When was the last time you had a really productive day?

I’m talking about a day where you got all (or most) of your main tasks ticked off your to-do list. A day when you didn’t let yourself get distracted, and you weren’t available at everyone’s beck and call. When was the last time you had one of those days?

If you’re anything like the old me, you probably can’t remember when you had an hour like that, never mind a full working day!

As business owners, we’re inherently busy. It’s just part of the job description. But once you stop letting yourself get pulled away for every little thing, everything changes. You’ll start to get things done. You won’t leave work wondering where the time went because you’ll know exactly what you did with that time.

You can do a lot with one quality hour of your time, and I’m going to show you how.

A quality hour VS. a reactionary hour: What’s the difference?

Time is your most valuable resource. So, why are you wasting it doing trivial tasks that you could delegate to somebody else?

As a business owner, you need to make sure that every hour you spend at work counts. You want to have more quality hours in your day, and less reactionary ones.

What’s the difference between the two?

Well, a reactionary hour goes a little something like this…

You’re at your desk at work, about to start following up on leads. Then, someone asks you a question, and you spend a few minutes helping them come up with a solution to their problem. Then, an important email comes through, and an urgent phone call follows that (you get the picture). By the time you finally glance down at your watch, 60 minutes have come and gone. How did that happen?

A reactionary hour is exactly how it sounds. It is an hour spent reacting. Nothing productive gets done in that hour. It just…happens.

A quality hour is the opposite. It’s an hour spent doing what you planned to do. Whether you want to create some new content or follow up on new leads, etc. your time is spent doing whatever you need to do to grow your business.

Using a productivity plan

I’m a massive fan of productivity pads. When you plan your day in time blocks, it helps you to work more efficiently. Having a written plan is far more useful than keeping a mental checklist.

When it’s written down on paper, you can clearly see the tasks that you need to get through each day. You start to manage your time better. It also helps to declutter your mind so that you can focus on the most important things first.

And, perhaps more importantly, a plan helps you to get rid of any distractions. If your workplace is a little chaotic (on a good day), it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Planning your hours and mapping out your day in blocks helps you to break down the bigger tasks. You’ll get more work done and stay focused.

Why you should delegate

You’ve already got a lot on your plate. So, why waste precious time doing routine tasks that you could just pass onto someone else?

As a business owner, your time should be spent doing things that move your business forward. Wearing multiple hats is just going to leave you feeling tired and burnt out. If you find that you spend a good part of your day doing things like answering calls, managing social media and producing reports, etc., it’s time to delegate!

Delegating tasks frees up your time, allowing you to carry on with the more important stuff. It takes a lot of effort and time to grow a successful business. So, it makes sense to delegate the routine tasks that you just don’t have the time for anymore.

Planning for Productivity

Everybody has the same number of working hours in the day. And, eight hours is more than enough time to get quality work done. But, if you’re not productive, then you may as well have stayed in bed this morning!

If you go through your day without having anything planned, chances are, you won’t see much results. Your time is eaten up by this and that, and before you know it, you’re on your way home trying to remember if you got anything worthwhile done today.

The way to overcome this problem is by planning time to be productive. Maybe you set an hour aside in the morning to get back to new leads, an hour to put a new system in place and an hour on self-development, etc.

Planning for more quality hours in your day is so much more productive than ‘winging it’. It gives you so much more output, which at the end of the day, is precisely what you need to move your business forward.

Want to delegate more tasks and start making the most out of your time at work? We can help. Call me on 0161 820 6080 or email me at emma@mi-pa.co.uk.

If you want to find out more about our services and discover all the ways that we can help you to grow your business, click here. https://mi-pa.co.uk/services/