Look at your daily routine and determine how much time you’re spending on your daily tasks. The use of time tracking software clarifies this quickly. How much time do your basic tasks take? How much time are you actually spending maintaining your business (your website, your social networks, various outlets that help you bring income indirectly)? What if you could spend half that time actively earning money?
Cut down the time you spend on maintenance by automating the processes you use.
Prepare everything you might need before you start the task. This is perfect for data entry, invoicing, preparing info and promotional packets (among other things). Prepare all bills and invoices before you begin to enter them into your bookkeeping software. Create a folder and gather all files in one place before burning discs to send out to prospective clients. Write down numbers you gather from different sources before entering them into Excel.
Use tabs in your browser – if you have several blogs or websites, open them all and then one by one perform the same task. Approve comments, note stats, link to content in social media – it’s easier and quicker if you do the same task rather than switching your focus frequently.
Arrange the windows on your screen, making it easier and faster to navigate between them.
If you are performing a series of steps and find yourself hesitating to remember what step is next, you will benefit from creating a written process of the steps involved from task initiation to completion. Following a check list will keep you focused. It’s also a huge help to have these processes completed in advance should you decide to delegate them in the future.
Automating your processes is easy. Initially, it may take time to set up as it is in the case of preparing your browser to open multiple tabs on start-up or creating a written process, but it’s time well invested for long-term efficiency.
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