With the holidays fast approaching, stress and overwhelm levels are rising for business owners.
As if maintaining a work-life balance wasn’t hard enough, the holiday season adds to the mountain of things to do each day that never seems to get done.
As a business owner, the holidays always add an extra level of stress. Increased holiday sales to employees wanting time off, finding a way to get all the work done and still take some time off to spend with your family and enjoy that time together can be challenging.
So how to handle it better? Here are 9 simple hacks that will not only help you save time and reduce stress during the holidays but throughout the year.
Cut Down on Phone Calls
Do you need to pick up the phone so often? Limit your phone calls to only the times when it’s absolutely necessary. Do whatever you can through email and only use the phone when you really need to discuss with someone. This will help you to save a lot of time. Just ask yourself – is it really going to be that important?
Keep Meetings and Discussions Short
For meetings, create a clear agenda with a time limit and stick to it. Keep small talk to a minimum. When having an informal discussion, keep a goal in mind and focus on achieving that goal. Once achieved, wrap up the conversation. Overall, this will help you be more productive.
Limit Email Time
Daily emails can seem endless. Set a time limit for how long you’ll spend on email during certain times of the day. For example, 30 minutes for morning emails, 15 minutes after lunch, and so on. Instead of reading the first message first, start with the most important and respond in order of priority. This will help you avoid getting caught up in the smaller details and save you precious time.
Avoid Social Media
Social media can be a serious time-waster. Stay off social media, turn off notifications, delete the app from your phone – whatever you need to do to remove the distraction. If you use social media to communicate, use only the chat function. For Facebook, you can download Messenger and leave the regular app off your phone. If you use it for business, set aside time and limit it just like with your emails.
Go Off the Grid
When you need to focus on a task without distraction, seal yourself up in your office and keep away from the outside world. Let people know that you’re not to be bothered. This is also a good idea when doing strategic planning or anything else requiring serious concentration.
Distractions are serious time wasters, so the less you have, the more productive you can be.
Time Manage Your To-Do List
Set a maximum time limit for each item on your daily to-do list. This is the most time you can spare for the task. Set a timer as you begin each task and work on it until the timer goes off If you can’t finish in that time, schedule it for another day This will help you to focus and get things done in a timely manner.
Run a Time Audit
A great way to start managing your time more efficiently is to conduct a time audit. This involves keeping a log of everything you do and how long it takes. You can do this for a few days or even a few weeks to see exactly how you’re spending your time. It’ll then be clear to you what you need to cut out.
This is a real game changer for most of my clients. We have literally no idea how much time we are really spending doing things that we shouldn’t be doing or how long it is really taking us to accomplish a task. And if we don’t know, we can’t manage it.
Take Care of Yourself
Take care of yourself mentally and physically at work and during personal time. Get plenty of sleep, eat well, manage stress, and stick to regular routines. If you maintain your health in this way, you’ll stay more focused and work more efficiently.
Take Breaks
Take many small breaks throughout the day to keep your focus. During these breaks, you may want to engage in some activity that’s just fun and relaxing. Your brain works better if you allow it time to switch from one task to another.
If you’re looking for more work-life balance every day, but especially during the holiday season, always look for parts of your day that you can trim, plan ahead, and be sure to cross-train your employees.
You’ll find yourself working smarter with less stress and getting more time and space to relax and de-stress.
And remember…
Your energy is currency. Spend it well. — Adrienne Bosh
If you need more tips on getting work done efficiently and avoiding overwhelm, book a call with me and let’s chat. I can help give you another perspective on time management and help you rearrange everything stacked on your plate.
