There are three main things most of my clients say to me when we initially meet….

• I don’t have enough time
• I’m not sure how to…
• I just don’t have enough clients/customers

And as a business coach, I say “Let’s create more time, clarity, systems and inflows”.

So, what if you could create an extra 5 hours a week by changing some simple behaviours?

Here are my top 3 tips to create more time in your business…

1. Turn off your Notifications

We’ve all been there.  You are deep in concentration, working productively when suddenly “ping” – your phone notifies you of a message/comment/phone call.  Whilst you might think it is a harmless little noise, that notification has distracted you and interrupted that productivity.  A study conducted by Gloria Mark at the University of California concluded that regardless of the context of an interruption, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back on track afterwards.  In addition to this, stress levels, frustration, effort and time pressure all increase.  By turning off your notifications, you will significantly minimise the interruptions you receive on a day to day basis and in turn, assist in increasing your effectiveness with your time giving you the ability to shift your focus to other revenue making tasks and grow your business.

2. You’ve got mail – Just not right now!

Are you an email junkie?  Are you all over a new email like white on rice?  If so, you are potentially wasting time and encouraging bad behaviours with your colleagues, suppliers and customers/clients.  By replying almost instantly to every email that comes through, you are sending a message that it’s ok to email you with every little thing and you will drop what you are doing to respond.

A saying I share with my business coaching clients is “Often we show others how to treat us, so teach them well.”

So, you may wish to consider setting up designated times during the day (2-3 times is ideal) where you check and respond to emails.  I also encourage you to do the same with unscheduled phone calls.

You can even add an auto-responder and update your voicemail message to communicate this if you wish, but by sticking to the designated time blocks, you will have increased focus and productivity with other tasks which will create more time within your business.

You may even find that people start to answer their own questions rather than bothering you with them in the future!

3. Social Media – the struggle is real!

There’s no denying that social media is an extremely powerful tool for business.

It can also suck up your time and lead your focus away from being productive.

Turning off your notifications as mentioned in tip number 1 will help.  In addition to that, I recommend setting aside time once or twice a month to create content and schedule posts.

It’s also advisable to allocate a small amount of time at the end of each day to reply to comments, create non-scheduled posts and engage with others.  This will give your social media time a focus and limit countless interruptions and distractions during the day and stop time from being zapped from your schedule.

I remind my business owner clients – “Set a timer!”

Conclusion

I may not be able to add extra hours to your day (would you really want that anyway?) but what I can do is identify where you can be more efficient and effective with the time you do have.  Create some winning strategies which will free up time for you to do more of what you want to do increasing the joy and reducing stress, frustration and overwhelm.

How does that feel?

Book your FREE Discovery Call to find out how I can create more time for you within your business easily that you will want to stick to.

Hmmm…what will you do with your extra 5 hours a week?