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TOP 12 time-management tips for salon owners

We asked beauty business expert, LIZ MCKEON, to provide guidelines on how owners and managers can make the most of their time. ime management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity. T Add time to your diary – every day, every week and every month Make lists Making lists is a vital part of planning your day, based on workload and priorities. These may be ‘to do’ lists, or on-going lists that are constantly revisited and updated. Preparing daily ‘to do’ lists can increase your

Managers often have the – for yourself. productivity by 20%, can help heaviest workload in the salon, to clear your mind, and save you especially if they are also running both energy and stress. their own column of clients. Plan – take time to make time

Because the demands of being Time spent planning is not time Communicate a manager can ebb and flow, it’s wasted. A little time spent in Effective communication is often especially important for managers understanding what needs to be one of the first things to go when to be aware of how they manage done, and planning how to achieve a manager is struggling to manage their time. In particular, those who it, will have a massive return on their own time. Rather than taking have recently been promoted to investment. the time to listen, understand and management may find themselves Training and coaching staff can explain, their minds are on their struggling with their new seem like an interruption to other workload and misunderstandings responsibilities. work, but will pay off in the long can occur.

Here are some great ways to run. Don’t plan for every moment Management relies so heavily on help manage your day, ensuring of your day – leave time for dealing communication that you absolutely you remain on top of the with unexpected tasks and for must check regularly that you are important things whilst planning adapting to interruptions and taking the time to communicate for the unexpected. changing priorities. effectively with your team.

Take breaks

Also, taking breaks is especially important for managers as they need to set an example for other staff – otherwise it might be implied that taking a break means lack of commitment.

It is tempting, when you have a big workload, to skip your breaks. This is a false economy, as it means your concentration can suffer later in the day and make you less efficient.

Manage your emails

A salon manager’s email inbox is usually a busy place, with all kinds of emails that need answering. Put aside a certain amount of time each day to reply to all emails and social media activity. But remember, don’t become a slave to email and social media. Take control and spend the core of your time on your more important tasks.

Prepare to delegate

Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should. If you’re under pressure, think about what tasks you can delegate. And, this can include the tasks you enjoy.

Delegate

Effective delegation empowers your staff to work independently and confidently. Staff who are not given responsibility will be more needy and require more of your precious time. Making sure everyone has the training and resources to do their jobs will make life easier all round.

Keep up appearances

If all else fails, make sure you appear to your team to be on top of your time management, even if you’re not. It is so important that employees feel they can approach you for help and guidance. If you give the impression of being too busy to be approached, you risk not being made aware of important issues. You will need to adjust your mindset to ensure you deal with interruptions in a flexible and open manner.

Know how to deal with interruptions

The temptation is usually to react and try and deal with all issues immediately – but the disturbance to your working day may not be worth it. If you find interruptions frustrating, then consider a time sensitive open/ shut door policy – so people can come to you with issues only during certain times. Teach yourself conversation ‘closers’ – polite ways of firmly ending a conversation that threatens to drag on.

Know what to do if it gets too much

A bit of pressure is a great motivator – especially when you know you can get everything done just by organising yourself a bit more and working that much harder. In the long term, if your workload is so much that you just can’t manage your time, then you must take whatever steps needed to correct this, or you run the danger of burnout.

Time for yourself

In order to make time for yourself, consider the following and write the answers down so that you can refer back to them. How would it be a gift to others to make time for yourself? What would it take to make time for yourself a priority? What activities make you feel happy and nurtured? What is keeping you from doing the thing that energises and inspires you? How can you bring more of these simple treats into your day?

Now, take action.....commit to doing one activity from the list you just created each day for the next month.

Smell the flowers

However pressured your business is, you need to take some time out to unwind to ‘smell the flowers’. Without this you will burn out. Put in plain terms, if you don’t take time to rest and rejuvenate, eventually you won’t have a salon to worry about.

Add time to your diary – every day, every week and every month – for yourself. Cut yourself free from the salon and the other demands on your life. Allow your batteries to recharge and you will come back to your business better able to make it succeed. PB

Liz McKeon is an author, business coach, trainer & mentor, specialising in salon turnaround.

liz@lizmckeon.com