The Five Best Time Saving Techniques To Protect Your Productivity in Business

Learn about the best strategies you can implement straight away as a business owner to save both time, and yourself a headache!

Running your own business means that you’ll likely be trying to juggle a million and one things… at once. Scary, I know. The to-do list just keeps growing, and when you think you’re near the end, something else always pops up.

Rather than working harder, (we already work a third of the day, let’s not aim to work more!) working smarter is the ultimate way to save time in your business, so you can use that time for billable tasks.  

It’s imperative as a business owner to learn how to manage these ever-juggling tasks, so you don’t get overwhelmed, and most importantly, so this overwhelm doesn’t spill over into your performance.

So, I thought I’d write a blog about the five best time saving techniques I implement in my business to keep on track, and to protect my productivity.

Best Time Saving Technique #1 - Email Management with the 4D's Method

The average business owner spends just under two hours per day checking and responding to emails. Yikes, I know. That’s over 8 hours per week – a whole working day. If you’re brave enough, times your hourly rate by 8, and you’ll get the gist…

Using the 4Ds Method allows you to a) conquer overwhelm that comes with emails and b) reduce the time you’re spending on them, because let’s be honest, not every email you receive has to be actioned by you.

1. Do. The rule of thumb is if it’s something you can action in four minutes, action it. Remember the three key words - urgent, essential, immediate. This stops clutter building up in your inbox, because smaller tasks shouldn’t be sat there making your emails look a lot scarier than they are!

2. Delegate. If the email is something you can’t help with, or something you can do, but simply don’t want to, or don’t need to because you know of someone who can, then delegate. The aim is to free up time for you to focus on what matters the most. You can read about how to delegate access to your emails here in my previous blog, to make this process a lot easier.

3. Delete. That email from a shop you might buy again from in the future? Delete. It’s always beneficial to just keep the emails that are important, as hard as it may be, and you have that person's email address to contact them again in the future anyways, so why keep the email?

4. Defer. If the email is something that requires your time and thought, schedule time in your diary to review this. You don’t run the risk of forgetting it, and you’re also setting the right amount of time aside to action the task without the mad rush.  You can also select to ‘Follow Up’ on the email itself, so Outlook will set you a reminder to review this at your chosen time and date:

By following the above steps, you can make sure an email with a deadline never goes unmissed.

Best Time Saving Technique # 2 - Good Software

In my previous blog here, I recommend using software to keep track of tasks and deadlines when working with a Virtual Assistant. Asana is another recommendation for managing tasks and projects, and like Trello, Asana allows you to create projects, assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress—all in one place.

Both Trello and Asana are user-friendly, and have saved me so much time. The boards create an easy-to-understand workflow, so I can see clearly what tasks I have to do next, and also have the deadlines right in front of me.

Best Time Saving Technique # 3 - Lists

I see lists as a road map to guide me to the finish line (that being, Friday afternoon!) I start by writing a weekly list of goals and then create a daily to-do list every evening before I call it a night.

I start off by detailing the main tasks and goals I wish to achieve by the end of the week, similar to dotting the lines on a road map. I can then break them down each evening, to review which ones I should do, delete, delegate or defer. This way, I am ready to start the day with a fresh and organised mind. This also really helps me to switch off at the end of the day, because my mind knows everything is written down on a notepad on my desk, waiting for me in the morning.

Best Time Saving Technique # 4 - Time Blocking

Time blocking is by far one of the best time saving techniques in my opinion. Time blocking your week in advance is a game changer to keep you on track, and to ultimately manage your time better.

After I’ve wrote my list of what I need to achieve the following week, this list then acts as a guide of what I need to time-block into my diary for that week. I time block in order of priority, and also like to colour code tasks based on client tasks and tasks for my own business like the below example.

Picture courtesy of Asana.

The above example is a great one, because you’re even time blocking lunch – yes, really. This helps you get into an actual routine, like you would if you were employed, which is hugely beneficial for productivity. Human beings, whether we like it or not, really love a routine.

Best Time Saving Technique # 5 - Delegate to a Virtual Assistant

Ok, so of course, I am a bit biased when it comes to this one, but hear me out. There are SO many tasks in your business that are robbing you of time, and the majority of the time, these are tasks that you don’t need to do. Email management, diary management, invoicing, speaking with new enquiries, research, proofreading… The list goes on.

A study by Sage found that business owners on average spend 120 working days per year on admin.

Time is money, so multiply your hourly rate by 120, and that's what admin is stealing from you (don't shoot the messenger!)

By delegating to a virtual assistant, you’re getting that time back. You could take on more clients. You could get a bigger office. You could take more time off. You’d have someone to implement the “Delegate” from the 4Ds Method with. The list is endless!

Spoiler - this might be the best time saving technique in my eyes...

To learn more about how working with a virtual assistant actually works, check out my blog post

here.  

Conclusion

By implementing these techniques in your business, you'll not only have more time on your hands, but you'll also feel more productive.

If you’d like help with saving time in your business, please feel free to reach out here for your free 30-minute consultation. Or if you prefer, drop me an email at elliehogarty@elh-assistance.co.uk