As a leader, you probably have a hand in different sectors of your business, be it overseeing employees or managing specific projects. Because of the amount of time you have to devote to many different activities, you are wasting time jumping from project to project. But there are ways you can optimize your workflow without the risk of burnout and still work the same amount — if not more থাকতে to stay longer.
One of the first steps may be to learn how to deliver or automate processes that do not require direct supervision. Below, eight Young Entrepreneur Council members share these tips and more to give you a few hours of your time each week.
Young Entrepreneur Council members share tips to save time during the week.
Image courtesy of individual members.
1. Eliminate unnecessary steps first
Stop automating bad workflows or processes. Really optimize them by mapping them and eliminating unnecessary steps Do it with your team to achieve different perspectives so you don’t miss anything. Once you have truly optimized the process and ensured that it has achieved your desired results, then automate it. This will save you more hours faster every week, month and year versus simply automating the same old process. – Carlo Tanzuakio, Cure
2. Accept asynchronous communication
My advice is to always use asynchronous communication. Being asynchronous is a lifestyle in itself. It teaches your teams to predict and communicate better, raise and improve problems, and learn problem-solving skills rather than having specific answers to questions. It frees up your energy and prevents “decision fatigue” after many meetings in one day. Also, it enables flexibility throughout the day, allowing you to focus whenever you feel more creative and to answer thoroughly as needed. – Mario Peshev, Devrex
3. Learn to deliver and set clear expectations
Busy professionals need to be more dedicated and have confidence in their team work and ability to execute projects. By learning to set clear expectations for the desired outcome of a task, and then making sure your team has the right tools to accomplish those tasks, you will relieve yourself of the pressure to complete and oversee specific business responsibilities. Very often, however, tasks will be assigned with vague expectations or there will be confusion as to what the ultimate goal is. To avoid this, make sure you identify the reasons why something is being done and give clear instructions on what the desired outcome is. – Brian David Crane, great idea spread
4. Work on one task at a time
I found that by eliminating multitasking from my day, I optimized my workflow and saved a few hours each week. Multitasking, theoretically, sounds great. Who doesn’t want to complete multiple tasks at once? The thing is, multitasking means you have more time to complete an assignment. It’s also worth noting that people who do multitasks don’t usually create the same quality of work that they do on one task at a time. I recommend adjusting your schedule so that you only work on one task at a time throughout the day. You will find that completing your to-do list is much easier and faster if you do not try to wake up many other things at the same time. – Chris Christoph, Monster Insights
5. Block your schedule
One of my biggest strategies for keeping track of myself and making sure I find time for everything that matters to me during the week is to split my calendar into blocks. I set up time for “work,” “family,” “exercise,” and “household” in my daily calendar. These blocks limit how many hours I work and make sure I prioritize more than just work. This forces me to be more focused during work blocks so that I can use my time wisely and accomplish what I need. These blocks allow me to set better boundaries and generally make me feel more balanced and much happier! – Jane Stevens, Protea Financial
6. Easy work automation
Automated simple tasks can free up time for more important things, and scheduling can help you manage your time better. Automated tasks that take time but do not necessarily require your full attention. This can be done by completing payments, allocating projects or scheduling social media posts in advance. Today there are more tools you can imagine for this. Being in the digital marketing space, my team and I always prepare and schedule these items six months in advance, especially for managing clients’ websites and social media. That way no one is spending time doing these things. – Tonica Bruce, Lead Nisley, Inc.
7. Conduct a calendar audit
An easy way to optimize workflow is to audit your calendar regularly. Every few weeks, sit down and look at your calendar. Group all the work between the ones that give you energy and the ones that take away your energy Then work from the bottom of the list eliminating issues that aren’t worth the fight. The goal of having an optimal workflow is to work in your “talent zone”. This means that whatever you are working on should be what is important to you, what you are doing well and what brings you strength. Moving from the skill area to the talent area requires regular calendar audits and adequate levels of self-awareness. It helped me and my team fractal. By looking at where our time went and how we felt when we finished each task, we were able to get back a few hours each week. – Brent Liang, Fractal
8. Understand how you work best
You can optimize your workflow by skipping the simplest tasks first and then tackling the biggest tasks. You usually hear the opposite advice, but it really depends on what kind of employee you are. Some people work better by moving away from small tasks so that they can focus their remaining energy on larger projects. Once you figure out what works for you, you can finish your work in the most appropriate way for you. – Stephanie Wells, strong form