Michelle Ofiana
Establishing a drop shipping business is a wonderful entrepreneurial experience. Yet it also has a potentially stressful side as every business routine requires people around to work harder. But that shouldn’t always be the case. Isn’t it lovely to have enough time to do everything you need done and still have time to do everything you want?
You see there is a big difference between working hard and working smart. When you work hard, you devote all your time and still have barely enough for yourself. But when you work smart, you get things done and still have enough time for yourself. Time is your most sacred resource and should be managed properly.
“There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing. “ – Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy, chairman, and CEO of Brian Tracy International shares his insights on how to work smarter on a day-to-day basis. Check out his video here – 5 Tips You Can Use to Work Smarter, Not Harder
How To Work Smarter Not Harder?
1. Plan your day.
Task management will be very helpful. Make a list of what you want to accomplish before you start out your day. Before you retire for the night, make a list of what needs to be done the following day. When you plan your day the night before, your subconscious works on your plan and how to accomplish it while you are asleep, therefore you are able to follow the tasks listed smoothly. Planning your day the night before will prepare your mind and increase your productivity. You can do it for both, for work tasks and for daily life tasks.
2. Prioritize tasks.
Work on the 80/20 rule AKA ‘the Pareto principle‘ and always keep it in mind. In this case, it simply means prioritizing more important things on your to-do list. 20% of your list can be more important than the remaining 80% and thus you put it on the top of your list. By prioritizing your work, you are able to increase your productivity output by 25% – 50% each day.
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3. Outsource small tasks that are taking most of your time.
Outsourcing has always been a great help especially for small tasks and errands that need to be done daily. Sort out simple everyday tasks that can be done by someone else. Data entry tasks, research, customer service, and others can be outsourced so that you have more time to spend on more important tasks like developing your business. Read more about How Outsourcing can Accelerate your Business.
When building a drop shipping business, the growth of your store from a one-man operation to a small business sometimes requires you to give up on immediate profits and invest them in the growth of your business. Ask yourself – in what profit level am I going to invest back in the company and hire a virtual assistant?
4. Use Tools and Apps that can effectively shorten tasks.
If you are in the dropshipping business, you know that researching excellent items to sell and then listing these items in your store can take so much time. The good news is that you can employ useful dropshipping tools that can do research and list items for you simultaneously.
Other tools that can help you ease your daily tasks are social media management tools, scheduler, and financial management tools. It really depends on the type of business that you run. Invest your time in the right tools and you can free your time by up to 50%. For example, using a Pinterest scheduler, to schedule your post on social media can be a game changer.
How To Manage Your Time?
Create a time block dedicated to each task.
For each task on your list, dedicate a workable time to have it done. For instance, when you check your email, how much time do you need? Do you need an hour to check and sort or answer and note important messages? Assessing the time needed for a certain task is actually all up to you. For beginners, it is best to use a timer to check the speed at which you are able to finish one particular task. Later, you can use time management software to work more productively and meet your deadlines
Block time for breaks.
Studies show that all work and no play is not healthy. For people working in front of a monitor or a computer, working for 8 long hours straight is not healthy. That’s why it is recommended to take frequent breaks when working with a computer. A good example of maintaining productivity while maintaining multiple breaks in an entire work day is the Pomodoro technique.
“The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that encourages people to work with the time they have—rather than working against it. Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks. These intervals are referred to as pomodoros. After about four pomodoros, you take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes.”
Learn more about the Pomodoro technique.
Eliminate time wasters.
Time wasters are happening every day and you might not even be aware of it. Time wasters include taking too much time out from work. If you need to chat with friends, check your Facebook or Twitter account, do it outside of your time for work. Time wasters are among the blocking points of productivity that needs to be managed properly. To better handle this case, factoHR, Clockify, Timeular, and many more platforms are used by businesses to let the employees input the time taken to complete the tasks or projects given to them. This further helps to bifurcate the productive and unproductive tasks performed by the employees. And take further actions to stop the same.
Spend your time like you spend money.
Time is very precious that’s why it is important to manage it like spending your money. Budgeting time is a challenge but when you think of time like your hourly rate, you will eventually learn how to spend your time wisely.
Summary:
The subject of time management is being discussed over and over and many different techniques have been developed to help you manage your precious time. You should always remember how important it is to take time to expand your skillset with time management techniques.
Here is a quick tip: don’t stop by reading this article, take some time to research the subject. You can find many TED talks about the subject like the one below:
Regardless of your business, you can get things done when you plan your time correctly. Time management is a very important aspect of every business. Plan your day, prioritize tasks, use relevant tools, and outsource smaller tasks – these steps can effectively get things done and leave you more time to spend with your family and friends.
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