Key points:
- National Time Management Month is a time to reflect on how you spend your time with the aim to improve it
- Taking short breaks often can help you to recharge and focus on your tasks better
- Easyship can manage your shipping needs so you can get some time back to spend on other areas of your business
Time management can be tricky, especially for business owners. With so much to take care of, from admin needs to looking after staff, getting to know your customers, and trying to grow your business, it can get overwhelming.
As with most skills, good time management is something that can be learned, and the more you practice it, the better you will become at it.
Having good time management skills is critical to success in both personal and professional settings. They can help you prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and achieve your goals. However, many people struggle with managing their time effectively and can benefit from dedicated time to reflect and improve their habits.
In this article, we will take a look at some useful time management tips to help business owners improve their time management skills.
What is National Time Management Month?
National Time Management Month is observed every year in the United States during February. It is a monthly social media holiday and a time to reflect on how you currently manage your time to see if it can be improved. Better time management can reduce stress, increase productivity, and allow you more freedom.
Related post: On Time Delivery: Top Tips for Online Retailers
8 Tips to Improve Your Time Management
1. Prioritize Tasks
Make a list of tasks and prioritize them based on their importance and urgency. Focus on completing the most important tasks first, and then work your way down. Once you know what the most important tasks are for each day, you will be able to have full focus on the task at hand.
2. Use a Planner
It's easy to forget things when you don't keep notes. Keep track of your appointments, deadlines, and to-do items by recording them in a planner. You can also batch similar tasks together and do them at once. Use this as a reference to help you stay organized and on top of your responsibilities.
3. Avoid Distractions
Although it's tempting, limit distractions such as checking your phone or personal accounts regularly. Schedule a specific time slot and time block so that you can catch up with messages or personal matters without it affecting your work schedule.
4. Delegate Tasks
If you have employees, it's important to delegate tasks to other team members. Your team is there to support your business, so make sure that your employees are covering the tasks included in their job roles. This will help you focus on the tasks that require your attention and expertise.
5. Track Your Progress
Every month, look back and assess your time management habits, and plan to make adjustments if needed. Look for areas where you can improve and make changes accordingly.
6. Avoid Unnecessary Meetings
While meetings can be useful, having a calendar full of meetings/phone calls throughout the week is taking huge time away from your job. Have meetings as and when required, but not more often than needed.
7. Take Breaks
Taking regular breaks throughout the day can help you stay focused, keep stress levels low, and avoid burnout. Take short breaks, and it will help you to recharge and refocus.
8. Set Achievable Goals
Businesses are much more likely to be successful if realistic goals are set. Start off with thinking of the end goal, and then break it down into smaller, manageable tasks. As each task is completed, you will be one step closer to reaching the end goal, and you can celebrate the journey
Did you know... While most business owners find them multitasking often, it can actually decrease productivity and lead to errors. It is much better to focus on one task at a time, as this will increase your efficiency. If possible, grouping similar tasks together will be beneficial as you can take care of them at the same time to save closing and re-opening programs.
In conclusion, National Time Management Month is an excellent opportunity to focus on improving your personal and professional use of time. By following these 8 tips, you can have effective time management and manage your business with less stress, which will help you in the long term.
How Easyship Can Help With Your Time Management
Easyship can manage all your shipping needs so you can spend less time on shipping and more time focusing on other areas within your business.
We have a variety of tools to help speed up your shipping process, including:
- Automatic Tax & Duties: Calculating international shipping fees can get confusing, not to mention tedious. Our tool will automatically calculate tax & duty fees for you to save you the trouble
- Automatic Shipping Policy: Our shipping policy generator is free to use. Just answer a few questions, and you’ll have a tailor-made policy including the sales and legal info your business needs. This will save you a huge amount of time as it included all the essential info your business will need
- Automatic Shipping Labels: Filling out shipping labels manually is a chore. We will automatically generate your shipping labels, so you don’t have to. You can even customize your labels if you choose
- Free Shipping Rates Calculator: Get instant, pre-negotiated shipping rates from over 250 global couriers
This National Time Management Month, offload your shipping needs and spend more time growing your business. Sign up with Easyship today and automate your shipping processes, so you can get some well-deserved time back.
National Time Management Month FAQ
When is National Time Management Month celebrated?
National Time Management Month is celebrated in February every year.
What are the four Ds of time management?
Do, Defer (Delay), Delegate, and Delete (Drop). This refers to doing the tasks needed, delaying non-urgent tasks, distributing tasks to others, and dropping tasks that aren't needed.
