Here are 15 quick time management tips to increase your productivity as a busy business owner.

  1. Create an organised environment – remove the piles of unfinished work and irrelevant articles from your desk. Keep it clean and tidy.
  2. Eliminate distractions – turn off automatic email notifications, close distracting websites, and even turn off your mobile phone.
  3. Set easy goals – keep your motivation up by achieving small wins.
  4. Set future goals – something to look forward to for you and your business.
  5. Talk to people about your goals – you will instantly hold yourself accountable for your goals and you will get a boost from discussing it with others. They might even help you refine ideas about your business.
  6. Create a ‘to-do’ list – keep track of your work, what’s completed and what still needs to be done.
  7. Do similar tasks at the same time – emails, phone calls and writing blog posts in one block of work. Such as reading reports, checking the news and monitoring competitor websites all at the same time.
  8. When is your most productive time of the day? Organise your day around this. Once you’re aware of this time of day, your work will become easier.
  9. Prioritise tasks – finish the most important tasks first or during your most productive time of the day.
  10. Start the task – the hardest part is sometimes just beginning a task. Once you start you know your focus and your work will be easier.
  11. Delegate or learn to say ‘no’ – if the task is not the best use of your time, is there someone else you can delegate to? Or can you just say ‘no, I don’t need to do this’ to some tasks?
  12. Improve your typing speed – there are many applications that you can buy or download from the internet that will help increase your typing speed.
  13. Learn keyboard shortcuts – print them out and pin them up near your desk.
  14. Take a break – don’t sit at your computer all day. Take your phone outside to make calls. Go out for a coffee instead of sitting at your desk. Taking time away from your work will help clear your mind.
  15. Sleep, eat and exercise – make sure you have a regular sleep cycle, eat healthily and at systematic intervals during the day, and exercise will help increase your energy and focus your mind.