When you start your consulting business it’s tempting to look at your diary and think you have a great deal of time to do the things you need to do.
You start the day knowing you have hours and hours ahead of you when you can make progress. Yet, somehow you find yourself wasting time.
It’s very easy to forget the basic principles of time management and as a result to achieve less than you could.
Structure your day
When you were in employment you had a structure to your working day. Perhaps you didn’t like it. Perhaps it didn’t really work well for you, – but it was there. You knew when you had to do particular activities. You knew when you had to attend meetings and complete particular tasks.
Now you’re working on your own – or now you’re responsible not just for your own schedule but for organising the working day of other people in your business as well – you have to supply the structure. You have to shape the working day.
It’s important to do this.
Without a structure you will waste time.
Without a structure you will spend time on the wrong things.
Without a structure you are more likely to be distracted from what’s important.
Without a structure you will miss opportunities.
Without a structure you are more likely to fail in your business.
Of course, even without a structure to your day, you will probably be busy, but being busy is not enough. You have to be achieving the right things, too.
Focus on what’s important
If you’re going to use your time well there are two vital tasks for you to focus on. These are:
- getting business
- delivering your business’s services.
When you’re just starting a consulting business every other activity is peripheral. These are your two priorities.
Make sure you spend most of your time on these tasks.
When you’re starting your consulting business, make sure you use your time wisely.
This is tip thirteen in a series of one hundred tips for people starting a consulting business. You can see the other tips at Starting A Consulting Business – 100 Tips
About Margaret Adams
[...] to tick off all the tasks on your list. Therefore, don’t try to get everything done. As well as using your time wisely also set limits to the time you [...]