3 Time Management Tips For The Fast Growing Entrepreneur

As I sit down to write this article, I have a bad attitude. I am literally fighting the urge to click on Netflix and start a binge fest. It has been a hectic day, successful and meaningful, but hectic. As entrepreneurs who are leading fast growing companies, I am sure you can relate. So I am writing this article to myself as much as I am to you.

All our lives are constantly filled with important information, decisions and distractions. Sometimes it feels like outside forces that want to keep us from doing what we are called to do. Time management is one of the most critical tasks that an entrepreneur can master. I believe that time is our most precious resource. Especially in our Internet of Things world where half of our house is connected to our phone, and companies exploit that connection to grab our attention. Have you ever disappeared into a digital rabbit hole and 30 minutes goes by in in a blink of an eye? Don’t feel bad, we all have.

Here are 3 tips that I use in order to master time management:

1.      Stop multi-tasking

I don’t know when it started, but it seems that most people today are prideful of their ability to multi-task. In today’s fast paced business environment, entrepreneurs wear multiple hats, making critical decisions quickly, and reacting faster than ever before. As a result, we have developed this ability to juggle multiple tasks in an attempt to touch each one just long enough to ensure that it doesn’t crash to the ground. We run our day as if we were a doctor at the scene of a multi-car pile-up, where triage is the most effective way to impact and save the maximum number of lives. The problem is that the triage operating system is only effective for short periods of time. You cannot build a 100-year company by running around frantically, constantly jumping from crisis to crisis.

So stop doing it. Instead, of trying to focus on many things at once, focus on the most important and work on it until completion (not just until it is no longer the most critical). This will clear your to-do list and allow you to be more effective. I know that this sounds scary and will require you to work with your team; but trust me, it is worth it.

2.      Take time every day to unplug

I have a friend that once showed me his computer, phone and watch. All three devises were set up so that he could constantly be monitoring, his production factory in China, distribution warehouse in Ohio, and his daughter’s pre-school down the road. Not to mention, that in our 15- minute conversation he received two calls and 4 “urgent” emails that required his immediate attention.

It is no wonder that we can not manage our time, when the devises that we thought were going to make us more efficient suddenly turned into electronic leashes.

I have started to block out at least one hour every day where I am working on my computer, but my cell phone is turned off (not just muted), my desk phone is forwarded to a teammate, and my email application is closed (not just minimized). You would be amazed how much you can get accomplished if you just have no distractions. I would love to hear your thoughts after you try this for three days in a row.

3.      Eat the Frog First

To paraphrase Mark Twain, “The first thing that every entrepreneur needs to do every morning is eat a live frog. That way, you can go throughout your day, knowing that the worst thing you have to accomplish is already behind you.”

I am not literal recommending that you keep a Jabba the Hutt style frog aquarium at your desk; but I am recommending that you assess what you absolutely must do each day and accomplish the thing that is going to move your business forward first. Sometimes this is an unpleasant thing, like giving a review to a poor performer; other times it may be something that you love, such as leading a quarterly strategic planning session. Whatever it is, once you have accomplished it, you can have the satisfaction of knowing that the rest of your day can be hijacked; but your business will have moved forward.

Mastering the 1,440 minutes in our day is a daunting task for even the most experienced of entrepreneurs, but when you allow others to dictate how you are going to spend your time, you might as well give them a majority ownership in your company. Because if you don’t control your time, you cannot control your world, and you defiantly cannot control your company. Additionally, you are leading your company, which means that you must teach those underneath you the same lesson you are learning.

Being an entrepreneur is one of the most difficult and demanding things you can do. The good news is that entrepreneurship today is a team sport. Hit the connect button on LinkedIn or Facebook NOW and together we will start maximizing your profit, strengthening your leadership skills, controlling your business finances, and using your bank as a strategic advantage. When we connect, tell me how you master your 1,440 minutes each day.

Greg Martin is an entrepreneur’s insider to the banking industry and passionately believes that every person was uniquely designed for a higher purpose and calling. Greg guides entrepreneurs in defining and achieving their purpose and calling. His deepest passion is living life with his wife of 17 years and their wonderful son.