Do the Most Important Things
How to Strategically Manage Your Time & Prioritize for Success
Entrepreneurship is thrilling, but it's a wild ride. Between running your business, family life, and your business inevitably running you, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and burnt out. The secret sauce? It's not just about working harder—it's about working smarter. Today, we're diving into the world of operational time management and prioritization, giving you the tools to conquer your to-do list and reclaim your sanity.
The Burnout Trap & the Power of Boundaries
Let's be honest: if you're an entrepreneur, especially a parent, the line between work and life often vanishes. That's a recipe for exhaustion. Boundaries are your first line of defense. They protect not only your time, but your mental health, relationships, and even the long-term success of your business.
Think of boundaries as the rules of engagement:
Time-based: Set strict work hours and family hours. Turn off notifications when you're off the clock.
Physical: If possible, designate a workspace that helps you get into "work mode."
Mental: Train yourself to disconnect from work worries during family time. Delegate tasks whenever you can.
Remember, self-care is not selfish. It's essential to being the best version of yourself for both your business and your life outside of business.
Mapping Your Obligations
Grab a pen and paper (or your favorite note-taking app) and let's map out your current responsibilities:
Divide and Conquer: Create categories like Sales, Marketing, Service Delivery, Finance, HR, and Operations.
Brain Dump: List everything you're doing in each category.
Star Power: Identify the tasks that absolutely must be done by you. I recommend doing a ⭐ emoji.
Thumbs Up: Tag the most high-value tasks for your business with a 👍. Even better, get a colleague or business mentor to weigh in!
Strategic Incompetence: Embrace being bad at some things so you can excel at others- mark those with a 😎.
Now, take a step back. Are there any starred tasks that can be delegated? Any low-value tasks you can eliminate? Are you personally doing the most high-value tasks at your business?
The Eisenhower Matrix: Your Prioritization Power Tool
Ever heard of Dwight D. Eisenhower? Not only was he a U.S. President, but he also had a genius method for prioritizing tasks. The Eisenhower Matrix categorizes tasks as:
Urgent and Important: Do these first.
Not Urgent but Important: Schedule time for these.
Urgent but Not Important: Delegate these if possible.
Not Urgent and Not Important: Eliminate these.
Categorize the tasks in your "My Business" list using this matrix. It's a game-changer for focus and productivity.
Time Estimation: Where Does Your Time Go?
Track your time for a week and see where it goes. This eye-opening exercise will reveal where you might be overspending your precious hours and where you need to allocate more.
Once you’ve tracked your time, go back to your business mapping exercise: are you spending the most time on the most important things?
Maybe, maybe not. But now you know, so you’re ready to timebox!
Timeboxing: Your Schedule's Best Friend
Timeboxing is simple: you assign specific time blocks to specific tasks. It's like giving your schedule a structure, helping you focus on one thing at a time, fight procrastination, and become more aware of how you're spending your days.
Start with three boxes: morning, afternoon, and evening. Pick one priority task for each and allocate a time block. As you get more comfortable, you can break your day into smaller chunks.
Alternatively, you can set a timebox for a specific high-value task. Put it in your calendar and make sure nobody can book a meeting when you plan to do it!
The Challenge: Timebox Your Workday
Ready to put all of this into action? Challenge yourself to try timeboxing for a week. It might feel a bit awkward at first, but the benefits will be worth it.
Here’s the things you will most likely notice when time-boxing for the first time:
Hyper-Aware of Distractions: When settling down to do a specific task for an hour, you will be acutely aware of every chat message, email notification, household chore, and bird flying by outside. Mute mute mute them all. It’s not that important.
Temptation To Optimize: Wouldn’t it help to just re-organize your desk to make you even MORE efficient when time-boxing? Be careful, this is a Noble Obstacle keeping you from actually doing work.
Unusually Productive: You might find that you’ve overestimated how much time it takes to do a particular high-value task. Congratulations! Don’t go waste it scrolling Instagram, now.
Resources for Time Management Mastery
We help leaders at scaling businesses get more out of their day, so we recommend a few tools for improved productivity.
Google Calendar: Your faithful companion for scheduling and blocking time. Be proactive and time-box!
Flow State Podcast: Learn about the science of focus and productivity while jamming out to binaural beats.
Toggl: A handy time-tracking app.
Quarterly Planner: Reflect on your goals and progress regularly. Poketo is our favorite at Learn to Scale!
Remember: Time management is an ongoing journey. Experiment, adjust, and find what works best for you. By taking control of your time, you're not just managing your schedule—you're shaping your future.
Stuck in a time-box of despair? Chat with us about getting executive coaching for you or a team member that just gets stuck doing less-important things.
Let us know in the comments below what your biggest time management challenge is.
