Managing time is more about learning to manage yourself around the time that you have. There are many ways to go about finding ways to self-manage in a way that saves the most time for money making activities, as opposed to time wasting activities. You already know what a money making activity is, and you probably know deep down what a time waster is, but you feel powerless to get it together.
Fortunately, there are tools to help you get a handle on your time, forcing you to focus business activities toward money making (billable) activities. A few ideas are:
Dovico Software — A really good software that helps you manage not just time, but projects is Dovico Software. You can use it on your computer and via your iPhone, which enables you to take it with you on the road. This can be invaluable to the on the go business person.
Google Calendar — Most mobile phones will integrate with Google Calendar, and it can obviously be used on your computer or tablet device. Another really great feature is that you can invite as many people as you want to view the Google Calendar and add to the calendar.
Easy Time Tracking Software — Another really good software product is called Easy Time Tracking. Easy time tracking software has a free version you can try. This software allows you to track time, handle expense reports, and even invoice your clients and has multiple user support.
Freshbooks — This is a web based solution which enables you to track time, expenses, your entire staff, accounting and offers personal branding. With Freshbooks, you can get quite a large free version in which you can use to track your own time if you set up dummy accounts to track time you’re spending on non money making tasks.
Paper Planners — If you don’t want to use software, stick to your paper day planner, but actually use it for what it’s meant to be used for. Before you put something in it, make sure you know it’s a business essential money-making task. It helps to have a special planner for personal time which you keep totally separate from business time, and vice versa. Some name brands for these are WeekDate, Planner Pad Organizer, and the well known, Day Runner brand.
A really awesome time management tool will help you prioritize, schedule, and focus on the goals you’ve set for your business. It’s individual preference that will determine what type of tools you use to organize yourself and manage your time. Your choice will also depend on what kind of business you have, how many employees or contractors you have, and on what goals you’ve chosen to focus.
The important factor is that a plan is implemented that discovers and redirects time wasters, putting the focus back on accomplishing money making tasks in your business. Either software or traditional methods can work, but they will only work well if you actually implement them. While setting your system up can take some time, it will be more than worth it once it’s done.
You might be interested to read more about Time Management Success Secrets for Business Owners