Time trials: 6 workday scheduling tips for solopreneurs

Allotting your work time as a small business owner can be a challenge unto itself.

The good news is that there’s no one telling you what to do from hour to hour. The bad news is that there’s no one keeping you on track, protecting you from diversions and making sure you’re not wasting time on non-essential company functions. Chances are you’re crazy busy, but not always addressing the work that matters the most in the long term.

Research reveals that’s a pretty common problem; one study shows the average small business owner spends only 32 percent of his time on actively growing his business, while 68 percent is spent taking care of daily tasks.

“If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you take pride in the work you put into your business,” notes Mike Kappel in Forbes. “But eventually, you need to step out of the day-to-day grind and steer your business in the direction you want it to go.”

Some ways business leaders can schedule their work time for optimal productivity:

1. Work out early in the morning: That jump-starts your brain and metabolism and (hopefully) counters some of the time you spend at your desk. Studies suggest an early workout provides more energy than a few extra minutes of bed rest.

2. Use breakfast time as family time: Eat healthy and try to address family responsibilities during this interval.

3. Optimize early hours: Think of this interval as your core production time to take care of the vital, thoughtful tasks that keep your business afloat, including meeting prep or review of proposals, budgets or bids. Consider keeping one in-basket on your desk for work that must be completed that day, so you can mentally detach from the rest if necessary.

4. Use lunchtime as relationship time: Since you have to eat, make best use of your lunch hour by building relationships with clients, potential clients, employees, vendors or others who play a central role in your business.

5. Allot afternoons for growth: Set aside this time for activity that grows and not just sustains your business. “Take on a new project,” advises Steve Strauss in USA Today. “By stretching your abilities … you will be forced to learn something new and do things in a new and different way.”

6. Turn off in the evenings: After 6 p.m., experts advise you to mentally, emotionally and physically detach from the demands of work whenever possible. If you must quiet your mind enough for a good night’s sleep, consider allotting one hour before bedtime to wrap up loose ends or brainstorm improvements. But attempt at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep for health reasons.

Failing to plan for a reasonable work schedule is a common error among solopreneurs and small business owners. Not only can it lead to burnout, but it typically prevents you from the crucial strategizing that can sustain your company into the future.

“Maybe it’s because entrepreneurs tend to be an optimistic lot, but small business owners deal with job burnout just as much as everyone else, and maybe more,” advises Strauss. “Most work very hard, probably too hard. (But) dead energy creates a dead business.”

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