Essential Work from Home Time Management Tools for Small Businesses
Without effective time management, your small business can: a) lose clients, b) lose sales and therefore, profits, c) become an inefficient venture and d) be considered as a total waste of your efforts and… well, time.
So, what essential time management tools can you use to create a more streamlined and efficient small business?
Start With Yourself
You are the best and the most essential time management tool for your small business. No matter how expensive or cutting edge the technology you’re using, it will all be useless if you yourself do not initiate efforts and follow through.
First, understand what you need to do in order to perform certain actions and goals. If you can avoid certain things to focus on more important things, do so. Second, create your own schedule to manage your time. And third, honor it.
Set Goals and Corresponding Time Frames
An essential time management tool for small home based businesses is planning. Always plan a day ahead. At the end of each workday, write down all the tasks you need to complete the next day, including those that you were unable to complete that day.
Then, set a time frame. Need to make phone calls? Limit that to about 30 to 35 minutes. Do you need to write an email marketing campaign? Allocate 20 minutes. By setting a deadline and honoring it, you are able to accomplish more within the time period that you have.
Calendars and To-Do Lists
Still using your old, trusty purse-sized organizer? If it works for you, then you probably shouldn’t ditch it. However, you might want to look at technologies and gadgets that allow you to organize and manage your time. Many of these are designed to work seamlessly with small businesses and are considered essential for time management.
Start with your mobile phone. If you don’t have a Blackberry, check the features on the unit that you have. Some of the newest releases have user-friendly calendars that you can use to mark important dates and appointments. You can even create a to-do list and use an alarm feature to alert you of tasks that are due.
Check if the application works with your computer so you can update any time and never miss an important task. With time management tools such as these, you can make sure that priorities get your attention first, and ensure you to stick to your planned schedule.
Keep Notepads, Voice Recorders or Mobile Phones at Hand
Each time you go out for business or personal errands, use these tools to write down ideas, tasks and other assignments. Very often, throughout the running of your small business, you’ll find that there are downtimes when you have nothing else to do. Maximize these times by using time management essentials to identify solutions, solve problems and create new work from home business management ideas.
Author Credits ::
Written by Cesar Campos – WAHE Author & Small Business Advisor - For more information please visit Work from Home Ideas and Solutions