The decision to start your own business can be exciting and empowering, but it can also push your work life balance to its absolute limit.
With research showing that entrepreneurs are working an average of 50.5 hours per week, compared to the UK average of 37 hours.
As a business owner there will always be more to do than there is time to do it. You will see this statement in numerous business coaching books and blogs. They also state that the key to success is to learn how to separate low value and high value tasks. To me this seems like a difficult task, because surely anything that keeps my business running efficiently is important right?
The short answer is “Yes” every task is important but as a business owner not every task is worth your time, skill and focus.
Here are a few tips to help you get started in identifying low value tasks.
Understand the Value of your Time
As your business grows the value of your time will change, there will be a point where it is more important for you to invest your time in moving the business forward and not be consumed by daily operations.
Analysis
Make a list of all the tasks you do weekly, monthly and quarterly. Put them in order of the things your business couldn’t live without ,to the things that would be nice to get done, but usually don't happen. Begin to categorise each task, this could include: Not good at, time consuming, must be done by me.
I understand that this point in the process is a sticking point for many small business owners. It can be difficult to step back and assess what is holding your business back. To help with this task you can visit our website, where you can download a free outsourcing checklist.
Prioritising
Decide what tasks are draining your time and could be better suited to a freelance contractor or Virtual Assistant. If price is an objection consider: How much money you could be making on the things you do best in your business? Instead of spending all day entering data, checking emails, processing new orders, (you will be surprised how much of your day you spend doing these) spend your day generating revenue and using a fraction of the revenue to pay a Virtual Assistant.
Of course this is just the first step towards taking back control of your time, you will then need to find the right contractor or Virtual Assistant for you and your business. But that is a conversation for another day!
The message for today is that low value tasks will keep you busy and stop you from getting real work done. Make time for work that matters.