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10 Time Saving Hacks for Busy Entrepreneurs

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Let us know what your favourite productivity tips are by tweeting us @411dotca.

As an entrepreneur, you likely have a lot on your plate. Between managing your business and your personal life, you probably don’t have a lot of time to spare. But with summer only a few months away, you should start thinking about saving time and finding a balance between your passion for your business, and the passion you have for other things in life.

We’ve curated some of our best productivity and time saving hacks for busy entrepreneurs:

1. Conquer your least favourite task first

By accomplishing your most difficult or stressful task first, the rest will be easy because you can face your following tasks with a clearer mind.

2. Use a planner

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When using a planner you are able to see both your short and long term plans. This gives you a good idea of your time availability and keeps you on track during your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. If a physical planner isn’t for you, try a Google calendar, which you can sync across all your devices.

3. Turn your phone on silent

Continuous notifications popping up on your phone are a distraction, especially when they are personal or unrelated to work. Put your phone on silent or do not disturb and try to only check your phone on breaks.

4. Keep a to-do list

Whether it’s on your phone, in an agenda, or even on the back of your hand, keeping a to-do list will help you stay organized and on task. Plus, physically checking things off of a list makes you feel a great sense of accomplishment.

5. Re-arrange your smartphone apps

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We often end up wasting time by mindlessly scrolling through social media. Remove distracting apps from the first page of your phone and you’ll be less likely to open them unconsciously.

6. Download Pocket

As much as we can try not to use social media at work, sometimes it’s part of the job. This app is perfect or those times you come across an interesting read and don’t want to forget about it, but you know you shouldn’t read it at that moment. Pocket is especially useful because it downloads the posts so you can read them even if you’re offline. Download Pocket here.

7. Create an FAQ page

Do you get the same questions over and over again? Create a FAQ page and direct your inquirers there. This will save you time from answering the same frequent questions.

8. Use canned responses

Alternatively, if you want to offer a direct response without taking a lot of time, or you typically send the same emails, utilize Gmail’s canned responses. Check out this post about how to create canned responses.

9. Schedule calls during travel times

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Something such as a phone call can be an easy task to complete while getting from one place to another. Whether you’re on the bus or in your car—so long as you have a hands free device—taking calls while travelling is a great time saving option.

10. Batch small tasks

Grouping your small tasks together will help with productivity. For example, if you know you have a few phone calls to make, take half an hour to do so instead of making calls periodically throughout the day. Read this article for more information on batching.

BONUS TIP: Outsource difficult tasks

Outsourcing jobs like website management will save you valuable time. 411.ca is a time saving solution for small business owners. Simply Request A Consultation to speak to a 411 Websites Specialist about how we can help with web management, online advertising, website design, and more.

Follow these productivity tips to simplify your busy life, so you can spend less late nights working, and have more of this:

 

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Let us know what your favourite productivity tips are by tweeting us @411dotca.

Laura has a B.A. in Honours Communications Studies from McMaster University and is currently enrolled in Humber’s Public Relations Postgraduate program. She is passionate about writing and local business, so this blog is the perfect combination of the two.