Time-Management Strategies for Solopreneurs: Part 1

These four tips will help owners of very small businesses stay organized and happy

BY AMBER DE LA GARZA

When you’re a one-person show, you have a great amount of juggling to do. Figuring out which high-value tasks and projects need your attention and how much time you should devote to them among all the tedious bills, emails, voicemails and paperwork required of business owners can be incredibly difficult. A lot can fall through the cracks (including your potential profits) when your plate is overloaded. GET ORGANIZED You could work on your high-value activities all day long and see your profits soar, but those menial administrative tasks will still need to get done, so staying organized is key. 2 networking events that are social in nature, block out time on your calendar to work on your high-value activities. Then, hold those dates with yourself sacred. Otherwise, you won’t be gaining visibility in your niche and doing the necessary marketing to get the sales and attract the clients you want. Missing out on opportunities and income—and getting stuck on a plateau of exhaustion and indecision—is not where you want to be. Managing your time well can help tremendously. Start implementing these time-management strategies that work for solopreneurs to reduce stress, maximize time, regain control and increase profits. PRIORITIZE REVENUE-GENERATING ACTIVITIES First and foremost, if you want to stay in business, your business needs to be making money. Your No. 1 priority should be doing the high-value activities that generate revenue or directly lead 1 to generating revenue. As a solopreneur, these activities include marketing/visibility, sales and servicing your clients. Before filling up your calendar with lunch dates, conferences and According to a survey by The Pixel Lost & Found, the average American spends two and a half days a year looking for misplaced items. Imagine how much more you get could done if you didn’t have to dig through emails and piles of papers to find needed documents and contact information. Do an organizational overhaul by creating an environment that enables your utmost efficiency. Detox your electronic filing system of no-longer-needed files and create a “work in progress” folder to house all the project documents you’re in and out of frequently.

Create a paper filing system that reduces desk clutter and keeps documents organized—then use it! Also, execute a “rapid-fire power hour” at the end of each week to complete all simple, outstanding tasks that only take a few minutes.

EXECUTE A WEEKLY REVIEW As all business owners know, a lot of unforeseen things happen throughout your week that prevent you from getting done all that 3 you planned. A vendor can’t make the delivery. Your computer crashes. An important meeting gets canceled. Adaptability is key, and scheduling a weekly review at the end of each week can help you make the shifts you need to get back on track. It will also help you show up on Monday fully prepared to tie up loose ends and fill all the holes remaining from the previous week. Look back through the notes you took (hopefully in your project management system and not on sticky notes, napkins and random pieces of paper) and process them, determining what needs your attention and when. Review the outstanding tasks on your list and look ahead at what is coming up. Schedule time blocks to work on your incomplete tasks and projects in priority order. Finally, review what you could have done better so you can adjust and have a more productive week. FOCUS ON YOUR MINDSET No matter how great your time-management skills are, if your selftalk is not on point, there’s no way your business can be. You must 4 have a healthy mindset to run a healthy, sustainable business. Everything in your company flows from the top down, and your mind is right there at the top. So what is it saying? Are you letting belittling self-talk influence your actions? Perhaps you have thoughts like, “You don’t deserve this. There’s no way this is going to work. They are so much better than me. I can’t possibly learn that. I don’t have enough time.” If so, you have some mindset work to do. Start with learning how to recognize negative thoughts and drown them out with positive affirmations, which are simply positive beliefs you want to hold about yourself and your business. Repeat your affirmations daily and take the appropriate actions to transform your thinking, build your confidence, and acquire new skills and experience. Over time, your affirmations will no longer be just positive thoughts but matter-of-fact truths. An unhealthy mindset can only sabotage your success. Focus on improving your mindset so you can boldly pursue your goals. V

Amber De La Garza, aka The Productivity Specialist, is a sought-after coach, trainer, speaker, writer, host of the “Productivity Straight Talk” podcast and creator of the S.T.O.P. Leverage Formula. She helps small business owners improve their time management and elevate their productivity to maximize profits, reduce stress and make time for what matters most.

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