It’s a busy world out there. If you are one of the small business owners out there, and you feel like the day never ends. With so many demands on your time, it can be hard to prioritize and still get everything done. The key is learning what time wasters to avoid at all costs (or at least minimize). Read below for our top 10 list of things that often steal precious time from entrepreneurs!

Constant interruptions from email

Do you check your emails frequently? Ever feel like your email inbox is a task list? Research suggests the average professional checks their email every 37 minutes, often bouncing to tasks that the inbox is delivering. While emails are important, this constant checking and replying takes away time that could be spent more productively working on other tasks.

Not taking care of yourself, including exercise and diet

Your body is a tool in your success. Treat is poorly and it will act poorly, and usually at the least opportune time! Your physical and mental health are crucial components of high productivity levels, so be sure to make time for recharging the batteries. Ignoring your health and then missing days of work at a time while you are under the weather doesn't serve the objective.

Spending too much time on social media

The fastest hour of your life is an hour spent scrolling mindlessly. "But social media is important for my business" ... yes... however, mindlessly scrolling is not for your business. Research suggests that the average person spends 50 minutes on social media per day. That is 11 hours in a week... 52 hours in one month! Imagine what you could accomplish if half of this time was regained... or more?

Working too many hours without breaks

Working hard is good, but working long hours without breaks can be harmful especially if you are sitting looking at a screen for hours on end. A good rule of thumb is ensuring you are moving every hour. Even if it is just to stand up, stretch, and grab some water.

Multitasking

Do you often feel like everything is a priority? Do you find yourself juggling multiple projects and tasks all at the same time? At the end of the day nothing is actually finished? If so, it may be hurting your efficiency levels. Research suggests that multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40%!

Disorganization

If you aren't organized, your tasks are not going to get done. Period. If working from a disorganized system is how you work day-to-day then that's one thing... but if this is an issue for you consider implementing some organizational tools into your routine. One of the key pieces to our operation overhaul is reorganizing for efficiency and optimization, contact us for more info here.

Under Utilized Technology

Are your processes and workflows outdated? Or do you find yourself manually doing things that could be made easier with some key technology? If so, consider updating your processes to take advantage of the tools available. Want to know more about what we would recommend for your business?  Set up a free call HERE.

Meetings

Meetings are a necessary evil in your business world. However, too many of the wrong types of meetings can be a massive time waster for most businesses. Many managers want to attend meetings so they can be 'in the know' about things that have very little do do with their role. Meetings should have clear objectives and a post meeting action list.

Spending Time With Self Doubt Sally

If you are struggling with self doubt then it's time to give yourself a pep talk and get back in the game! You've got this! Tell Self Doubt Sally to mind her own business and don't over think your decisions.

Micromanaging

Do you find yourself micro-managing your staff? Do they complain that you are hovering over them every time they do something? If this sounds like you then it may be hurting productivity. If you can't trust the people in decision making roles, you have the wrong people OR you are struggling to let go. Decision makers must be empowered to act, and be clear on the objectives. Learning opportunities will come up, but they should be treated as such, and shouldn't cause micromanagement.

In this post we have outlined some of the top time wasters of a small business owners, so that you can improve productivity levels in your own workday. What is one way YOU plan on increasing productivity?