If on average there are 2 hours per day you spend refocusing, putting out “spot fires” and being distracted, that’s an annual cost of 60 days per year!

Clearly we need to do something about it and given that time is the number 1 resource we put into our day, ask yourself “what are the key activities that drive the business?”

Using the 80:20 rule or Pareto Principle, we get a better understanding of where our time goes.

You see, there will be a core 20% of activities that drive 80% of the revenue.  It therefore makes sense that we put 80% of our time into the 20% of activities that drive the results.

Identifying the possible gains of efficient work flow management will assist you in gaining the resources, tools and buy in from company management.

Gains could be through: 

·         Increased profit

·         Increased productivity

·         Excellent customer service

·         Happier staff that feel a sense of achievement and belonging and want to identify themselves with the process

·         Less staff turnover

 Suggestions to become more efficient could be:

·         Be specific

·         Setting clearer goals that are INPUT focused

·         Ensure they are measurable

·         Must be achievable and realistic to gain “buy in”

·         Agree a time frame, breaking bigger goals down into smaller achievable chunks with individual time frame for completion

·         Manage expectations

 An engaged team:

·         Individuals understand their contribution to the overall goal

·         Team members are given tasks in line with their strengths

·         Working together to achieve the best outcome

 Never procrastinate:

·         It only plays on your mind, so you might as well “JUST DO IT”

 Right tools for the job:

·         Investigate and identify tools to assist

·         Never double handle

·         Knowing when, why and what to do when you get there

 Having the right tools for the job is critical and in small business, one of those tools is Time Management.