19 time management tips for small business owners

There’s always something that needs our attention when we run a small business — whether it’s paperwork that needs signing, a policy to authorise, or a discussion about a potential project. With our attention pulled in so many directions, it’s no surprise we always feel like there’s no time for the work we truly want to do.

As CharlieHR’s CEO and founder, I’ve experienced exactly what it’s like to run a small business. From an initial startup to a growing business, as Charlie has grown so has my to-do list. Or at least it did, until I learned some valuable time management techniques.

Today I wanted to share some of those techniques and tips with you, so that you too can take back some of your time and put it to better use. While I can’t give you more hours in the day, I hope I can help you find a way to use what you do have in a more effective way.

Why your time is valuable as a small business owner

Time management skills aren’t just nice to have, but they’re essential for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Here’s what can happen if you manage your time poorly:

• Increased stress levels
• Poor work-life balance
• Rushing to complete work at the last minute
• Ineffective leadership
• Higher levels of employee turnover
• Poor decision making
• Inability to prioritise the right tasks
• Higher employee absenteeism

And on the flip side, if you can master the way you manage time for your small business, you’ll be able to:

• Make smarter, more strategic decisions
• Feel well-rested and ready to tackle challenges
• Prioritise the work that makes a difference
• Inspire and lead your teams towards success
• Attract and retain talented team members

As the leader of the startup or small business, how you spend your time is highly visible. It’s you that everyone looks to for guidance, and it’s you who sets the tone for the atmosphere and culture within the company. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s also an opportunity to demonstrate the values you want others to live by — like a healthy work-life balance, prioritising wellness, or working smarter, not harder.

19 time management strategies for small business owners

We might all have the same 24 hours in a day, but there are so many different ways to use them. If you want to free up time for your highest value work, here are the small business owner’s time management tips I’d recommend you try first.

1. Set and track goals

You might have overall business goals, but to help you narrow down which important tasks to focus on every week or month it’s useful to set shorter-term goals too. Maybe you want to focus on business growth or development, or finish working on your HR policies. Decide what matters most to you right now, so you set a goal, track your progress, and make it a priority.

Not sure where to start? Explore our OKR examples.

2. Create a daily routine

It’s not just what you do in the office that contributes to your productivity and time management skills. Give your work day the best chance of success with a simple and achievable daily routine. Plan your breakfast, workout, commute, reading time, and anything else that helps you get into the best workflow for the day ahead, then repeat it every day.

Not only does this help you feel more successful every day, but you’ll soon get into a rhythm. Decisions that used to take up time are now made automatically, so you’ll feel like you have more headspace for thinking or tackling complex tasks.

3. Work when you’re most productive

There’s no rule that says you have to work 9-5 or 8-8. You’re the boss, so you get to set the rules. Decide how many work hours is ideal for you per week, and create a schedule that aligns with your energy levels and priorities.

This time management skill might sound simple, but it’s one that most of us are guilty of taking for granted — especially if you’re used to showing up and putting in the hours when everyone else is in the office.

4. Avoid the temptation to multitask

Multitasking sounds great in theory, but in reality it’s a disaster. It’s almost impossible to give your full attention to more than one task at once, so it’s time to stop trying. Instead, focus on one activity, task, conversation, or meeting at a time and nothing else. This technique should make you more productive overall, giving you time back to work on other tasks later in the day.

5. Create themed days of the week

I like to theme my days so they are each focused on a different area of my role. One day might be for strategy, while another is for people and operations. I think it’s a nice way to focus the conversations and work you complete on that day.

If you find this works well for you, try encouraging others to give it a go. You could find yourself inspiring someone else to improve their own productivity in a new way too.

6. Live a healthy work-life balance

As the leader, people will look to you as an example of your company values in action. If employee mental health, wellbeing, and work-life balance are important to you, it’s time to start demonstrating it. Model what a healthy work-life balance looks like and not only give yourself more protection from burnout, but show your employees that they can shape their work life in this way too.

