot of time, and also means you won't forget important tasks like paying bills or chasing up invoices.

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5. Plan your week ahead

Planning looks different to different people, depending on personal preference and business requirements - but having a weekly plan of some sort is pretty much essential to all entrepreneurs.

For many people, investing a little time at the start of the week, picking out three key actions is enough. This prioritisation can help you to stay on track even when new issues and challenges crop up, giving time to be flexible while still bearing in mind the most important goals for the week.

Other useful tricks include blocking out time in the calendar for planning, meetings and other booked events, which is then non-negotiable. Or, on the flip side, if you’re someone who tends to get completely pulled into the working day to the exclusion of all else, use your diary to schedule breaks, snacks and downtime. You’ll be able to function better with some space to relax.

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Conclusion

Running a small business isn’t easy. It comes with lots to think about, and an ever growing task list. However, with some smart planning you can get on top of the crucial tasks, and keep your business growing - including international expansion if that’s your aim. Use these ideas to start off your thinking, and if you’re considering working with customers, teams and suppliers internationally, check out Wise Business for all international business payments needs.

Wise Business account comes with no monthly subscription and can hold 40+ currencies, and send payments to 160+ countries, with local account details to receive payments in 9+ currencies including GBP, EUR, USD, AUD. Wise offers fast, transparent and low fee international payments for your business, plus you can save time on admin with batch payments and accounting integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, and FreeAgent.