As a business owner, I often find it too easy to burn candle at both ends, working from early hours of the morning until well after the sun has gone down. This can be true for many entrepreneurs and business owners. If you are fall into the daily cycle you may be hurting your work by not allowing yourself the time needed to recharge and rest.
Sleep, like food and water, is essential to life. Without it the body slowly begins decrease its ability to function both cognitively and physically. By keeping long hours you drain your body of the sleep it needs to be able to think critically, and will find that your ability to think outside of the box will diminish along with other skills needed to be a successful leader and business owner.
Part of what makes up a successful business owner and manager is being able to delegate. You need to know when the task at hand is something that you can handle or if it is a task that is better given to others to complete. Part of being able to delegate to others is also being able to delegate to yourself. You need to be able to decide how to successfully use your time, after all there are really only 24 hours in a day. It is all too easy to get wrapped up in a project and before you know it, everyone else is in bed and your still grinding away, eventually getting a few hours of restless sleep. While doing this every once in a while may not be completely avoidable, doing this on a long term basis will wear you down, causing you to be less productive, less creative, and deliver a less than desirable result.
Below are a few ways that you can help to keep track of time and manage productivity:
- Set a schedule. Setting a work schedule is essential. By scheduling breaks you help to give your mind a rest from what you are working on. This also helps you to keep track of time and not get lost in your work, resulting in hours being spent behind the desk without giving yourself a break.
- Stretch those muscles. I’m not saying that you need to have a hardcore workout every day, or ever for that matter. You do however, need to stretch, get up, walk around, get your heart rate up and give your brain a breather.
- Delegate! Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It may be as simple as having someone answer phones, take messages, managing social media pages, or even filtering your email. This will help to free up time to get done tasks that require your attention.
- Schedule me time. Be sure to give yourself some personal time to do the things you enjoy. By allowing your mind to unwind, you allow creativity to enter your brain.
- Turn the lights down. Getting the recommended 7.5-9 hours of sleep a night is important. Try to plan your schedule so you get enough sleep, allowing time before bed where you turn down the lights and unwind.
By doing these things you can help to reduce your workload, increase your efficiency, and produce a better product. Managing is a big part of being a business owner. Learn how to manage your employees, the business workload, but most importantly manage your time. Adjusting your workload and the time to let your mind breath will help you to be more productive.
About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business growth.