Time Management

Managing your time and showing your staff how to manage theirs will help things get done and will help with customer service.  If your staff and you are organized, then you have time to give your customers the time they deserve…To successfully have time management, you need to plan for it.  Plan for your long term goals and that will help you figure out the short term goals that will help you succeed.

Be specific with your goals and make them attainable.  Make sure you write your goals down and make sure you put them where you can see them at all times.

Create a daily plan.  This can be handwritten or put on a calendar or even use your computer a create a chart.

Planning your day will help increase production.  You will know what has to be done and in what order it should be done in.  Interruptions won’t throw you off track, because you will always be able to go back to your list and know what you’ve done and what still needs to be done.

Next, you will want to prioritize your work.  Always put something that is time sensitive first on your list.  The sooner you get these tasks done, the more relaxed you will be and then you can handle the other items on your lists.

Make sure you allow for interruptions.  You know the phone will ring or a customer will come in and take a lot longer to make up their mind when you have a lot to do that day.  If you plan for these interruptions, then you won’t get as behind.

In any business, you need to have your paperwork organized, from invoices and/or mail to reciepts and/or other important papers.

Find a filing system that is easy to use, color coding your files or stations usually work very well.  You can have a blue box/file for bills that need to be paid, green for bills that have been paid, red for mail that needs to be looked at, etc.

As for mail, go through it as soon as you can and sort it right then and there.  If you don’t need it, throw it out.  If it’s important, put it where it belongs.  Mail is the one area, next to customers, that takes over your time management.  If not handled properly, your managed time will be all out of whack.

Some books that will help with your time management:

Getting Things Done - By:  David Allen

First Things First – By:  Stephen Covey

Time Management from the Inside Out – By: Julie Morgenstern