Do You Own A Business? Find Out How To Work Smarter, Not Harder January 7, 2015My BusinessOff

It can often be difficult to manage a business. Company bosses often spend their days juggling meetings, paperwork, and other essential tasks. They usually have little free time as they work long hours and have to wear many “hats” (i.e. they have more than one job).

I often see a lot of business owners suffering from the effects of burnout. Because they spend so much time working, they don’t give their bodies enough time to rest. Stress levels are seldom low. And relationships with partners, families and friends often get strained.

Today I want to help stop you from becoming one of “those” business owners! The following hints and tips will ensure that you work smarter, and not harder. Here is what you need to know:

Don’t be a “yes” woman
Are you one of those people that just wants to please all of the people all of the time? If so, you will doubtless agree with me that you find it hard to say “no” to people. Sure, you might agree to do things that might not take you long to do.

But what happens when you have lots of those little tasks to complete? You then find that you have no time to complete your own work. You start to fall behind, and, meanwhile, you are still taking on other tasks and responsibilities.

That will often spell bad news if you fail to complete your own work in time. For some reason, employees think that company owners and senior management do little work. In reality, they often spend too much time working.

Working to rule is never an option for people like you. Gone are the days where you just walk out the door at 5pm and head home each day, regardless of whether your work gets finished or not.

Then again, this is something you knew you would give up when you decided to run your own company. That is why it is time to start telling people no instead of yes! You have your own work to complete. The last thing you want to do is spend most of your life in the office. Instead, you want to enjoy your leisure time and the company of your family and friends.

Embrace technology
I’ve worked for many companies over the years before working for myself. One fact that I found hard to believe at first is that some business owners refuse to embrace technology. They would rather hire a secretary to send out letters in the mail instead of emailing people themselves.

Some bosses even stop workers to carry out errands for them rather than organizing tasks using a computer. As a business owner, it is in your interests to embrace the latest technology:

  • You will stop interrupting your employees from their work;
  • Your day will become more productive and easier to manage;
  • New technology is always interesting to learn about.

As an aside, technology is one way to help you stay ahead of the competition in your business. Let’s say that you run a business selling items on eBay. Online services like Terapeak give you details on when you should be selling your wares and for how much.

Such information is important to you because it helps you to increase your turnover and profits. And you can use this service on a smartphone too. Without embracing technology, you wouldn’t know how to price your products.

Master the art of prioritization
It’s no secret that some people are better at organizing their workloads than others. Do you find that your daily working life is nothing short of chaotic? If so, it sounds like you need to master the art of prioritization.

It is seldom easy to complete your work by doing several tasks at the same time. This approach ensures that you fail to focus on the tasks at hand. Instead, what you should be doing is one task at a time.

You need to determine which tasks take a higher priority over others. For example, arranging a day to go play golf isn’t as important as finalizing an important business deal! You might be wondering what to do if you find it hard to focus on the job at hand.

Services like www.message-direct.co.uk are useful in these cases. Why? Because you can have one of their agents handle your calls and messages for you. That then leaves you to concentrate on your work undisturbed.

Spend some time working away from the office
Thanks to modern technology, it’s possible to be a remote worker for the day without having to set foot inside your office. Mobile data networks are now so fast that they rival many people’s home Internet connections.

Laptop computers have improved battery technology. That means you can work for longer without needing to charge it. Sometimes it can do you a world of good to work from a scenic, remote spot such as a rural retreat.

Being stuck in the office can sometimes stifle creativity and productivity. When you start to feel like you’re getting nowhere with your work, consider a day or two away from the office. The change of scenery will help you to relax and focus on your work.

Of course, if you are getting plenty of days like these, it could signal that you need a vacation. And who could blame you? After all, you work long hours.

Delegate some tasks
If you have some people working for you, it would be silly to do more work than they do! If you feel they can handle it, give them some of your work to do as well. For instance, let’s say you own a restaurant.

You could give the head waiter the job of organizing food and drinks deliveries with suppliers. Delegating tasks frees up your time to get on with other work. In some cases, it might even pay to hire a personal assistant to help you out too.

Photo by Dragon Images | Shutterstock

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