Speaking of time management, business owners are often overwhelmed with work activities. It’s because they haven’t thought enough about how to break things into smaller tasks, and worst for those without and business plan in place. This is a common pitfall of small/home businesses thinking that only big companies need a formalized business plan. They’d rather buckle down to facing prospective customers.
Time management plays an important role in project planning in terms of setting priorities. This is one of the initial challenges of business whether they avail of project task management software, project tracking, or any other kinds of time management software or other simplified project management tools.
How then can activities be managed effectively, or how can they be chunked or broken into bite-size tasks? There are ways of chunking or breaking tasks into smaller pieces.
Manage time by Breaking Tasks Up
Tasks are broken up when the bigger elements of task are identified. This is often dealt by an employee in relation to his or her manager. For instance, an employee whose name is Ralph is asked by his manager to prepare a sales statistics report. The first thing Ralph should do is to get the overall picture what his manager wants so he can break the tasks down and not waste time and effort assuming that if he provided an extremely detailed report so as to spend more time, he will impress the boss when all the while his manager simply wanted a high level report.
Manage Time by Breaking Tasks Down
By breaking down large amounts of work into manageable tasks, a small business owner can focus effectively on the priorities that are most important to business.
Tasks are broken down when a block of information are chunked further into smaller portions. For instance, after identifying the tasks, they are numbered from 1 to 3, to set priorities. The number 1s are done first, followed by the number 2s, and so on. Each task is handled only once.
Manage Time by Breaking Tasks Sideways
This is an extended way of breaking tasks other than upwards or downwards. By breaking tasks sideways, tasks are broken by dealing with similar information or related concerns together. For example, some tasks can be sorted according to emails, phone calls, discussions or meetings, and online tasks. By separating them into similar or related tasks, it is easier to do them in one go.
Having a time management plan in place simply means that small business owners work out their needs, to be done each step of the way through the method of breaking tasks into smaller chunks.
Benefits of Time Management Software
Time management software may seem like a luxury to a cash-conscious small business owner, but the benefits of an automated time management system are well worth considering. Provided the small business owner does the necessary research beforehand to select software that meets the needs of the small business, there are many potential benefits.
Small Business Productivity Improves With Time Management Software
When a time management software system is properly utilized in a small business, there is less wasted time and increased productivity. Tasks are prioritized in terms of importance, which means the activities that bring money into the business don’t get lost in a sea of busywork. With everything stored in a central time management system, the small business owner no longer wastes chunks of time rewriting to-do lists or trying to figure out what to work on next.
Software Helps Small Business Owners Manage Multiple Departments
Depending on the size of the business, the small business owner may be responsible for managing employees, meeting clients, creating products, writing promotional materials, doing bookkeeping, and a long list of other duties. With so many obligations, it’s easy to lose track of deadlines and commitments. Time management software allows the small business owner to enter activities from multiple departments into one central system where things are scheduled by priority or deadline date. If a meeting runs over the scheduled time or a client cancels a meeting, the software makes it easy to reschedule commitments across multiple departments with a few keystrokes.
Stress and Anxiety are Reduced with Time Management Software
Stress and anxiety for a small business owner are caused not only from things that happen, but from worrying about things that might happen, such as forgetting meetings or neglecting an important task. Time management software eases some of that worry by allowing the small business owner to quickly verify appointment times or get reassurance that they are working on the highest priority project.
Time Management Software Improves Life Balance for a Small Business Owner
Most time management products are whole life systems. In some ways, the software is like having a life coach in the computer. Life goals and plans are entered into the system along with business plans, and some systems even offer motivational quotes and coaching tips.
When used properly, time management software helps the small business owner be a more effective manager, have greater life balance, and improve productivity. Although there is a learning curve involved in learning how to use the software, the long-term benefits of the product for a small business make it a sound investment.
