As an entrepreneur, you THINK you have the eternal struggle of balancing your personal life and your business life. But really, it’s all LIFE.
And you have total control over how you spend every second of that time.
What you do with your time determines the quality of your life.
So I’m gonna ask you, how are you managing your time?
Is it managed by television, commercialism, too many events on your calendar, and vicious thought cycles that aren’t serving you?
OR….
Is your time scheduled in a way that you get your work done, and you still have time for family, friends, and doing the things you love?
Think of your time like the lanes on a highway. If you stay in the right lane, you’re going to move more slowly because of all the exits and cars getting on and off.
But if you use the left lane, chances are, you are going to go a lot faster. (Well, maybe not if you live in LA.)
This is why it’s so important to be in control of every second of your precious time. Keep scrolling to learn 6 Ways to Maximize Your Time as a Solo Entrepreneur.
6 Tips For Maximizing Your Time as a Solo Entrepreneur
- Set Up Your Week Using Time Blocking
Schedule specific days and times for client calls, writing/creative time, and networking meetings. And don’t forget to set aside time for doing the things that fuel you. I love using Google Calendar to time block my week. What tool do you like to use to schedule your time? Tell me in the comments.
- Avoid “Time Traps”
Perfectionism, Multi-Tasking, Checking social likes, comments, & follows, and lack of clarity are common “time traps” for new entrepreneurs. In the beginning, aim for B+ work (because you can improve with each new post, email, or offer you create), focus on one project at a time (and have a set time you’re going to work on it), and have healthy boundaries with your social media platforms. It’s important to put out quality content and increase brand awareness, but don’t get sucked into obsessing over your likes, comments, & follows. Show up and serve, but remember that it is not where you should be spending all of your time and focus.
- Determine Your Prime Working Hours
Research has PROVEN that humans only have a brief window of prime working time each day – about 4 to 6 hours. Identifying your prime working hours ensures you are completing important tasks during a time that is most ideal for you. Also, this means you’re off the hook for 40+ hour work weeks, because the reality is, you’d only be productive for about half of that time. Grow a healthy and sustainable business planning your work day around your prime working time!
- Do the Most Difficult Task of the Day First
Stop procrastination in its tracks! As a new entrepreneur, it can be overwhelming to wear many hats and to feel like everything needs to be done right away. And it’s common for the most difficult task (a.k.a. A true revenue generating task) to be pushed off. You’ll find every excuse in the book to keep yourself from doing the difficult task. This is why you need to schedule a block of time and just get it done first. Once you get in this habit, the “great big difficult task” won’t seem so bad, and you’ll be maximizing your time AND your revenue potential.
- Start Before You Feel Ready
As a new entrepreneur, there are going to be MANY times that you don’t feel like you’re “ready” for something – think filming IG Reels, making a YouTube video, or maybe starting a podcast. But the most important thing to remember is, action leads to motivation. When you start something before feeling ready, you’re creating momentum, and then that momentum creates motivation. And the more you act, the more confident and ready you’ll be.
- Don’t Let Unimportant Tasks Dictate Your Day
As Bill Gates said, “Time is the one finite resource I can’t buy more of.” The entrepreneurial journey is full of highs and lows, and it’s easy to opt for tasks that are lighter on your cognitive bandwidth. Email, engaging on social media, updating your website or LinkedIn bio can be a big drain on your time if you’re not paying attention. To avoid small tasks consuming your day, try batching small tasks together and giving yourself a set amount of time to do them. Make your 2-3 most important tasks (THINK revenue generating) a priority, and then the remaining time can be spent on smaller, less important tasks.
Before you go…check out my new FREE resource, The Brand Audit Guide: Build a Brand People are Obsessed With From Day One. You can grab the guide HERE.
With gratitude + GUMPTION,
Kim
Correct.