7. Create and protect “deep focus” time

I know from experience how easy it is to get side-tracked and lose focus. Whether it’s a social media notification or last-minute request, these stolen minutes take us away from our most valuable work. To avoid this, introduce and fiercely protect dedicated time for deep focus so you can give your strategic planning the attention it needs.

8. Use a task management app

The idea of adding yet another app to your phone might sound overwhelming, but this one’s worth it. If you don’t already, invest in a project management software or task management tool of your choice and use it every day. Let this guide you on what to prioritise, when to delegate, and which specific task to tackle next.

9. Track your time

You might have a good idea of what’s wasting your time right now, but if you don’t then start with a time tracking exercise. Use an app to record how long you spend in phone calls, meetings, focus sessions, and discussions, so you know what to keep or eliminate.

10. Accept that you can only do so much

While the goal is to recover time to put it to better use elsewhere, it’s also important to realise that sometimes this won’t be possible. In some instances you might just need to let go and accept that you can only achieve so much, so move that task into another week, month, or quarter and carry on with your day.

11. Give your staff members more autonomy

If you’re lucky enough to have great team members, give them more autonomy to make decisions without you. Instead of having to sign off on everything, you’re now freed from that administrative burden and the many disruptions that it causes.

12. Outsource what you can

Hiring new employees in a small business can be expensive, and it’s not always the priority for that reason. If you find yourself in need of extra time temporarily, consider outsourcing tasks to a freelancer, agency, or contractor. Business operations like invoicing, and administrative tasks, are ideal places to start, or maybe it’s time to hire an Ops Manager?

13. Get comfortable with delegation

Whether you’re outsourcing or handing over tasks to employees, you need to delegate tasks and feel confident about doing it. Know that the task might not get completed the same way, but that it’ll get done and save time — and sometimes that’s the best you can hope for.

14. Schedule regular breaks

Your strategic mind is valuable, so you need to make sure you give it enough rest. Between meetings and decision-making, schedule in regular breaks. Go for a walk, grab a coffee, hit the gym — whatever you find gives you a useful change in flow and routine. When your break is over, come back feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the next item on your to-do list.

15. Limit meetings

Most meetings could be emails, right? Take this to heart and cut out any meetings that you feel waste time — either yours or your team members’. Limit the number of meetings you attend every week or month so that you have free time to concentrate on business growth and strategy.

16. Plan your work week ahead of time

It can feel like you never have enough time if you don’t plan it out. Start planning your week ahead of time, so you can get a head start on thinking about Monday’s most important work and say no to anything that promises to interrupt your schedule.

17. Experiment with time blocking

Working in set blocks of time for different tasks can be useful for some people, which is why they love time blocking. If this time management tool sounds appealing, give it a go. You don’t need any fancy software either — it’s easy enough to time block within your Google calendar.

18. Try the Pomodoro technique

Another time management technique you should try at least a few times is the Pomodoro technique. This involves working for a set number of minutes, then taking a break for a designated time. You then repeat the process over and over again throughout the work day. 

Experiment to find the timings that work for you — it could be 45 mins work and a 15 min break, 25 mins work and a 7 min break, or something else.

19. Cut out unnecessary or time-consuming tasks

Finally, the best way to find more time is to get rid of things you shouldn’t be doing in the first place. So much of what takes up our day-to-day work can be improved, delegated, or automated. Identify the top time wasters and look for opportunities to either get rid of them entirely, or use HR automation to streamline the processes to save you valuable time.

Managing time for small business owners made easy with automation

Effective time management is a skill you can learn over time. I hope these tips have helped you find new ways to save time in your work day, whether that’s through delegation, time blocking, focus time, or another method.

If you’re committed to better time management as a small business owner, you need our HR automation guide. It’ll take you through all the ways the right HR software can help you streamline those day-to-day HR admin tasks, and explain exactly when the right time to invest in software is. Download our free HR automation guide to get started on your journey.